Intercontinental Rail

We monitor the shipment continuously from end to end. In Maersk we monitor via GPS trackers along the whole route (both for FCL and LCL).

Real time alerts based on combination of business rules.

GPS and multi-sensor tracking able to provide:

Standard version

• Location
• Temperature and Humidity
• Shock
• Light exposure
• Pressure

Light version

• Location
• Temperature
• Light exposure

This shoe box example is a good illustration of the different modes of transport and especially the lower costs and emission when compared with Air.  This allow the customer with flexibility to choose the transport mode that’s fits their needs.

The challenge

Faced with a number of challenges for moving their products efficiently and securely from Europe to Asia, this prominent manufacturer of milk powder goods approached Maersk to find a solution that would help them keep their shipments on track and on time. The customer’s key challenges include:

• Delays to Eastbound vessels: The customer’s vessels were often delayed for days at a time, occasionally stretching an initial 30-day transit to 50 days. Since Eastbound routes are not a core service for many carriers, the customer often struggled with availability issues.
• Difficulty securing vessel space: The carriers also rolled the customer’s booked cargo to make way for empty containers on their vessels. With carriers needing space in the East for new Westbound bookings (a priority service for carriers), this had an adverse effect on the customer’s operations.
• Airfreight too expensive: Although the customer used Air freight, this was not viewed as a permanent fix. Due to the heavy weight of their goods, Air freight proved too expensive as a sustainable transportation option.

The solution

Maersk proposed a Rail solution, that was a reliable and speedy alternative to Ocean freight but also a more cost-effective alternative to Air freight. The rail solution meant we could offer the customer greater predictability and shorter lead times on their goods.

With our tailored solutions, the cargo was transported to the customer’s end destination in 5 steps:

1. The cargo was first loaded in a bonded truck and transported to our warehouse in Belgium.
2. The truck was unloaded at the warehouse, sorted and loaded into a container.
3. The cargo was then dropped at the rail head and loaded onto a train in Germany.
4. On arrival at the railhead in China, the cargo was offloaded.
5. Finally, the cargo was loaded into a bonded truck and delivered to its final destination.

Active GPS trackers were installed in the containers along the entire route as the cargo moved from origin to destination.

This offered the customer detailed insights on the location of their containers at all times, giving them peace of mind on the timely delivery of their goods as well as the safety, security and temperature of their cargo.

The result

• The customer now has a successful alternative to Ocean freight, where space for cargo is accessible.
• Shipments are not rolled.
• The customer’s speed to market has improved, with shorter transit times compared to those achieved with Ocean transportation.

The customer

The customer is a leading producer of powdered milk for infants and babies. Based in Western Europe, the company mainly exports their milk powder products to large markets in China, Hong Kong and to some Middle Eastern countries.

Greater flexibility, reduced transit times and lower costs for automotive industry suppliers.

The challenge

Our customer, one of Europe’s most renowned manufacturers of powertrain components, requested Maersk’s expertise to help them address a number of challenges. Apart from facing extremely limited weekly departure options, the customer also had to contend with a combination of long transit times for their ocean freight and high costs for airfreight.

As with many manufactures that produce goods on a daily basis, it is essential for our customer to ensure that their stock is out and being transported as swiftly as possible to its way to various destinations. However, a lack of suitable departure options made the situation unusually challenging, leading to increased pressure on their stock as well as an increase in storage fees. And with long Europe to China ocean transit times of up to one month, the company’s ability to meet transit time requirements was also compromised. The company therefore had to use air freight services as a key mode of transport for urgent cargo. But with associated costs 3-4 times higher than that of ocean transport, they needed to find a more cost-effective solution.

The solution

Maersk addressed these challenges by proposing and developing a reliable, fast, rail solution as an alternative to ocean. By offering a service with greater cost effectiveness than air freight, the solution ensures our customer has improved predictability and shorter lead times. The solution we defined comprises:

• Monthly “departures card” for multi-modal transport with transit time. This provides the company with multiple alternative departure options that help reduce their inventory at buffer points and minimize their storage costs.
• A single point of contact for all modes of transport to expedite the communication process. This also offers seamless coordination between operational teams across the globe.
• 24-hour service for rail between containers located at the customer’s premises and the rail cut-off time. This ensures the company has more time for information confirmation and reduces the risks when a swift change to other methods of transportation is required.

The result

As a direct result of implementing the rail solution, the company is already reaping the benefits of having access to alternative departure points. This includes:

• A significant increase in departure flexibility due to the availability of alternative departure options
• Cargo stock that is well managed with storage costs significantly reduced
• Accessible transit times and flexibility when switching transportation modes due to the multimodal nature of the offering
• A simplified, lean operation process and single contact matrix

The customer

Our customer is an independent full-system supplier of fuel efficient powertrains. With over 40 years of experience in the production of continuous variable transmissions (CVTs), they also offer electric powertrains for new energy vehicles (NEVs) such as plugin hybrids (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as for dual clutch transmission (DCT) vehicles.

Maersk has worked closely with the customer since 2015, providing them with multi-modal transport via regular shipments from Europe to China.