Ceramic Industries Primary Transport

The Problem

Changing market dynamics, customer footprint and a reduction in average order size resulted in increased complexity and cost to effectively service the network. Decentralised planning often led to small, frequent deliveries to the same stores resulting in excessive multi-point collection and drop-off penalty costs. Optimisation of vehicle weight-volume utilisation became increasingly more difficult due to a wide product mix including tiles, baths, basins and toilets. Minimum visibility of yard activity and factory turnaround times were impacting transporter relationships. Furthermore, the price pressure on construction material and the low barriers to entry in importation of tiles, sanitaryware and baths resulted in Ceramic Industries being required to find innovative ways to optimise the planning and loading process in order to minimise costs and remain competitive.