Intelligence for food logistics

Thanks to state-of-the-art warehouse technology, environmentally friendly logistics and a wide variety of products, Chefs Culinar guarantees a nationwide supply of food and non-food products to all areas of the food service industry and bulk consumers. The increasing market power on the supplier and customer side due to mergers and purchasing cooperations as well as constantly increasing legal food requirements are currently among the main challenges for the business. Increasing efficiency in a wide range of processes is therefore a basic prerequisite for Chefs Culinar to maintain and improve its competitiveness.

Logistics is one example of this: the delivery wholesaler has now introduced a hardware extension for its telematics solution in order to optimize the recording of goods during unloading and delivery. As a basis for optimization, processes and the recording of statistical data during delivery are to be standardized. "In the field of temperature-controlled logistics in particular, efficient and optimized processes to reduce costs are becoming increasingly important due to the high level of market concentration," explains Till Lüder, Project Manager at Chefs Culinar. "This is because we increasingly have to fulfill a large number of individual customer requests regarding special items or product ranges or fixed delivery times."

Customized solution developed on customer request

Chefs Culinar currently uses the devices to record the downtimes of the trucks on the customer side, the quantities of the means of transport delivered to the customer and taken back again, such as roll containers or empty containers like drinks crates. The driver has the customer confirm receipt of the goods deliveries by signing on the touchscreen of the mobile computer. If the customer does not wish to receive a receipt by e-mail, they can also receive a printed receipt if required.

After an intensive comparison of various systems, the decision was made in favour of a complete package consisting of handheld PCs from Motorola, mobile printers from Toshiba TEC and the consulting and implementation expertise of AISCI Ident. Around 1,000 MC3200 handheld PCs from Motorola and 750 B-EP2 mobile thermal printers from Toshiba TEC are being used. These are connected to each other via Bluetooth. "One of the main reasons for our decision was the compatibility with the permanently installed telematics devices in the truck," says Lüder. "The functional scope of the complete system - i.e. the combination of functions freely available on the market and those specially developed for Chefs Culinar - was not available on the market in this form."

No fewer than 750 B-EP2 mobile printers are in use at Chefs Culinar. Photo: Toshiba TEC

Toshiba TEC

Toshiba TEC Germany Imaging Systems GmbH is part of the globally operating Toshiba TEC Corporation. Toshiba TEC is a leading supplier of products in the field of information technology and office equipment. The range extends from printers and multifunctional systems to corresponding software solutions for effective document management. Label printers for a wide range of applications in industry, logistics and retail as well as in the healthcare and service sectors round off the range.

The high level of expertise and the willingness to collaborate on a solution tailored precisely to the needs of Chefs Culinar ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the three partner companies. For example, Toshiba designed a customized vehicle mount with an active charging function for the mobile printers with a 2-inch print width - one of the technical highlights of this project. The printer and charging cradle were installed in the vehicles and powered by a rechargeable battery or the car battery. For the direct connection to the car battery, AISCI had the required DC/DC module explicitly certified for safety-relevant use in trucks with the E1 certificate. "This allows us to ensure that the mobile printers are permanently available for use around the clock," says AISCI project manager Sascha Radovic.

Communication culture and service mindset strengthen collaboration

Another important aspect of cooperation in a project of this size is ensuring comprehensive service and support. A good communication culture plays a decisive role, especially when optimizations are required at short notice. "For example, when it comes to upcoming release changes, product updates or the integration of new module components, we have been working with Toshiba TEC's support department on a basis of trust for years," says Radovic. The solution as a whole and its long-term nature are the focus of the approach - and therefore investment security for the customer. This is also confirmed by Friedrich Rieckmann, Regional Sales Manager Auto-ID at Toshiba TEC Germany Imaging Systems GmbH. "By cooperating with our partners, we can provide customers with individual solutions," says Rieckmann. "We want to offer a comprehensive service that is fast and unbureaucratic - and requires as little effort as possible on the part of the customer."

"The workload for our office staff is now significantly reduced."

Till Lüder Project Manager at Chefs Culinar

Continuation is planned

Chefs Culinar benefits from the hardware upgrade in several ways. "The workload for our office staff has been significantly reduced," says project manager Till Lüder. "There is also an optimization of work processes on the part of the driving staff thanks to the consolidation and standardization of processes in delivery." And finally, the quality of data collection by the drivers has also improved sustainably, with significantly fewer errors. Based on these results and the expected continued positive development of the company, Chefs Culinar is specifically considering expanding its collaboration with AISCI Ident and Toshiba TEC. In addition to the possible integration of further, and in some cases other, devices, further processes in delivery are also to be merged in the future. The partners are currently giving intensive thought to what these could be.

www.toshibatec-eu.de/germany/de