Smart Logistics Keep up Mainport Flow

Moving where world business develops or intensifying customer services: long-term strategies with different companies in shipping and logistics differ. Rotterdam’s role asmain port into Europe is undisputed, shipping professionals anticipate volume increase with beginning of operations at Maasvlakte 2. However, limitations with infrastructure pose new challenges.

“We aim to be the logistics partner that helps companies fulfil their aims as trustworthy and conscious suppliers for their customers”, managing director Richard Beld of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics reveals his strategy. “Consumers want to know if the product they are buying is produced with respect for people and planet. They want to know the carbon footprint of the things they buy. We make sure, if required, that the transport of products is done in an environmentally conscious way and that the carbon footprint is documented. We can give advice about green and economic modes of transport.”

“On our website is a CO2 calculator”, managing director Marcus Field of Hanjin Shipping adds. “When our clients need to present the carbon footprint of their container transportation, they can easily retrieve the part for transport by filling in some transport details at the online calculator. We are consumers ourselves. That is why we understand that people want to know how the products are shipped. That is also why we strive to provide shipping in the most environmentally friendly way. Hanjin has a very young fleet.

The average age of our own ships is between eight and ten years. So engines and other systems aboard meet all requirements for emission, safety and efficiency. Another quite simple principle in shipping is: the bigger the ship, the lower the emission per transported item. We have recently taken into service five container ships carrying 10,000 containers – 10K TEU – and now anticipate the Rotterdam arrival of the recently launched Hanjin Sooho, named after the late chairman Sooho Cho of Hanjin Shipping, a 13,102 TEU container carrier.” The ship will come to Rotterdam during her maiden voyage, early May this year and is the first of a series of five 13,100 TEU vessels being deployed.

Each way of transporting however, be it by ship, barge, train, truck or aeroplane, has its own specifics. Manufacturers and trading companies that engage in shipping, need to take into account the transport time, handling from terminals to warehouses and to individual shops in their supply chain planning. Continuous supply demands careful consideration of transport time, warehousing and end-user distribution. Shipping and logistics companies advise on how to arrange this.

Verticals

Employing their expertise and delivering carefree distribution solutions for their customers is the strategy Hellmann Worldwide Logistics follows to survive the financial crisis that is shrinking transport volumes in Europe. The 10,000-employee company offers ‘vertical solutions’: providing logistic solutions in the whole delivery chain from initial production to the end-user or an individual shop. An active ‘vertical’ within the company is Hellmann Marine Services, taking care of just-in-time delivery of parts and spares needed aboard vessels.

Ship owners that have noticed the need for replacement of parts or that have encountered malfunctioning of onboard systems, get dedicated transport to ensure servicing time of their fleet in harbours is minimised. Another recently introduced service is Hellmann Cruise Line Logistics. This service handles the supply chain to cater and equip large cruise ships. A large dedicated warehouse in Miami serves as a regional hub.

It is a complex service with a variety of products, food and beverage as well as tobacco, all under a different tax regime. The first step Hellmann took was to shift to central purchase. “As cruise lines experience price competition in their market, we were able to cut cost considerably in the supply chain”, Beld assures.

Other verticals within Hellmann are automotive, healthcare, fashion and perishables. Beld: “Asian manufacturers often do not know all the details about European legislation, import rates and value added tax, as well as the required certificates to allow your electronics and other products in European shops. We offer our clients advice about these issues. We are pleased to have built a position in transport of equipment for renewable energy, consisting of solar panels for the consumer market, among other products. This is a market segment we expect to grow in the next years.”

Encourage

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is an operator, commissioning cargo space aboard ships or aeroplanes. Apart from a limited fleet of trucks, they do not own their own vessels or vehicles. The company is one of Hanjin Shipping’s clients. As the nature of both shipping and logistics companies diverges, their strategies are different as well. Hanjin has opened a new market. “We are increasing our activities in the South American trade”, Field explains. “In the 2009 crisis, we saw transport volumes going down. Since then, we have been exploring new opportunities, and have regained volumes to the same transport value as we had before. As markets are still recovering, the business has also changed.

Entering into new markets, we can still engage our fleet efficiently. Admittedly, with the continuous rise of fuel prices and the decrease of the ocean freights, we have had to increase our rates. To serve our clients best, we have introduced slow steaming to keep up a constant supply chain at an attractive cost. This of course requires altered planning of the supply chain.”

“I like to encourage customers to consciously plan their logistics and choose the most efficient mode of transport, in terms of cost and in term of carbon exhaust per transported product”, Field continues. “I belong to an organisation keeping up the high standards. We believe this is the right strategy towards our aim of being the worlds biggest provider of advanced logistics.”
Advantage

Hanjin’s large vessels benefit the Euromax terminal at the Maasvlakte. At the moment, the quay length at this terminal is 1.9 kilometres and it will stretch for four kilometres once the Maasvlakte is fully extended in 2014. “We have made the Port of Rotterdam one of our North-European hubs”, says Field. “Before the Euromax terminal opened, we used Hamburg as our European gateway. Rotterdam has the advantage of not having a draft restriction.”

Beld adds: “The Netherlands take a unique position that enables manufacturers to import their products into Europe at competitive rates. Storing goods in customs warehouses while we take care of paperwork and represent our clients in tax issues, is a practise only known here. This is how the port of Rotterdam has grown to be the Mainport to Europe. As long as this prevails, this position in international transport will stand strong.”

Modes of transport

Transport from the Euromax terminal to the hinterland, like Germany, Benelux and northern France, might suffer from congestion. Field recalls problems with transfer to inland barges during 2010. Road transport over motorway A15 is not a problem at the moment, but it might well get very busy before the opening of the Maasvlakte 2. “Limitations of the various modes of transport requir us to further optimise logistics. Considering the required speed or allowed transportation time, we aim to transfer about 45% of all transport coming in at the terminal to inland barges. 20% we transfer via rail transport, the remaining volume is to be transported by truck. If we cannot reach this separation into transport modes, the risk of traffic congestion will emerge.”

At Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Beld is more outspoken. “How can we trust government authorities that have not been able to organise public transport in the Rotterdam harbour area, to be able to regulate traffic of enormous cargo volumes by road, rail or barge? This problem clearly has the attention off the authorities, but the decision making just takes too long in the Dutch government. Dealing with possible congestion problems, we are able to organise smart logistics with constant supply chains. It is the transport that has to be handled quickly, that suffers from infrastructure problems. We hope road capacity, railway handling and barge availability will prove sufficient when transport volumes grow with the operational opening of Maasvlakte 2.”

Hans Buitelaar