NorfolkLine

“Security in the Supply Chain”

Norfolkline Case study as featured in Logistics Business Magazine Feb / March 2005

Introduction

As with many other haulage companies over recent years, Norfolkline have become increasingly aware of the need to implement a track and trace solution for their large fleet of European trailers. Having studied the market since its conception in the early nineties, and worked with several fleet management companies during this period, only now did the technology prove mature enough to fully satisfy the demands of an organisation with a fleet of some 37000 trailers serving literally thousands of customers across mainland Europe. Clearly, with this type of business model, Norfolkline had massive potential cost savings in mind. However, these could easily be wiped out by deploying a system that either didn’t work adequately or reliably, was too expensive to run to make it justifiable or would be obsolete before the ROI had been achieved. Norfolkline had to address the same issues that face all hauliers that are seriously contemplating the roll out of a telematics solution - no matter how large or small the fleet – if now is the right time to jump on the merry go round I’d rather not jump on the one that makes me feel queasy after five minutes !

Dell contract – customer security

One of the most obvious areas for all hauliers to reduce costs and increase customer loyalty is by tracking abnormal or precious cargo. A good example of this is with Norfolkline’s contract to deliver Dell computers across Europe. Norfolkline recognise of course that no system can deter the most determined or accomplished thief, however the chosen system would not only need to have security built in as standard but also have enhanced features to cover precious cargo. Also of course it would need to pass rigorous testing to ensure reliability. There is no point in having the most secure system in the world that is only 95% reliable as you can guarantee when that £2m load will disappear!

Where’s my trailer – benefits to Norfolkline

Clearly the enhanced efficiencies and cost savings of deploying tracking solutions extend much further than simply monitoring precious loads. With the sheer scale of operation, even with the highest skilled workforce Norfolkline could not possibly be expected to keep tabs on such an enormous and diverse fleet without some mistakes or inefficiencies occuring. The underlying requirement was to deliver a good set of standard information to enable an overall slicker operation that deals with customers changing demands in a fraction of the time of conventional departments. Norfolkline have a diverse fleet of assets including tractor units, rigid trailers, curtain siders and reefers. Each part of the fleet would require significant changes both to the hardware installation and software configuration.

Temperature Monitoring
 
A key application for Norfolkline was the remote monitoring of temperatures in a niche area of their fleet ie the refrigerated trailers or reefers. AMS use a range of devices and technologies to monitor external sources such as temperatures dependant on the customer requirement. In this case, AMS monitor the physical powering on and off of the refrigeration generator using I/O sensors while at the same time RFID temperature sensors monitor the actual temperature inside the trailer. Alerts and reports were then tailored to Norfolkline’s and their customer’s needs. Using this system design allows for every eventuality and addresses all legal requirements enforced by the ministry.