Damco, the AP Moller – Maersk logistics business, has come up with a new approach to increasingly flexibility in the supply chain.
The Damco Dynamic Flow Control system is designed allow supply chain professionals the flexibility to re-plan shipments according to what is important – whether it is delivery date, cost, or carbon footprint.
The system will recalculate the optimal route to market when a change on the demand or supply side occurs. Damco likens its to the way a GPS in will provide an estimated time to destination based on a car’s current speed and latest traffic information.
The shipment planning optimisation engine generates plans based on predefined business rules and criteria such as delivery time, cost, carbon, transport mode, and carrier mix – all at purchase order and SKU levels. When changes occur, shipments are dynamically re-planned and automatically executed using the Damco proprietary decision tree methodology.
“We have developed this innovative solution together with our customers and we now have a robust and scalable solution that we would like to present to the market,” Damco chief executive Rolf Habben-Jansen said.
Damco says dynamic planning and re-planning provides more flexibility to adjust to last minute demand and supply changes which enables lower inventories, higher customer service, and timely response to market trends.
“In addition, increased delivery performance and reduced manual intervention can decrease lead times by up to ten per cent while lowering administration costs by up to 30 per cent. Improved container utilisation and mix, less administration, and reduced air-to-ocean ratio can help decrease cost (and carbon emissions) by up to 20 per cent.”
