No traffic jams at the ramp at Rossmann

Rossmann Logistikgesellschaft mbH is responsible for supplying the approximately 2,000 Rossmann drugstores in Germany. Around 17,000 items are handled in six regional warehouses and one central and regional warehouse. In order to control the delivery of goods, Rossmann previously used a specially programmed time slot solution: For each delivery, the forwarders requested an unloading date by e-mail, stating the order number. A scheduler then sent an unloading date by e-mail, which the carriers could accept or, in exceptional cases, reject. Those who declined received a new proposal.

"Short waiting times and timely unloading are always important to us at Rossmann. We were already able to achieve this with the previous system," explains Hendrik van Duuren, Head of Logistics at Rossmann. "But in future, we wanted to offer freight carriers a greater choice of dates and also reduce the manual work steps as well as the effort for administration and support." Rossmann also wanted to control the trucks within the site so that goods could be received and stored over the shortest possible distance, thereby further optimizing the utilization of resources in the incoming goods department.

The Mercareon platform was introduced at the seven German Rossmann stores in just five months and has been running productively since the second half of 2015.

Platform instead of reprogramming

Rossmann logistics manager Hendrik van Duuren and project manager Maike Quidde are planning further cooperation with Mercareon.

In order to achieve all this, the company considered reprogramming its own software, but Rossmann had also been following the development of the Mercareon platform with interest for some time. When Mercareon Managing Director Leander Kling presented the latest generation of the retail logistics platform with its extended functions, Rossmann opted for Mercareon. "With the latest expansion of the Mercareon platform, we had a good basis for meeting Rossmann's high requirements. The new functions include 'Live Yard View', which allows trucks to be tracked in real time within the site. The groupage delivery processes can now also be fully mapped in the system," reports Leander Kling. Hendrik van Duuren adds: "We saw convincing functions at Mercareon, including for detailed yard management. Why should we program and operate something ourselves that is already available on the market?"

Almost all of Rossmann's suppliers and forwarders were already working with Mercareon. The adaptability and flexibility of Mercareon was also important to Hendrik van Duuren: "We wanted a system with room for maneuver that we could adapt to our requirements and develop further. In our view, Mercareon is the right partner for this."

Booking logic extends down to item level

Rossmann Logistikgesellschaft mbH is responsible for supplying the approximately 2,000 Rossmann drugstores in Germany. Around 17,000 items are handled in six regional warehouses and one central and regional warehouse.

Detailed yard management at Rossmann doesn't just start when the truck pulls up to the warehouse gate. It is an integral part of time slot management. A comprehensive booking logic is stored there, which extends down to item level. The exact capacity and utilization at the various unloading points is also taken into account. When the booking number is entered, the system compares all booking details: Which item group and quantity is the truck delivering? Where does it need to be stored? Which is the best unloading point? How much time is required for unloading? Based on the calculations, the forwarding dispatcher is shown the time windows that enable optimum utilization of the incoming goods and the best truck routing at the warehouse location. This reduces the throughput time at the warehouse location to a minimum. At the same time, the dispatcher has sufficient time slots available to plan his tours and triangular transports efficiently.

Automated appointment allocation

Instead of manual appointment scheduling by email, this is now automated via the Mercareon platform. As a result, scheduling has been centralized in Landsberg near Halle, while personnel capacities at the warehouse locations have been freed up for other tasks. In addition, Mercareon has taken over support for the carriers, which previously had to be provided by Rossmann itself. Carriers now have access to Mercareon's customer service in over 20 languages and with high availability.

Better basis for supplier discussions

Another advantage from the Rossmann team's point of view is the improved reporting via the Mercareon reporting platform. "Mercareon provides us with precise figures, for example regarding the adherence to delivery dates of individual forwarding agents and suppliers as well as the notification rates. We can make this more detailed information available to our logistics decision-makers. The basis for decision-making is broader and better validated as a result," explains Maike Quidde, Assistant Logistics Manager at Rossmann. In addition, the new Mercareon platform offers evaluation options on a supplier basis. "These reports are very helpful for our regular supplier meetings," says Quidde.

Silke Balsys