Transvision Concrete Planner Improving efficiency within ready-mix concrete distribution TRANSVISION concrete PLANNER is a revolutionary standardised system developed specifically to optimise the distribution of ready-mix concrete in real time through event-driven, incremental planning facilities. Transvision Concrete Planner enables major cost savings in your ready-mix concrete distribution and increases your control of the operational complexity by providing a better overview of the process. The system decreases planning time dramatically and assists you in improving your customer service and distributional agility.
Ready-mix concrete distribution optimisation THE DISTRIBUTION OF READY-MIX concrete is among the most demanding tasks within the transport industry. In general, the challenge is enormous. Issues like precision, variability, tight time windows and high operational pace all contribute to the complexity. Particularly important in this connection is timing: The short lifespan of ready-mix concrete poses a great challenge to the planning abilities of the distributor. Moreover, batch planning is practically unfeasible in the ready-mix industry. For instance, predictions as regards quantities, unloading and driving times, delivery pace, etc. are often inaccurate, resulting in many last-minute orders, delays and order changes. In such a dynamic environment, it is crucial that distributors are able to react quickly to all unforeseen events. Within this highly competitive industry, the product itself is not sufficient for a company to stand out; it must distinguish itself in other ways to truly gain market share. One way is to compete on price, another to provide better customer service, for instance in the form of delivery accuracy and order flexibility. In this connection, an efficient, high-quality planning system is invaluable. Activities related to transport are major cost burdens, and the potential for improving the efficiency of ready-mix distribution is very large. Savings in this area have a direct impact on company margins. It is therefore essential to find the right tools for optimising the distribution fleet. Transvision concrete planner is a sophisticated, automatic and easy-to-use IT system which covers the entire distribution planning process for ready-mix concrete companies. The system has a high level of industryspecific functionality and configuration options, making it highly capable of handling the complex distribution challenges of the ready-mix concrete industry. Thus, Transvision Concrete Planner contributes to significant improvements in the following areas: Distribution accuracy and steady flow in deliveries; choice of production plants and vehicles; resource sharing between plants; capacity utilisation and planning of production; and handling of pickup, pump and PUMI orders. Moreover, the system represents a state-of-the-art enterprise solution, which features key elements of SOA technology and distributed architecture, as well as multi-user access, scalability, advanced security and much more. Transvision Concrete Planner can even be set up to handle the planning of the inbound transportation of aggregates and cement as a fully integrated supply chain planning system. The aggregate and cement divisions are provided with a comprehensive overview of the ready-mix plants present and forecasted output. On this basis, the system automatically generates deliveries according to the minimum and maximum required stock levels at each plant.
Benefits and savings BENEFITS By using Transvision Concrete Planner, ready-mix concrete companies can streamline internal work flow considerably and achieve significant savings on transportation costs. Companies normally experience the following benefits: An increase in the number of delivered loads per vehicle by 10-20% A striking improvement in customer service levels, including the ability to meet tight time windows TRANSVISION HAS 30 YEARS of experience in developing and implementing advanced, automated planning systems. The company is the leading provider of planning systems in Scandinavia, and this position is now expanded internationally through the promotion of superior industry-specific planning systems. Transvision Concrete Planner is based on Transvision s standardised system platform, which has been expanded with a ready-mix-specific functionality. Founded on an extensive knowledge of ready-mix concrete distribution, Transvision keeps refining Transvision Concrete Planner to consolidate its position as the industry s most advanced planning and optimisation system. Between 25 and 50% less time spent on planning and resource scheduling Time spent on registration and follow-up reduced by 30-60% An overall reduction in operational costs by 5-15% Significantly increased employee satisfaction due to a stress-free planning and order-taking environment Transvision constantly strives to raise the bar and is continuously inspired by our customers to further develop the system s algorithms, functionality and overall performance. Consequently, the profitability and business value of our customers continue to grow.
Transvision Concrete Planner Tranvision concrete planner is a comprehensive enterprise system which integrates seamlessly with both ERP systems, mobile devices and ready-mix batching systems. This ensures optimum communication between all process constituents and a smooth operational flow throughout. On top of this, the system s functionality and user interfaces are widely configurable, resulting in a high degree of customisation and user-friendliness. As an enterprise solution, the system also constitutes a true client-server platform, which allows multiple planners to access and process the same data simultaneously. Other client-server features of Transvision Concrete Planner include Citrix compatibility and role-based access control. The high level of integration and interaction makes Transvision Concrete Planner ideal for dynamic and incremental planning, as it facilitates real-time and event-based resource scheduling and re-optimisation. In this regard, the system s unique Gantt chart is extremely useful, providing a comprehensive visual overview of all relevant data concerning vehicles, drivers, terminals, and planned and delivered loads. POWERFUL concrete FEATURES In order to handle the special demands within ready-mix concrete distribution, the system is equipped with unique features such as: Automatic splitting of sales orders into delivery loads for parallel or sequential delivery Planning across plants and sharing of vehicles Warning of too many vehicles on site Distribution of loads among vehicles according to qualifications, cost profiles and availability Ability to handle pumps, PUMIs and orders combining ready-mix and pumps Parameters ensuring a steady flow of loads (shuttle delivery, time between loads, or cubic metres per hour) Handling of alternative capacities and loading times Forecasting of detailed plans in order to calculate raw material consumption The many features and modelling opportunities make it possible to perform very valuable optimisation which covers important aspects of ready-mix distribution. ADVANCED PLANNING ALGORITHMS Transvision Concrete Planner uses powerful planning algorithms which are tailored for the ready-mix concrete industry. The planning algorithms are designed to react quickly and effectively to order changes and delivery updates second by second. The resulting functionality is ideal for the execution of incremental planning, scheduling and optimisation in real time. The high-quality algorithms make it possible to take quick and qualified planning decisions when delays and unforeseen events emerge. By utilising the power of the algorithms, planners are able to secure a steady and timely flow of delivery while improving the deployment of resources and prioritising deliveries according to service agreements. The most popular planning restrictions and optimisation criteria can easily be accessed and changed by the planner. In addition, comprehensive configuration facilities make it possible for e.g. super-users to customise the planning in detail.
Easily integrated planning Transvision concrete planner is designed to cover the entire planning cycle of ready-mix concrete distribution, ranging from order entry (interacting closely with the ERP system), through planning and execution, to the delivery of operational data for follow-up. AS SHOWN IN THE ILLUSTRATION, Transvision Concrete Planner features strong planning facilities for the following: Order booking: Receiving sales orders, splitting them into loads, and checking capacities without locking the plan Resource scheduling: Providing overview of resources and facilitating the management of these according to need and availability Order Booking Operational planning: Performing incremental planning and inserting new orders, both automatically and via manual drag-and-drop What-if scenarios Follow-up Transvision Concrete Planner Resource scheduling Operational planning Execution: Real-time monitoring of the operation, fast handling of lastminute and changed orders, real-time re-optimisation, and data collection from trucks Follow-up: Supplying collected data for reporting, e.g. invoicing, statistics and self-billing What-if scenarios: Simulating consequences of relocating plants, using different vehicle types, etc. All planning levels are approached in an integrated way, which creates an allembracing planning environment tailored directly for the planning processes within ready-mix distribution. Execution
Advanced distribution optimisation ORDER BOOKING Transvision Concrete Planner is closely integrated with the ERP system. When an order is received, the system automatically splits up the order and assesses the capacity according to geocoding and ordered good type. In doing so, it is possible to plan it and give a precise answer regarding time of delivery while efficiently linking the order-taking process with distribution and production. On top of this, the system is ideal for time-slotting services. As a consequence of its client-server design, the system supports both centralised and decentralised planning. Planners can therefore be positioned at one or several locations, depending on the preferred organisational structure. Moreover, the system s service-oriented architecture either allows it to merge order-taking and distribution planning into one platform or to keep these roles separate. OPERATIONAL PLANNING Transvision Concrete Planner is particularly well suited for incremental planning, in which plans are continuously optimised while new orders are received and inserted. The system is capable of planning with a wide range of parameters relating to vehicles, customers, terminals, etc., taking both costs and restrictions into consideration. The system embraces both automatic and manual planning: It can perform continuous automatic background optimisation and at the same time allow planners to modify the plan manually by dragging-and-dropping orders in the Gantt chart. This makes it possible for system and planners to interact closely, thus forming a strong basis for the creation of optimal plans. Any change to the plan prompts an automatic consequence calculation dialogue box, providing the user with an instant overview of KPI consequences and possible restriction violations. RESOURCE SCHEDULING The Gantt chart in Transvision Concrete Planner provides an excellent overview of the resources available for the operation. Each resource is assigned a standard resource calendar, which specifies the availability of the resource as regards working time, qualifications, district, etc. When orders are received or time-slotted, they are booked directly against the scheduled resources. However, changes often occur: More or fewer orders than expected may be placed, vehicles can be in for repair, and drivers may be off sick or on holiday. Transvision Concrete Planner provides a strong platform for monitoring and dealing with such variations in resource demand and availability. Furthermore, orders may be assigned virtual resources in the Gantt chart to estimate capacity requirements. In this way, adjustments in the available resources can be made quickly, both before and during the actual operation.
Optimising in real time REAL-TIME PLAN EXECUTION Transvision Concrete Planner is a true real-time planning system which reoptimises ready-mix distribution from second to second as delays occur and last-minute orders and unforeseen events emerge. The system makes it possible to monitor and keep track of the distribution, e.g. delivered versus not yet delivered loads, which is crucial for a smooth operation. The system can be integrated with the mobile unit in the truck. Consequently, loads can be sent to the driver, and status messages as well as GPS positions can be returned to the system. The geofencing functionality of the GPS informs the planners of a truck s expected arrival time at a plant, making it possible to adjust the production of ready-mix concrete accordingly and thereby secure timely pickups and, more importantly, just-in-time deliveries. This powerful functionality makes Transvision Concrete Planner a highly dynamic, real-time-based dispatch system, offering full control of a hectic operation. DISTRIBUTION FOLLOW-UP Through its real-time connectivity to the trucks, Transvision Concrete Planner will collect all transport KPIs from the source and merge these with the system s own planning KPI calculations, thereby creating an excellent platform for analysis and follow-up. All data is stored in Transvision Concrete Planner and may instantly be supplied for any kind of post treatment. Data may for instance be used for invoicing (including potential waiting time payment), analysing order handling time, evaluating customer service fulfilment, payment of drivers, and selfbilling in connection with external contractors. Such data is valuable as management information and as a basis for fine-tuning and calibrating the Transvision Concrete Planner s planning model and parameters. The collected KPIs can be analysed in the system s built-in report facilities or exported to a data warehouse or an ERP system for further data analysis. WHAT-IF SIMULATIONS Transvision Concrete Planner constitutes a solid basis for building and comparing different what-if scenarios. This makes it easy to test and evaluate the results of planning scenarios reflecting different strategies, policies and legislation. Examples of different planning scenarios could be: Varying the type and number of ready-mix vehicles; assessing the optimal placement and number of production plants; considering internal versus external vehicles; using different service levels, etc. Moreover, new long-term investment scenarios reflecting strategic initiatives can be evaluated with detailed KPIs and customer service level indications.
TRANSVISION concrete PLANNER Handling the distribution of ready-mix concrete is a demanding and highly challenging task, and the complexity of the industry involves a considerable potential for improving efficiency and achieving savings. To assist ready-mix companies in obtaining this, Transvision has, based on years of experience, developed Transvision Concrete Planner a cutting-edge planning system for ready-mix concrete distribution. The system is capable of handling the industry-specific distribution challenges which the ready-mix concrete industry faces. Moreover, the system covers the full planning process, including order booking, resource scheduling, operational planning, execution and real-time optimisation, follow-up, and strategic what-if scenarios. Transvision Concrete Planner is equipped with a range of powerful optimisation algorithms tailored for the industry. These algorithms can carry out efficient planning with a large number of last-minute orders, delays and order changes, while securing a steady flow of delivery and an optimal utilisation of resources. With Transvision Concrete Planner, ready-mix concrete companies will be able to improve their overall distribution efficiency. Specifically, they will be able to increase the number of delivered loads per vehicle by 10-20% and improve their competitiveness through more accurate deliveries and better customer service. Transvision A/S Hejrevej 34 D, 3. DK-2400 Copenhagen Denmark Tel: +45 8888 8787 Fax: +45 2817 8781 info@transvision.eu www.transvision.eu