Logistics company DHL Supply Chain is staging an augmented reality trial with one of its Australian customers as it assesses the productivity benefits that AR can deliver to warehouse operations.
The project, using smart glasses to aid ‘picking’ during order fulfillment, builds on a series of pilots the company has run in a number of other countries, according to Andrew Weyer, DHL Supply Chain vice president, information technology, Australia & New Zealand.
The decision to invest in AR is based on DHL Supply Chain’s assessment of the emerging technologies that comprise ‘Industry 4.0’, Weyer said.
DHL Supply Chain develops its own internal ‘hype cycle’ that assesses the trends likely to have the biggest impact on its business and then works with its vendors and customers in co-creation efforts to develop proof of concepts, he said.
In 2014, DHL Trend Research released a paper — Augmented Reality in Logistics — that identified potential AR use cases in three key areas across the logistics industry:
• Warehousing operations, including pick by vision and warehouse planning.
• Transportation optimisation, including ‘completeness checks’ (ensuring a pick-up load is complete), complying with international import and export regulations (easily assessing trade documentation for example), dynamic rerouting (sending new directions to a driver to optimise travel), and freight loading.
• Last-mile delivery (areas such as parcel loading and drop-off, last-metre navigation, and using augmented reality to boost delivery security through customer recognition).
For the company’s first major foray into AR it partnered with a customer — printer vendor Ricoh — and software company Ubimax.
The 2015 project used Google Glass and Vuzix headsets and involved a Ricoh warehouse in the Netherlands.
“It was a joint decision between us and Ricoh to say, ‘Let’s identify a new digital trend that we can bring into the facility and try to prove some benefits’,” Weyer said
The three-week pilot involved 10 staff equipped with head-mounted displays. During the pilot, they collectively picked more than 20,000 items and fulfilled 9000 orders.
The benefits were substantial, with the augmented reality headsets delivering a greater than 25 per cent productivity boost.
X, the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet and the new custodian of Glass, earlier this month announced the relaunch of the headset with a focus on the enterprise; DHL is one of the Glass customers X has highlighted.
In the wake of the Netherlands pilot, in August last year DHL Supply Chain announced it would expand the AR program across different industries and stage further trials in the Netherlands, the US and the UK.
“This is one of the things we do in the group: We prove something in one area, then we industrialise it and we try to extend it to other areas and leverage it as a standard solution,” Weyer said.
The scenario where AR has been found to deliver the most significant boost is where an individual warehouse worker is fulfilling multiple orders and making ‘less than carton’ picks, Weyer said.
Difficulty with obtaining Google Glass units in APAC has meant that in this region DHL has partnered with US technology company Vuzix. (Vuzix’s M100 and M300 smart glasses run on Google’s Android mobile platform.)
DHL Supply Chain has already staged a proof of concept in Japan with a major retail customer, Weyer said.“There were some challenges with the POC around the technology,” he said. One of them was the impact of latency between the server and the glasses units being used on the warehouse floor.
“Those problems have since been solved and we’re now looking at a circa 10 per cent productivity improvement from the glasses,” he said.
In Australia, DHL Supply Chain has kicked off a proof of concept with Canon.
“We’ve identified an area of their operations where they’re doing a multiple picking-type operation. We then looked at the [AR] solution and identified two areas we could optimise even further,” Weyer said.
Changes to the AR software have meant that the heads-up display is “more dynamic,” he said: “It automatically fits to the number of trolleys that you’re actually picking into.”
The other enhancement was that in addition to highlighting the container in which a worker should place the current item, a different colour is used to highlight the next tote box — meaning that in the case of any minor system latency, the employee is able to keep working.
The local project is entering user acceptance testing this week.
The Australian pilot will see vision picking directly compared against a manual picking operation, voice picking and RF picking to better assess the productivity improvements that AR can deliver.
The smart glass units will be directly connected to wireless networks in the warehouse operated by DHL Supply Chain.
In most of DHL Supply Chain’s facilities across Asia Pacific the company has already installed standard wireless access points to drive RF-based picking, Weyer explained.
RF picking involves equipping warehouse workers with wearable Wi-Fi-connected terminals that can direct them to the appropriate area of a facility and tell them the item and quantity needed to fulfil an order. The technology has proven particularly important in the pharmaceutical area, Weyer said.
“We’ve got quite a large life science and healthcare operation across a lot of the countries in APAC, especially in Australia,” Weyer explained. In Australia the company does about 80 per cent of the direct to pharmacy distribution of life science and health-care products, he added.
“That RF capability allows us to be more accurate. You’re dealing with patients’ lives: You need to make sure you’re picking the right batch, the right expiry date. You don’t want someone mistaking an R for a 1 or a zero for an O — because you’ve just mixed up a batch number. If I need to do a recall, I need to know where I can find that product; if I’m not using RF and I introduce human error.”
Weyer said that one benefit of the facility chosen for the AR pilot is that it’s managed by an operations maturity standard used globally by DHL Supply Chain. That means that a range of measures to assess warehouse productivity are already in place.
“That operations maturity standard introduces a whole lot of disciplines around the operation; kicking off with things like early morning performance dialogues — what do we need to achieve for the day, what are our KPIs, what are our SLAs, planning the resource allocations to different activities,” he said.
“We’ve got daily reporting on the current productivity and we’ve got daily dashboards that are running. As we put those different technologies in, we can actively understand the impact of them off the base that we’ve already got in place.”
| A DHL release || July 25, 2017 |||
KiwiRail’s efforts to keep freight moving around New Zealand following the Kaikoura earthquake saw it take home an Australasian Rail Industry Award in Sydney last night.
KiwiRail won the Freight Rail Excellence category in recognition of its response to the November 2016 earthquake, which severely damaged New Zealand’s road and rail networks in the upper South Island.
“In the earthquake’s immediate aftermath up to 50% of rail freight moved to road and coastal shipping,” says KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy.
“The earthquake was an unprecedented event and its impact on the national supply chain has been significant. It challenged us to find ways to continue to support our customers and to provide strategic resilience options in the event of aftershocks.
“KiwiRail took a leadership role in finding solutions to problems the earthquake caused.
“We quickly invested in a freight hub in the upper South Island to support domestic freight forwarders and secured coastal capacity with major shipping lines.
“We also worked with customers as well as local and central government to protect tourism flows around the country.
“These strategies are all designed to retain and protect long-term customer freight volumes until we are able to re-open the rail network.
“We’re looking forward to once again being able to offer our customers the option of moving their freight on the line.”
“The rebuild of the Main North Line has been the biggest rail project in the South Island since WWII, and we’d like to thank our customers for their support and patience over the last eight months.
“This award recognises the dedication and hard work of our team, led by Group General Manager Sales and Commercial Alan Piper.”
More than 80 nominations were received across 12 categories in this year’s Australasian Rail Industry Awards, which recognise outstanding achievements by individuals and organisations across Australia and New Zealand.
| A Kiwi Rail release || July 14, 2017 |||
New Zealand is a long way from the rest of the world. It takes three to four hours to fly from Auckland to the big eastern Australian cities; over half a day to reach the US West Coast or Southeast Asia; and most of a day to reach Europe.
Our geographic isolation has advantages – for instance, it’s easier to manage biosecurity controls to protect our local environment and agricultural exports – but also many economic costs. As the gravity model of trade predicts, countries that are further away from each other tend to trade less. In other words, our distance means that we aren’t selling as many goods and services to Europeans, Asians, Americans, and other people in general as we could, given New Zealanders’ relatively high skill and education levels, propensity to innovate given the right incentives, and generally reasonable policy settings. And, equally, we’re not buying as much from them as we could.
There are two reasons why this is a bad thing for our living standards:
First, exporting less means that there are fewer opportunities for New Zealand companies to ‘scale up’, which limits their productivity and their ability to successfully innovate. Result: Lower levels of economic productivity and lower incomes. Second, importing less means that many New Zealand businesses operate in ‘niches’ with little competition, which limits the pressure they face to lower prices or improve processes. Result: Higher prices that reduce what we can buy with our lower incomes.
We can’t do much about the physical distance – although . . .
| Continue reading the full article with images and supporting material on Greater Auckland || July 12, 2017 |||
The Waikato-Tainui owned Ruakura inland port development has taken a major step forward with the announcement today of a joint venture partnership with a world-class port operator.
The tribe’s commercial company Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) and LINX Cargo Care Group have joined forces to develop and operate the new port, which is currently under construction and expected to bring significant economic return to Waikato-Tainui and the region.
LINX Cargo Care Group and one of its subsidiaries, C3 Limited, New Zealand’s largest on-wharf logistics company, are owned by a Brookfield Consortium which brings together global experience in port operations and infrastructure development.
Rukumoana Schaafhausen, Chairman of the tribe’s executive committee Te Arataura, welcomed LINX Cargo Care Group to the Waikato-Tainui whaanau and acknowledged their mutual commitment to long-term investment.
“Waikato-Tainui is an inter-generational investor. What we achieve today will reverberate for generations of our mokopuna. LINX brings not only significant expertise in port development and operation but also a long-term vision that matches our view of the positive environmental, social and economic advantages that must and will come from this project,” she said.
TGH Chief Executive Chris Joblin said the conditional agreement reached this week will bring the full force of LINX Cargo Care Group’s world class experience to bear at Ruakura through a new joint venture to develop and operate the port.
“We are delighted to confirm this agreement with LINX Cargo Care Group following a comprehensive RFP process over the past ten months which attracted expressions of interest from seven potential port operators,” Mr Joblin said.
“LINX and C3 share our long-term vision to help transform North Island freight flows, driving new levels of productivity, efficiency and speed to market for the rapidly growing export and import community in the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga,” he said.
The 50/50 joint venture of TGH and LINX Cargo Care Group will take an initial 30 year lease on the inland port land at Ruakura, subject to the OIO (Overseas Investment Office) approval for the participation of LINX Cargo Care Group which operates extensively across Australia and New Zealand.
Waikato-Tainui will continue to own the land on which the Ruakura Inland Port is built, and benefit from ground lease payments for its use.
Anthony Jones, Group CEO for LINX Cargo Care Group and Chairman of C3 said the transformative nature of Ruakura was a major attraction.
“Ruakura will be transformational for the New Zealand logistical supply chain. It will offer stable, efficient and cost effective networks for importers and exporters to grow with confidence in the future. We are extremely excited to be part of this project for New Zealand’s North Island communities, which will deliver long-term benefits such as safer roads, employment opportunities and reliable inland transport networks,” he said.
In addition to the range of services Ruakura will provide to the region’s exporters and importers, it has the potential to support 6,000-12,000 jobs within the precinct once fully-built.
A Maori Television Online News Team release | June 28, 2017 |||
Gull NZ will continue business as usual despite Caltex’s acquisition.
Australian fuel retailer Caltex is all set to take over New Zealand fuel retail chain Gull, as part of its plans to expand its retail business.
The deal, worth $325 million, is now expected to be completed by July 3, after it received regulatory approval from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.
Under the terms of an agreement entered into in December 2016, the transaction will result in Caltex acquiring Gull’s Mount Maunganui import fuel terminal and retail operating assets.
According to Caltex, the acquisition will optimise its infrastructure position, build trading and shipping capability, grow the supply base and enhance the company’s retail fuel offering through low risk entry into a new market.
As part of the agreed terms of the transaction, Caltex will retain Gull’s brand, management and employees across the current newtwork of 78 Gull stores, and the six currently under construction.
A spokesperson for Gull said the company would be running business as usual, without changes or interruption to service.
Gull sells around 300ML of petrol and diesel fuels per year, representing five per cent of the New Zealand market.
Earlier this year Caltex received approval to purchase Victorian petrol and convenience retailer Milemaker and its 46 operating sites.
The $95 million Milemaker deal was finalised in May, with Caltex entering into long-term leases with an opt-out to 30 years.
Caltex chief executive Julian Segal said the Milemaker and Gull acquisitions were part of the company’s plan to mitigate the impact of losing its 13-year alliance with Woolworths, incurred after BP struck a $1.79 billion deal with the supermarket giant.
Mr Segal said the purchases would help transform Caltex from simply being a transport fuels provider, to grow into a larger convenience retail offering.
| A C-store release || June 27, 2017 |||
Napier Port continues to rely on Konecranes to further strengthen its important position on New Zealand’s North Island. In December 2017 six new lift trucks will be delivered to the terminal, situated in the rapidly growing Hawke’s Bay region.
The most recent order from Napier Port includes two Konecranes Liftace R 6-41 MS reach stackers, two Konecranes Liftace FDC 25 K7 DB empty container handlers, and lastly, two Konecranes Liftace FDC 480 G4 full container handlers. Another two FDC 480 G4 full container handlers have recently been put into operation in the terminal.
As the new reach stackers are foreseen to handle containers on both ship and rail side, Napier Port has deliberately opted for Liftace R 6-41 MS reach stackers. Being equipped with front side stabilizers, these machines feature up to 41 ton capacity in the second row and have a particularly low turning radius.
Warren Young, Container Operations Manager at Napier Port, explained:
“Our port is the logistic turnstile of the entire region. Technology from Konecranes has been a key element of our sustainable growth strategy and we are currently operating six Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbour cranes, four of which were delivered over the last four years. As these machines have become an integral part of our operation, it was logical to also opt for lift trucks from Konecranes. We are sure that relying on equipment and aftermarket support from one single supplier will enhance the efficiency of our operations.”
Tony Maxwell, Managing Director of Port Solution Ltd - distribution partner of Konecranes Lift Trucks concluded:
“Napier Port is situated in a region known as ‘the fruit bowl of New Zealand’ due to its high quality fruit production. The terminal is one of the country’s most important gateways to the world, with regard to both the export of goods such as food and timber, and the import of oil products, cement, fertilizers and general commodities, and Konecranes machines play a key role. In 2016, it was above all Napier’s container handling activities that grew significantly, and we are very pleased that this fast developping port decided to continue to benefit from Konecranes diversified offer.”
| A DryBulk release || June 21, 2017 |||
For the second year running, Ports of Auckland has been selected as a finalist for the Best Seaport in Oceania, the only New Zealand port to make it through to the finals.
Ports of Auckland was voted into the finals of Asia Cargo News' Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards by industry peers and customers.
In 2016, Auckland's port beat out three major Australian ports to win the category.
"It is fantastic to be chosen as one of the best seaports in the region by our industry peers for another year. Our people have been working hard for our customers, building strong relationships and ensuring we're doing our best to deliver the utmost value for them. This is well-deserved recognition for our team" said Ports of Auckland Chief Executive Tony Gibson.
This year, thousands of Asia Cargo News readers cast votes across award categories such as Best Seaport, Best Container Terminal and Best Airport; the latter counts fellow Kiwis, Auckland Airport, as a finalist. Asia Cargo News reported votes in the thousands – a record number of votes were submitted this year.
Like last year, Ports of Auckland is up against three major Australian ports to retain the award; Port of Brisbane, Port of Melbourne and Sydney Harbour. The awards will be held on June 29 in Singapore.
| A Ports of Auckland release ||| June 16, 2017 |||
Port Nelson’s QuayConnect wins Green Ribbon Award
Port Nelson is celebrating today after winning the coveted Resilience to Climate Change category in the national 2017 Green Ribbon Awards for its QuayConnect freight logistics model. The two other finalists were New Zealand Post and Sustainability Trust.
Motivated to reduce fuel consumption and energy use across the company and provide supply chain improvements for customers in the Marlborough wine industry, Port Nelson worked with trucking company Central Express Ltd (CEL), and primarily two 3PL customers - glass bottle manufacturer O-I New Zealand (NZ) and wine bottler WineWorks Marlborough - to set up QuayConnect in February 2016 as a smarter way of distributing goods.
QuayConnect’s model optimises import and export loads, with four dedicated truck and trailers working 24-hours a day moving dry goods (palletised glass wine bottles) from Port Nelson to Marlborough, and bottled wine back to Port Nelson from Marlborough. This compares with the traditional transport model where trucks travel empty on one leg of the journey from ship to producer and back.
Over its first year of operation QuayConnect has reduced truck journeys by more than half between Nelson and Marlborough, which has cut the time that trucks are on the road by 10,000 hours. In total, this sustainable transport model has saved 348,436 litres of fuel and 1,602 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in its first year.
Environment Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith, who presented the Green Ribbon Awards last night at a prestigious ceremony in Wellington, says he’s proud a Green Ribbon Award in the climate resilience category went to an organisation from the top of the South Island.
“I am hugely proud of Port Nelson’s Green Ribbon Award as both the local MP and Environment Minister. It shows the sort of practical and innovative initiatives that can make a real difference to the difficult problems of climate change.
“This transformative logistics model has made such a positive environmental impact in just its first year of operation,” Smith says. “It will be reassuring for wine producers using this award-winning distribution and storage service to know it aligns with their company’s own sustainable values. It sends a clear message to opponents of climate change initiatives, like President Trump, that such projects can make both business and environmental sense.
“Not only has QuayConnect reduced carbon emission levels, I also commend the team for QuayConnect’s critical role supporting New Zealand’s valuable wine sector following the aftermath of the Kaikoura earthquake,” he says.
Port Nelson CEO Martin Byrne says winning the Green Ribbon Award ahead of two other organisations working equally hard to reduce the impact of climate change is an incredible endorsement of the Port’s work.
“The significant difference QuayConnect has made to the wine transport sector’s energy output is hugely rewarding and we are enormously honoured to have won this award on behalf of the project’s collaborators,” Byrne says.
“CEL, WineWorks Marlborough and O-I NZ also deserve the win as QuayConnect is very much a collaborative service, with all involved investing and changing their processes to create a more efficient and sustainable model for the long-term,” he says.
Following the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, QuayConnect enabled Marlborough winemakers (who produce 75% of the country’s wine) with damaged infrastructure to quickly move their valuable wine to secure storage and onto their New Zealand and international customers through Port Nelson.
CEL Director Jason Millar says the reduction of trucks on the road through QuayConnect, despite the increase in freight on the Marlborough to Nelson route post-earthquake, is remarkable.
“To be involved in a logistics service that has reduced truck hours by 10,000 on a busy tourist and freight road in just its first year is fantastic,” Miller says. “It is an innovative approach to transport logistics and we know now that as the number of customers using QuayConnect increases, we will actually be reducing the number of trucks on the road.”
Wine bottler WineWorks’ Business Innovation Manager Jason Gluer says as a QuayConnect foundation customer he feels the Green Ribbon Award win is a well-deserved accolade for a logistics system that is making a radical reduction to the wine transport sector’s carbon emission levels.
“Port Nelson’s QuayConnect service allows us to handle an increased volume for our wine customers within the same physical footprint while reducing the number of vehicles coming into the facility,” Gluer says. “It is a win-win all round.”
Another QuayConnect foundation customer is O-I NZ. Julie Turnbull, Logistics Manager for O-I NZ says her company prioritises sustainable business practices in everything it does.
“As makers of glass, the world's most natural and sustainable packaging, O-I NZ has incorporated sustainability into our business practices for more than a century,” Turnbull says. “We are thrilled to have played a part in the development of a Green Ribbon Award-winning freight and logistics service QuayConnect, which will have ongoing environmental benefits for the transport sector.”
| A Port Nelson release || June 9, 2017 |||
Ports of Auckland has successfully moved two 1,100 tonne cranes to ready Fergusson Container Terminal for bigger ships and automation.
Fergusson Terminal has five cranes. The two older, smaller cranes were lifted off their rails so the three newer, larger cranes could be positioned at the north of the terminal, where they will be able to work bigger ships. This massive job was done in between customers at the busy terminal.
Ports of Auckland's CEO Tony Gibson paid tribute to the company's highly skilled engineering team who worked closely with crane manufacturing company ZPMC to carry out the project. "We run a very busy terminal, so getting this job done quickly and with minimum disruption to shipping was essential. It's a bit like doing knee surgery at half-time and then getting your player back on the field for the second half," he said.
The relocation means that the cranes are now positioned well to work on the bigger ships calling Auckland's port. This means a more efficient container terminal and a port that can cater to Auckland's growing freight demand.
"More people in Auckland means more imports and more shipping. This work is one part of our investment in the automation of our container terminal which will meet that growing demand. This phase of automation gives us enough capacity to handle the freight for an extra million people in Auckland – 30 to 40 years of capacity," says Mr Gibson.
Partial automation of the Fergusson container terminal will be a game-changer for Auckland's port, ensuring extra terminal capacity without reclamation. The technology will allow the port to handle up to 1.7 million TEU each year (1 TEU = 1 20ft container equivalent); enough to support an Auckland population of around 2.7 million. Future technology will give the port additional capacity to serve a regional population of 5 million – more than three times the current population.
| A POA release || May 31, 2017 |||
KiwiRail has moved to secure the future of the Cook Strait link by purchasing the Interislander ferry Kaitaki, the largest domestic passenger ferry operating in New Zealand. The ship had previously been leased.
“The Interislander fleet is the extension of SH1 across Cook Strait. Our ships are vital for tourism, and an important piece of the integrated transport network for freight, with road and rail working together to help drive New Zealand’s growth,” KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy says.
“We make up to 4000 sailings a year.
“Last financial year KiwiRail’s Interislander ferries carried more than 1 million net tonnes of freight, 83,000 commercial vehicles and 800,000 passengers.
“The ability to move large numbers of passengers across the strait is critical for KiwiRail’s tourism business, and for New Zealand’s tourism industry, which is the country’s largest earner of overseas funds.
“Nearly 190,000 people are directly employed in the tourism sector.
“Ensuring visitors are able to travel between the North Island and the South Island easily makes sure that the benefits – and the jobs – are spread through the country.
“The Kaitaki can carry up to 1350 passengers, more than the Aratere and the Kaiarahi combined.
“The ship had been leased from Irish Ferries, based in Dublin, but with the lease due to run out in 2020 there was no certainty that the ship would be available after that.
“There is a world-wide shortage of suitable secondhand ferries and heavy competition for those ships that are available, so the best option was to take up the opportunity to purchase the ferry.
“Interislander leased the Kaitaki in 2005, and it has proved itself on what can be a challenging route.
“KiwiRail has been working with the port companies to look at long-term plans for ships and terminals and this decision means that we have the time to make sure we get the best possible solution. Getting this right is important for both KiwiRail and New Zealand.
“Passengers and freight customers will not notice any change as a result of the purchase. The only difference is that the ship will be registered in New Zealand instead of Portsmouth.
“The Interislander team is dedicated to providing the very best of service both to our passengers and to those shipping freight across the strait. This purchase is an important part of doing that,” says Mr Reidy.
| A KIWI Rail release || May 17,2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242