Time and again, raw material deliveries by truck cause blockades on plant premises and congestion on public roads due to seasonal fluctuations. This was also the case at the Jungbunzlauer site, one of the leading biotechnology companies in Lower Austria, where traffic on a busy federal highway was affected. Together with leogistics GmbH, the company implemented a yard management solution within six months to improve traffic on the roads outside, but also inside the yard. This included increasing transparency about people and truck presence on the plant premises and introducing a solution for registration and access control. In addition, truck turnaround times at the loading points were reduced.
JUNGBUNZLAUER
Jungbunzlauer is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of biodegradable natural ingredients. The company is headquartered in Switzerland with production facilities in Germany, France, Canada and Austria. Jungbunzlauer specializes in the production of citric acid, xanthan gum, gluconate, lactic acid, mineral salts, and specialties and sweeteners for food and beverage production, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, detergent, and industrial applications.
leogistics Solution Streamlines Yard Processes
In addition to the construction of a new parking lot with 58 truck parking spaces outside the plant, the shipping office was also moved outside and is now centrally accessible for truck dispatch. This significantly reduces congestion and blockages.
With the introduction of self-check-in through components of leogistics Yard Management, truck drivers can now register themselves at the terminals. The loading reference and the drivers’ agreement to the company’s safety instructions ensure a secure and robust process. Only registered persons are granted access to the site. The leogistics Transport Cockpit allows all events in the yard to be monitored and controlled at all times, while employees always have the option of actively intervening in the process.
Thanks to the implementation of the new solution, up to 4,000 tons of raw material can now be delivered per day, with the turnaround time for a delivery being less than five minutes. Dumping and unloading are carried out independently by the drivers. In addition, there is automatic weighing, documentation by camera, and finally sampling with automatic generation of an inspection lot in the connected ERP system. After the inspection lot has been checked, the barrier is opened, the vehicle enters the terminal, and the vehicle is unloaded. The check-out at the terminal concludes the process with the opening of the exit barrier after successful outgoing weighing including printing of the delivery papers.
As part of the enhancements for deliveries, the logistics processes in the area of by-products were optimized in parallel. The aim here was to achieve faster, partially automated processing of registration and loading. Thus, the shipping of all by-products generated in production is now included in the existing goods issue processing within this process.
Project advantages
- Minimal backups and blockages
- Reduction of truck throughput times (< 5 min)
- Increased transparency regarding the presence of people and trucks on the site, proactive intervention possible
- Self-registration including safety instructions for truck drivers through leogistics Yard Management solution
- Mapping and control of all processes in leogistics Yard Management solution
- Automatic weighing, documentation by camera with subsequent sampling
- Faster, partially automated processing of registration and loading in the by-products area
Extension of the goods issue solution to another warehouse
As part of another sub-project, the operational implementation of the logistics processes in the area of shipping was to be carried out for a newly built warehouse. Specifically, this involved the loading process for Xanthan and a three-gate warehouse that was integrated into the existing yard process.
Container deliveries are now handled by rail, with internal transfer of containers to the Xanthan loading point by internal trailer using components of leogistics Yard Management. This means that the containers can be registered, linked to the internal trailers and then retrieved in the warehouse by pager. The opening of the plant barriers also takes place via this. The containers at the loading point can then be loaded without waiting for the truck, with a message again appearing on the pager when final loading is complete. Finally, the trailer can be picked up and taken to the rail loading site.
We were impressed not only by the results, but above all by the way leogistics GmbH works. We wanted to make initial progress on the project quickly, which we succeeded in doing thanks to the pragmatic approach and good cooperation.
Agile project management and short implementation time
The first project at Jungbunzlauer in particular was characterized by an extremely short implementation time, which was realized in particular thanks to the efficient and agile project management of the team between the biotechnology manufacturer and leogistics GmbH. “We were convinced not only by the results, but above all by the way leogistics GmbH works. We wanted to make initial progress in the project quickly, and we succeeded thanks to the pragmatic approach and great cooperation,” says Hans Günther Wenk, CIO Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG. In addition to process analyses and documentation and the creation of a business blueprint with technical specifications, weekly status meetings and regular on-site appointments were also meticulously adhered to. leogistics’ own project methodology, leoprojects, ensured a smooth process without any subsequent changes, particularly through the intermediate feedback rounds. The final go-live finally took place exactly on the appointed day – a great success for the project partners.
With the implementation of the last production line, all processes are now mapped in the leogistics Yard Management solution and the Jungbunzlauer Austria AG yard is completely managed by the software. In order for the other Jungbunzlauer plants to also benefit from the automation, transparency and fast processing, the solution will be rolled out to other locations in the next step.
