Blog

Product Update: Shipment planning

October 4, 2022

The Ukrainian grain market has changed dramatically since the beginning of the war. Maritime routes were closed for a long time and the main burden of grain exports was taken by rail and auto logistics. It’s time to shine for the companies with logistics expertise, as well as those who used to work on CPT and DAP bases.

The main problem everyone is facing now: there is a heavy flow, many shipment directions, it is difficult to control everything. We have decided to help to improve this situation.

Previously, in order to schedule the shipments the logistician had to keep a large and complex Excel-file, which had to be updated and corrected every day, because the shipments happen every day and the situation changes very quickly. Not only that, but it affects further decisions, so one has to act quickly. But it is difficult to update it promptly, when Excel looks like this:

The problems that logisticians faced on a daily basis:

  • For each direction you need to create a plan of shipment, correctly specify all the data.
  • Calculate how many cars or trucks you need to deliver a certain volume.
  • Distribute these cars throughout the loading window.
  • When the first cars have been loaded, you have to correct the plan and redraw the whole month.
  • Constantly monitor how much is loaded, how much is left and if everything is correct.

What did we decide to do? Move this functionality into the system, simplify it and automate it:

As a result:

  • Shipment plan is created semi-automatically from the contract data, the logistician just need to control it.
  • The system groups plans under each contract and counterparty, simplifying their perception and control.
  • The system offers allocation of the plan by day independently.
  • The plan is linked to actual shipments from the system, so when there is a real shipment, it is immediately displayed and affects the plan.
  • The system highlights problematic or disputed items, making the logistician’s job easier.
  • The time spent on providing these functions has been reduced by 30-40%.

    Enjoy!