Logistics firms turn to technology to improve services

Logistics companies in Kenya are installing software to improve cargo transportation in a bid to increase efficiency and cut costs.

With the new software cargo firms can plan delivery schedules, manage resources in real time and provide clients with comprehensive reports.

This follows the East Africa Logistics Performance Survey 2014 that ranked Kenya’s logistics sector as one of the two most inefficient in the region.

The country performed poorly on timely delivery of shipments, the competence and quality of logistics services, the percentage of shipments physically inspected, the transparency in conducting customs valuations and on conflict management in trade disputes.

The survey conducted by the Shippers Council of Kenya ranks Rwanda in top position, followed by Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya and Burundi are ranked at position four and five.

Leading global supply chain, shipping and freight logistics company DHL has developed a risk management software, DHL Resilience360, which allows customers to assess critical hot spots in their supply chains so that they can take steps to avoid supply disruptions.

“Resilience360 is a perfect example of the economic benefits of big data analytics in logistics. Aggregating and evaluating data safeguards improves the efficiency of supply chains,” explained Markus Kückelhaus, head of trend research at DHL.

Paragon software is another tool being used to improve efficiency and accountability.

It stores a wealth of information about planned schedules, customers, orders, fleet resources, service requirements and key performance indicators.

All this information can be reported on, at a detailed level, flagging up exceptions or delivering overall summaries as reports and charts.

Beacon Logistics, Freight Forwarders and Logistics, Siginon Logistics and DHL are among the logistic companies using this software in Kenya.

However, most logistics companies in East Africa use an open source programme, SA-FMS Logistics software solutions, which uses sensor-based process management to capture data on consignments, vehicle tracking and business performance, with the aim of lowering costs.