Endress+Hauser optimizes global logistics with a control tower
Endress+Hauser has re-insourced the management of its global distribution logistics - with a control tower strategy that relies on the transportation management system from AEB.
Challenge
“We wanted more than just a reactive control tower to deal with exceptions: We wanted to create something proactive and agile.”
Sonja Kick, Head of Global Logistics Operations Center
Endress+Hauser used to have its transport logistics managed by a fourth-party logistics provider (4PL). But faced with growing complexity and volatility, the family-owned enterprise decided to re-insource this critical function, opening a Global Logistics Operations Center (G-LOC) in Ireland.
“We wanted more than just a reactive control tower to deal with exceptions: We wanted to create something proactive and agile, something that would detect and resolve incidents and disruptions so early on that our internal and external customers would not experience any hiccups at all in the delivery process,” explains Sonja Kick, Head of G-LOC. The idea was also to boost efficiency, unleash innovative capacity, and further optimize the supply chain performance, logistics network, and process flows.
The new team is supported by a control tower strategy that relies on the transportation management system (TMS) from AEB, the Stuttgart-based technology company whose software is already being deployed for warehouse and hub operations.
The TMS also supports operational transport logistics, from selecting and booking the right carrier to checking incoming freight invoices and billing. “We need to be fast. We can't afford any manual processes. And we need to be able to keep an eye on real-time performance and costs,” explains Sonja Kick.
The TMS is seamlessly integrated with Endress+Hauser's SAP environment, interacting with the ERP system to get not only the delivery note with the delivery date confirmation but also the corresponding order and invoice data. The AEB software organizes the necessary logistics processes, from production to final delivery.
Operations, monitoring, and control - all in a single platform
The AEB TMS now manages not only operations but monitoring and control as well. This allows the Global Logistics Operations Center to watch over its worldwide transports and intervene whenever disruptions, errors, and change requests arise. An incorrect customer address, a missing document, a parcel service paralyzed by strikes, quality issues with a transport partner, a revised delivery date for a customer order - it's all visible from the control tower.
“We give our customers a delivery date confirmation very early on. No matter what happens, we strive to stick to that date,” Sonja Kick affirms. “Quality is always our top priority - more important than cost.”
Some two dozen giant monitors in the G-LOC track real-time activities throughout the network and in all worldwide hubs. The AEB software lets employees zero in on the details of any individual shipment, generate suggestions for rescheduling, and use the system intelligence to plot the right course of action. There's even a dedicated app - so sales agents in the field can see the status of a shipment, for example.
The G-LOC is also responsible for setting up the processes for fully automated transportation management. If a new hub comes online, for example, the logistics experts can decide which delivery regions, customers, and hubs are supplied by which transport partner based on the type of shipment. Decisions depend on price, transport time, service, and other criteria that can easily be fine-tuned in the AEB TMS whenever necessary.
Selected features of the AEB TMS at Endress+Hauser:
- Documents: PODs, delivery notes, invoices, air waybills, and much more - automatically shared with partners, brokers, and forwarders
- Freight simulations: To calculate the consequences of changing forwarders, accepting a new proposal, etc.
- Consolidation: Automatic combination and consolidation of delivery notes to cut costs and emissions
- Freight invoice auditing: Incoming forwarder invoices automatically synced with the negotiated fees for a shipment
- Dedicated app: Lets air freight forwarders have their own app to consolidate delivery notes into consignments, helping Endress+Hauser plan and take advantage of available cargo space more effectively
- Multilingual support: Lets forwarders print address data in Chinese for customers in China and in the appropriate European language for warehouse workers in Europe, for example
- Comprehensive carrier network: All transport service providers directly and fully integrated via EDI into the AEB TMS and validated for every shipment, including hazardous goods
Result
The Global Logistics Operations Center has been in operation since 2022. “Getting up and running was a challenge,” recalls Sonja Kick. “I had to recruit and onboard a brand-new team in the space of just a few months.” Lockdowns and cyberattacks at our transport partners also made the go-live more difficult. “It was definitely not a textbook project. But thanks to the support of the AEB team and the software, we managed to stick to our schedule.”
The Head of G-LOC is pleased with the end result: “Managing our logistics processes in house is the key to gaining the agility and visibility we need to optimize service levels, costs, and sustainability. Our control tower strategy based on the AEB transportation management system helped us achieve these goals.”
And that pays off. Whether it's supply bottlenecks for electronic components, Covid-related port closures, a shortage of cargo capacity between Europe and Asia, or disruptions along key commercial corridors: Endress+Hauser's logistics proved resilient even under difficult conditions thanks to exceptional supply chain performance, enabling the Swiss group to gain significant market share.
“Managing our logistics processes in house is the key to gaining the agility and visibility we need to optimize service levels, costs, and sustainability. Our control tower strategy based on the AEB TMS helped us achieve these goals.”
Sonja Kick, Head of Global Logistics Operations Center
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About Endress+Hauser
Supply chain performance is a top priority at Endress+Hauser. This clear focus guides the Swiss industry giant, with headquarters in Reinach outside Basel and 16,500 employees worldwide, in the organization of its global flow of goods. A monumental undertaking, given that the corporate group has footholds in 120 countries and manages some half a million shipments each year to its various distributors, representatives, and customers. Underlying all this is a supply chain network comprising 35 production facilities, 11 distribution hubs, and numerous transshipment warehouses - all serviced by over 100 transport partners.