In shipping it will rarely happen that you can load in the same harbour where the ship just offloaded, so there is a lot of traveling in ballast. This costs money and has to be reduced as much as possible.

Travelling in ballast – what do you mean? Empty?
Something missing here? – does not flow

This can only be done when you have a full overview of the activities and resources. So which employee or crew is where, when do they have to be exchanged, when should there be done any maintenance or certification on the ship, how many time is needed for loading, unloading etc.

All this information is needed to support the commercial department in making decisions, such as  ship selection and scheduling  But also for the Quality department, when is a ship taken to a dock, and where.

In maintenance (docking) location is important as in some areas in the world it is more expensive than others.

So, it is easy to save money, as it is clear where this can be done, the only restriction is that you need overview, and the details of all aspects that you are working with.

We gained experience in the container business through logistic projects for a large Dutch container company, creating a planning application for worldwide tactical and operational repositioning of empty containers.

Our software partner Quintiq used the experience to develop an Industry Solution for multi modal inland container transport. Optimizing use of all modalities of transport, combined with efficient empty repositioning of containers. See press announcement below.

’s-Hertogenbosch, March 8, 2007 – Software supplier Quintiq has developed an integrated planning solution with which transport companies can improve the management and control of container transport. Quintiq helps companies in this sector to optimise their use of containers, lower transportation costs and improve service levels. In addition, Quintiq focuses on lowering container stock and reducing the cost of transporting empty containers.

The Quintiq software supports tactical planning in which optimal empty container movements are calculated using periodical forecasts. The solution takes into account expected sales or transports, actual container stock, transportation cost, finite and infinite capacity and handling costs. The aim of the solution is to reduce the total cost of repositioning.

Quintiq also offers seamless integration between the planning of loaded and empty container flows. In this way Quintiq supports the intermodal transport of containers, enabling transporters to provide an optimal door-to-door service. As far as operational planning is concerned, the main concern is to reduce transportation costs by creating optimal trips. A transporter can combine transport orders (full containers) with empty container repositioning and so create a better balance between supply and demand.

With this solution Quintiq addresses the increasing complexity of container transportation. The variety of types of containers is steadily increasing, harbours are struggling with capacity, and transporters have to comply with a wide variety of rules and regulations. Container flows also go deeper into Europe, which especially affects the repositioning of containers and the dynamics of transportation and cost allocation.

“Our advanced planning technology is able to offer an integrated Supply Chain Management solution to the complex and dynamic container logistics market, offering all the required functionality, varying from strategic simulation software to event management,” says Arjen Heeres, COO at Quintiq. “Our customers say they need this more and more to reach their goals.”