LOGISTICS
LOGISTICS
C. H. Robinson rolls out rail service connecting China and Europe
MULTIMODAL transportation services and third-party logistics provider C. H. Robinson has launched a trans-Eurasian rail freight service between China and Europe. The new service offering connects nine origin terminals in China with eight destination cities in Europe.
“ The new rail line complements our air and ocean offerings, giving customers the ultimate in flexibility. It is for freight that requires faster transit times than ocean, at twice the speed, with substantial savings over air,” said Mike Short, president, Global Forwarding at C. H. Robinson. The new service is a convenient direct link to and from China’ s booming economic cities to multiple countries and destinations in Europe, he noted, adding:“ C. H. Robinson’ s strategic development of gateways in China gives customers more choice, along with exceptional service and competitive pricing.”
With the new routes, customers also have more sustainable service and wider coverage, according to C. H. Robinson as it offers empty container pick-up, collection at factories, customs declaration at origin, customs clearance and further pan-European distribution by intermodal and truck services at destination areas. Full block train, single or multiple containers, Less than Container Load( LCL) shipments and oversized cargo are available options.
John Chen, vice-president, C. H. Robinson Asia Global Forwarding, added:“ With trans-Eurasian rail service adding to our current ocean and air offerings, our customers could have more route choices and wider coverage from China to Europe. One Belt One Road is a top initiative for China. We are glad to support this with our customers.”
Each freight train requires 18-20 days to complete the tour between terminals in Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Yiwu, Xiamen, Shenzen and Guangzhou in China, with the cities of Melaszewicze, Hamburg, Duisburg, Milan, Tilburg, Lyon and Paris in Europe, and Barking in the UK.
Schnell Jeng, director, products and services of Asia Global Forwarding, added:“ In China, C. H. Robinson appoints Chongqing branch as national booking centre to optimise resources in cooperation with rail freight companies so as to enhance the service level. This new service extends the scope of the resources that C. H. Robinson is able to provide.” ra
Kuehne + Nagel launches digital platform for e-fulfilment centres
AS digitalisation and e-commerce are transforming warehousing and distribution, Kuehne + Nagel is launching its new global warehouse management system( WMS) KN SwiftLOG, a scalable platform with global reach, powered by market-leading JDA Warehouse Management.
Gianfranco Sgro, member of the managing board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, responsible for Contract Logistics, said:“ Consumer and business requirements are rapidly changing. Anticipating these trends, we constantly adapt the physical and logical organisation of our fulfilment centres and enhance our management warehouse systems. New key variables are process digitalisation, change in order profile, opportunistic inventory allocation and speed. Our customers will benefit from a state-of-the-art platform in the market, which is currently the most important
single investment in contract logistics at Kuehne + Nagel.”
Offering specific industry vertical templates, KN SwiftLOG will become the global standard of Kuehne + Nagel, upgrading more than 400 fulfilment centres across the world. The major advanced picking enhancement technologies and communication platforms to exchange data with the major e-commerce players are already embedded.
“ We are pleased to power KN SwiftLOG with our best-in-class JDA Warehouse Management solution, which is facilitating digital transformation for some of the most complex supply chain environments around the world,” said Girish Rishi, chief executive officer, JDA.“ JDA has a long track record of delivering warehouse management system( WMS) solutions for some of the most complex and variable warehouse
Digitalisation and e-commerce are transforming warehousing and distribution.
operations, including third-party logistics, food and beverage, consumer products, retail, and life sciences industries.”
The first implementation was successfully realised in China with an omni-channel distribution centre for a major fashion brand, Kuehne + Nagel revealed. ra
30 Retail Asia June / July 2018