Transporeon drives improved efficiencies for Procurus

With e-logistics provider Transporeon working with drinks manufacturer Bacardi across Europe, a UK link was the logical next step. Over the past year Transporeon has provided its transport assignment system to specialist 4PL provider Procurus, logistics partner for Bacardi, the largest family-owned spirits provider in the world. Procurus has staff embedded in Bacardi operations, handling all movements around the Continent.

Procurus provides complete logistical supply chain management services that are highly flexible, and competetive. The company prides itself on its ability to drive savings throughout the supply chain by challenging and re-challenging every part of the process. It also regularly updates its technology to ensure its processes remain at the cutting edge.

Transporeon's UK key account manager, Charlie Pesti, worked closely with Graeme Connor, Procurus' business development manager, together with a number of Connor's colleagues, to establish a 4PL solution that perfectly fitted the requirements for distributing Bacardi products around the UK. Connor inherited the plan to link with Transporeon when he took up his position at Procurus in August 2011. He found Pesti and the Transporeon team "brilliant" to work with, "always ready to leap into action when any issues arose".

"Transporeon went to a great deal of trouble and very much allayed any fears we might have had about the capability of a one-touch system," said Connor. "Through the use of Transporeon, we have eliminated the vast bulk of our manual inputting, as well as many of the telephone calls made to carriers and others involved in the supply chain. Updating the day book is now a much simple matter and errors have been greatly reduced." Connor added that Procurus is now considering how it might extend the use of Transporeon's services to its other operations in the UK.

Automated Transport Allocation

Pesti explained that Procurus is using Transporeon's No-Touch Order module. According to Pesti, among the module's many features that were particulalry attractive to Procurus was Automated Transport Allocation, based on defined criteria with no need for manual intervention. "This frees-up transport planners to concentrate on exceptions," he said. Pesti continued: "Procurus is also using Transporeon's Time Slot Management module, which ensures that loading and unloading slots can be booked online. The module can also track carriers en route and enable them to quickly get on their way again after arrival. Additionally, the system will be used for monitoring and checking security information; a key requirement when moving high-value products such as alcohol. Based on Transporeon's 10-plus years of experience with its customers from various industries, Procurus and its carriers will benefit from reduced time, efforts, costs and increased productivity as well as reduced empty miles."

Pesti added: "We are delighted to have Procurus as a client and to be able to demonstrate clearly the versatility of Transporeon – our ability to provide solutions across industry sectors and to adapt our solutions to meet the opportunities and challenges of each individual client. We didn't aim to reduce costs and increase efficiency by a marginal 2 to 6 per cent; we aimed to make the work of transport planners, logistics managers and directors of Procurus worth 10 times more than before."

Founded in Germany over 10 years ago, Transporeon is an international logistics platform combining shippers and carriers from industry and trade. It serves to both optimise and accelerate the logistics process by providing web-based solutions for electronic transport assignment, tracking and tracing and time-slot management.