Many companies see warehouse automation as the ultmate solution to rising labor costs, fluctuating order volumes and increasing pressure to deliver faster. AGVs, shuttles, AS/RS and automated conveyors (and much more to choose from) promise higher productivity, fewer errors, and leaner operations.
With our team’s expertise across multiple supply chain domains, we are able to conduct a thorough assessment. We offer your organization the opportunity to carry out a high-level improvement scan for free that results in concrete improvement projects. Read here how and why we do this.
Building a new distribution center? Automating with AMRs or AutoStore? Or redesigning your entire supply chain?
Investing in logistics projects is often strategic and can be complex. With a logistics feasibility study or logistics business case, you lay the foundation for the right decision. But how do you ensure such a study truly adds value?
Here are 5 practical tips from our experience at 4Supplychain.
When Darryll Klein Koerkamp was finishing his Master’s in Industrial Engineering and Management, he started his career at 4Supplychain with a graduation project. Now, nearly two years later – more than a year of which as a full-time supply chain consultant – he looks back on his development with great enthusiasm. “I didn’t expect to be given so much responsibility so quickly. The chance to truly contribute from the very beginning made the work both challenging and motivating.”
In today’s fast-paced global business environment, companies often rely on third-party logistics (3PL) providers to streamline their supply chain operations. 3PL providers offer a range of services, including transportation, warehousing, and distribution, allowing businesses to focus on their core competencies.
In a world of increasing complexity and tighter margins, making optimal supply chain decisions is critical. Traditional decision-making, relying on manual analyses and intuition, often leads to inefficiencies, excessive costs, and unnecessary complexity. However, modern techniques now place the powerful capabilities of Linear Programming (LP) optimization within reach for virtually all organizations, large or small.
A globally operating B2B lighting manufacturer, with its European headquarters in the Netherlands, was struggling with a combination of performance-suppressing factors: high inventory levels, a backlog of undelivered orders, and high logistics costs. The core of the problem consisted of several elements: lack of visibility in demand planning, low maturity of the S&OP process, limited use of the S&OP tool (Optimact), and the need to build up the planning organization.
The supply chain is at the top of the agenda of many CEO’s. The disruptive impact of Covid-19, port congestions, the war in Ukraine and inflation have all put reliability of supply in danger. Realism tells us that before trendy concepts such as digitalization, big data, digital twin and artificial intelligence start helping us to overcome these challenges, we need to bring a solid S&OP process into place as a fundament to build advance capabilities upon. This is a step by step guide how to build your S&OP process.
Investments in Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) software has been booming since the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In times of supply chain disruption, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) can bring peace of mind. 4Supplychain was asked to help a client make choices and make the organization work better together. Our client was facing huge market challenges and wanted to get a better grip on their inventory and logistics costs through sales and purchasing planning.
A fast-growing Belgian producer of bakery products was faced with the temporary absence of an important employee. The timing was exciting, because the company was facing a change process at that time, including several newly formed teams. 4Supplychain Consulting was asked to fill the interim position. Jens Michaelis got to work on the challenges in the field of supply chain planning and services.
Companies in EU are facing high logistic costs due to factors like higher fuel prices, labor shortages, and stricter emissions standards. However, optimizing order volumes can lead to significant savings, up to 82%. By analyzing order patterns, leveraging gain-share models between you and your customers, and adjusting operational processes, significant cost savings can be achieved while maintaining or even improving service levels.
As companies establish sustainability agendas, supply chain managers now face a new objective: carbon impact. But how can they ensure they’re meeting carbon goals and regulations? How will they choose production locations beyond just cost? S&OP already offers a strong framework for evaluating business scenarios, so why not incorporate CO2 metrics into the process? This article will explore how that could work in practice.
The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is driving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting across every industry. However, there’s another compelling reason to closely examine CSRD: it introduces a completely innovative ESG reporting framework.
As sustainability becomes increasingly crucial, businesses are prioritizing green capabilities in their recruitment strategies. This focus will enable companies to meet regulatory and consumer demands but also enhances company reputation and long-term success. This article explores how to reshape recruitment for sustainable success.
In the Netherlands, many B2C companies, including PostNL, DHL, Instabee, Ikea, and Picnic, are electrifying their last-mile operations. Despite Dutch legislation not mandating this and the constraints of electric vans, such as limited range and longer charging times, these companies find benefits in electrification. This article explores the financial, operational, and reputational advantages driving this trend.
The grid infrastructure in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK no longer has the transportation capacity to support energy demand; a problem with a long-term impact, as it could take another 5 to 7 years before the power grid is sufficiently re-enforced (1, 2).
Amsterdam-based Yumeko, a manufacturer of sustainable bed and bath linens, sought 4Supplychain’s help to find a larger, more sustainable logistics service provider for its European expansion. Paul Hehenkamp and Jens Michaelis assisted CFO Simone Lamme and purchasing manager Katinka Davy throughout the process.
One of the world’s larger steel producers needed a more precise alignment of production capacity and sales planning and approached 4Supplychain Consulting. Olivier Berghuis and Valerio Guastella took up this international challenge.
A major Dutch importer of spirits set out to expand into Belgium and France. A promising move, if their successful 20-year track record in the Netherlands was anything to judge by.
One of our clients, a large producer of margarine- and dough-products, struggled every year towards the Christmas period with the problem that production could not be fully adapted to the Christmas seasonal peaks. In too many cases, customer orders could not be fulfilled in time.
The labor market is extremely tight these days. Many businesses are losing growth due to lack of human resources. Also in the logistics industry, the challenge to find good people can be felt.
From 2024* around 49.000 companies in the EU are required to report their emissions.
‘In the supply chain, the results of your work are tangible from the word go, which has always fascinated me.’
The corona pandemic forced vaccine manufacturers around the world to act very quickly in a very short period of time.
One of our clients, an international furniture solutions provider, had acquired an existing but much larger warehouse to move to as a result of continued growth and wanted to optimise the layout.
