Kuehne+Nagel Drinks Logistics

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Photo of Eddie Hollingsworth With Axscend we have a clear picture of our trailer fleet and its usage patterns... Being able to manage our trailers on-line enables us to respond to business peaks and troughs effectively. Our fleet is more operationally fluid than ever before; we can now focus on making it work harder. Furthermore we can take great comfort from being able to track and manage our fleet's maintenance schedule on-line.

KNDL Ltd. logo Eddie Hollingsworth, Primary Transport Director

The challenge

A joint venture between Scottish & Newcastle and Kuehne + Nagel UK created a national drinks distribution company, Kuehne + Nagel Drinks Logistics (KNDL). The primary transport operation required a tool to help "right size" the trailer fleet and aid an internal efficiency drive.

The initial big wins

Installing Axscend meant that the transport office could really "get to grips" with how the trailer fleet was being used. Paul Eastwood of KNDL termed the process as being able to achieve efficiency though visibility.

Over the last three years KNDL has reduced its trailer fleet by a massive 27%. Furthermore this reduction has been achieved on similar volume activity. It is also anticipated the fleet will be reduced by a further 15% in the next six months.

During this period KNDL also de-hired all of its 300 short-term rental trailers, another immediate win was that trailer audits are now conducted daily online. There is no longer a need to conduct these audits manually saving an estimated £70,000 per year.

Day to day successes

Understanding the patterns of the trailer fleet's movement helped the KNDL scheduling team respond to business peaks and troughs. Regional changes in deployment began to significantly improve the overall efficiency of the fleet.

KNDL report

Implementation support

Together Axscend and KNDL developed 6 bespoke reports including a trailer displacement summary and comparison against budget of operating trailers. These reports are now automated and delivered daily to all the relevant users within the business.

Kuehne + Nagel Drinks Logistics a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuehne + Nagel specialises in the primary and secondary distribution of beverages throughout the UK and is recognised as the first choice logistics provider to the drinks industry. It has nationwide coverage through 23 depots, with around 1200 trailers and 3,000 employees.

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