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Agarwal Movers changes the face of surface logistics with the Trucking Cube
At the heart of all logistics management lie three key questions: “Where are the goods?”, “When will the goods arrive?” and more importantly, “How the goods are being moved?”
One of the biggest challenge confronting both household and corporate customers when it comes to transportation of their goods, is transshipment.
Transshipment or the transfer of shipment from one conveyance to another in transit exposes the cargo to a greater probability of loss or damage. For example, pharma and food products are at a risk of losing their effectiveness even before their expiry date.
Consumers as well as brands expect a secure and dedicated space for their cargo so that the shipment reaches the destination without getting transshipped on the route.
“It was during our interactions with customers that we realized the urgent need to find a permanent solution for transshipment,” says Ramesh Agarwal, Chairman, Agarwal Packers and Movers (APM).
An extensive research was carried out by APM’s R & D team to change the scenario by integrating technology with an out-of-the-box idea and hit the road with an innovative solution.
Trucking Cube: Insignia of zero transshipment
APM launched a service to offer safe-delivery of goods with zero transhipment and zero loss to its household and commercial customers. The cube is a personalized container for a client for shipping his cargo from one place to another without any transshipment. It comes in various sizes and can be customized as per the client’s needs, ranging from 4 feet to 20 feet.
Key technologies driving this end-to-end visibility is centred around global positioning systems (GPS) for tracking movement; sensors; radio frequency identification (RFID); and an accompanying layer of software for information management, data storage, display, control and communications.
“All our trucks are GPS enabled and all the cubes have RFID tags. The full bouquet of RFID tags, GPS solution and a range of sensors provide real time information to the company. This helps in taking pre-emptive action in case of any emergency,” says Raj Aggarwal, Independent Director & IT Consultant at APM.
In case of a breakdown, only the cube is transshipped and not the goods as they are securely locked at the origin. In addition, the cube can be transported by another vehicle without transshipment. As a result, multiple handling of goods in transit has been reduced to zero.
“There is a 25 percent reduction in packaging cost - on account of low ply required. With 100 percent online consignment tracking through GPS, a customer now has complete visibility into their cargo’s transportation. As customers can self-lock and retain the key, there is zero pilferage. We also enable seven days free storage facility at the destination in the same cube,” says Ramesh.
A client now has an exclusive cube even for part shipment. There is dust free delivery of goods; no leakage for air packed goods (especially pharma and foods); low insurance premium on account of zero risk; and safety features like shock absorbing pad on floor, net and safety belts to hold the goods intact.
The trucking cube offers several value adds for commercial businesses. Corporates don’t have to pile up inventory now. “They can dispatch whenever they have an order in hand, thereby reducing inventory carrying costs. There is also reduction in labor costs with flexible onsite and offsite storage and transportation capacity,” explains Ramesh.
