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Thursday, 20. July 2017

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Beverage Logistics: Winkels Controls Transports with OPHEO

Beverage producer Winkels Getränke Logistik GmbH chose the integrated digital transport control center and telematics system OPHEO to optimize the dispatching, notification and monitoring of the more than 2,000 orders per day in store delivery as of this fall. This solution by initions AG is to be used at the four logistics plants by a total of 12 dispatchers.

In a first step, telematics terminals will be installed in the company’s 180 trucks and the 50 third-party trucks. These terminals are Android tablets featuring the telematics app OPHEO Mobile. In the future, external vehicles used only during peak times will also be connected to the solution. OPHEO Mobile registers the current location and tour data in the truck and sends it back to headquarters in real time. Deviations from projected data are immediately analyzed and extrapolated for the rest of the tour. This innovative approach won initions AG the “Telematik-Award”.

“We had been looking for a system that supports us beyond the actual planning processes and that recognizes the impact of any deviations from the plan in the current tour at an early stage”, Ralf Müller explains, who is responsible for transport logistics at Winkels. By using OPHEO’s forecasting feature, dispatchers can react to impending delays immediately and inform customers early. “Our customers expect us to deliver on time within the confirmed time window and to inform them in good time if there are any deviations” Müller emphasizes.

This kind of service could “only be guaranteed by using suitable software, considering the up to 20 unloading points per tour and more than 230 trucks in use.” Apart from its forecasting feature, OPHEO also convinced through the clear overview provided by the the dispatching cockpit, the app’s ease-of-use, and the optimization algorithms of the automated tour planning. “We are expecting savings resulting from a lower mileage, which will quickly lead to the investment’s amortization”, Müller says.

Running three logistics centers and a fleet of 180 trucks, Winkels Getränke Logistik GmbH transports 70 million beverage crates from industry to trade and back, ensuring the return of the empty containers. This makes Winkels the leading beverage logistics company in South-Western Germany. The company’s portfolio of over 4,000 products includes not only the regionally important own brands such as alwa, Griesbacher, Bella Fontanis, Rietenauer and Aqua Vitale, but also products from breweries, mineral springs and the fruit juice industry. With this broad range of products, Winkels supplies retail chains, gas stations, beverage wholesalers, beverage distributors, canteens and restaurants. The Winkels Group has 805 employees and generated sales of around € 354 million in 2016.