A logistics provider specialising in transportation services between the UK and Scandinavian countries has switched to using T Cards new OnLine system for improving management of trailer movement in and out of some 20 different port locations. It enables staff at Bring Cargo’s UK offices in Stallingborough, North East Lincolnshire, to carefully track trailer locations, the new T Cards OnLine system providing an immediate at-a-glance overview of current loading and trailer position.
Bring Cargo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norway Post, employs over 2,000 skilled professionals and operates in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, France, Holland, the UK, USA and Canada, and in the rest of Europe and the world through its extensive network of agency partners. It has set out to become the most efficient and effective inter-country logistics and warehousing organisation through new ways, developing flexible customised solutions that improve logistics and incorporate the best, most user-friendly Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
It operates with over 660 distribution vehicles and 1000 trailers, the extensive trailer fleet comprising Bring Cargo’s own trailers easily distinguishable by their bright green livery, customer fleets and hired-in, the make-up including curtain-sided, flat-bed and rigid sided. In the UK there can be up to 300 ‘live’ trailer movements at any one time, it is therefore imperative to capture, record and monitor their position to achieve smooth movement of goods across borders.
Full trailer tracking was for a number of years maintained in the UK using a T Cards board-based system, it gave office staff an at-a-glance overview of trailer locations, these could be time due arrive at port, arrived at port, delivery to warehouse, port departure or trailer undergoing repairs. Whilst this proved extremely successful for managing such a large fleet, Philip Heine of T Cards Direct realised that once the OnLine system went live Bring Cargo could benefit with a more dynamic monitoring system.
According to David Sumner, of Bring Cargo, “the recent upgrade to the T Cards OnLine system is more practical, enabling trailer status to be viewed and up-dated on-screen and can be easily accessed remotely when required. It also has had the benefit of offering more unique coloured cards for improving the sort and grading process.
Online system
For those familiar with T Cards’ board-based system, the move to the new OnLine system is easy, offers greater flexibility and has the advantage, through authorised and protected passwords, of allowing access from virtually any location where there is internet connection.
Very much mirroring a spread-sheet layout of rows and columns, the standard Work in Progress sheet comprises twelve columns and fifty-two rows. T Cards Direct will initially assist in setting column headers and any other configuration.
Virtual t-cards are used to populate virtual planner, by clicking on the card icon in the main menu selection bar a new card is immediately opened. Each t-card contains three basic fields – Title, Subtitle plus space to enter a description of specific task or activity. Once opened the user can select a specific card colour which helps simplify task management, T Cards Direct have also allocated a document link selector and well as a web link. From this view a specific column can be allocated prior to saving the card content; once it appears on the planning chart, using simple drag-and-drop technique the cards can be re-positioned.
Bring Cargo Card Flexibility
Bring Cargo has broken with tradition in set-up of its Trailer/Load Tracker, not requiring a pre-set header bar but deciding to use floating headers. This logistics specialist has created its top header plus an additional ‘header’ row mid-way across the virtual planner using actual t-cards to define column title, this being the actual port or other destination/arrival place. To simplify management of trailer movements Bring Cargo has a pre-defined colour code for each different type of trailer based around the colours available within the T Cards system, obviously green chosen for its own green trailer livery.
As trailer movements take place appropriate t-cards are opened, content up-dated to reflect change in trailer status and re-positioned to another column location using drag-and-drop. At Bring Cargo two persons have access to the Trailer Tracker board, each with their own unique login pass codes. The amount of change that can be made by either person depends on how the system has been configured.
The T Cards OnLine system has helped Bring Cargo deliver Nordic quality, speed and punctuality in the supply of cargo and parcel transport, warehousing and logistical services to the UK market.
