There are moments in life that make you worry just by thinking about them or saying them quietly to yourself: Christmas shopping. A visit from the in-laws. Parents' day. Or waiting time. But while situations in categories 1 to 3 can usually be put into perspective by sitting it out or ignoring it, there are completely different options for "waiting time": not allowing it to happen in the first place or at least reducing it to a minimum in advance.

Time, however, is relative, even if it determines everyday life. For example, at ramps: according to a survey published by the management consultancy SCI Verkehr in summer 2018, the average waiting time at ramps has decreased significantly. None of the transport and logistics companies surveyed stated that the waiting time was over two hours. So much for the good news. The less good news: 49 percent of respondents recorded waiting times of 30 minutes to an hour last year, 42 percent even reported an average waiting time of one to one and a half hours. And the bottom line is that two thirds of the transport and logistics companies surveyed still complained about a fundamental lack of loading and time slots.

Service providers and employees benefit
HAVI Logistics knows what it means to face this shortage and thus the waiting time as early as possible and to counter it with consistent action. The logistics service provider for the food service industry, which operates in 37 European countries and is headquartered in Duisburg, has introduced the internet-based time slot management system "SLOT" from Freiburg-based provider Cargoclix at all eight locations in Germany and has been using it for six years. The decision in favor of the system was made after a direct system comparison and a successful pilot operation at the Günzburg distribution center in autumn 2012.

The aim: the introduction of the open and integrated booking system is intended to optimize loading and unloading processes at the ramp, avoid waiting times and help improve vehicle capacity utilization, according to a press release published on the implementation of the system in spring 2013. Sounds good, but will such goals be achieved in practice? If you ask HAVI, the answer is "yes".

"Reducing the long truck queues was one of the most important goals in our search for a transparent tool. And these have become significantly shorter," says Janka Herten, Senior Specialist Process Management at HAVI in Duisburg. "The employees in the warehouse also benefit from the tool - organizing, communicating, planning together with everyone involved and thus reducing possible waiting times at the earliest possible stage have become much easier."

In total, the logistics provider handles a truck volume of up to 40 articulated trains per day at the Neu Wulmstorf, Bingen, Duisburg, Rheinberg, Günzburg, Ilsfeld, Lederhose and Wustermark sites in the incoming goods department with SLOT, or to put it more precisely: around 7,000 bookings per month. Goods are received exclusively after prior booking into the existing Cargoclix system. The carriers and the HAVI Logistics sister company STI Freight Management quickly book their desired delivery time via the Internet and pay a fee of 50 cents per time slot.

Automatically informed about the latest status
The system is being continuously developed, says Herten, who has been in charge of the project for more than a year. The aim is to identify potential for improvement and bring it into the company, no matter how small: "For example, it was important to us that we improve communication with STI Freight Management in such a way that it ultimately also helps in the warehouse," explains Herten. To this end, the comment field offered in SLOT is used intensively by the freight forwarders, for example. "Every carrier can enter delays, whereupon the information can be viewed immediately at the relevant location." HAVI has also set up an automated e-mail service "to emphasize the importance of the information once again," says Herten.
Everyone sees everything and is automatically informed about the latest status - the system is also self-explanatory, user-friendly and customizable: SLOT runs at all HAVI locations, which themselves define which features are used. The input fields on the booking screen are standardized to ensure clarity. Fields requested during booking include the order and purchase order number, name of the carrier, forwarder, supplier, pick-up location or the number of loading units. Depending on the last variable, the automatic time window length is also booked in the system.

The fields requested during booking include the order and purchase order number, name of the carrier, freight forwarder, supplier, pick-up location or the number of loading units. Depending on the last variable, the automatic time window length is also booked in the system.

The logistics service provider relies on the greatest possible flexibility at the ramp. And it has to: "As we work with frozen, fresh and dry products everywhere, it is of course crucial to book the delivery of the respective type of goods as early as possible," says Herten. Depending on the handling options at the location, for example, one of three time slots can be booked for each type of goods, thus determining when and where the truck docks. The other simultaneous slots are then closed automatically. "We don't offer more slots than we have available, but we still give ourselves and our partners maximum flexibility."

Fairness that disciplines
HAVI has little sympathy for the recurring criticism that time slot management is too inflexible for service providers; after all, there are enough technical options in the system to make ramp management flexible. What's more, no one really wants to go back to the chaos without time slot management. This is also a matter of fairness, says Herten: "Everyone has the same chance to book in - those who act early naturally have more choice than those who arrive at the last minute."

This not only disciplines you, but also helps you to analyze: When is the volume particularly high? Which bookings have to be canceled or postponed? Which tours have to be carried out differently than planned?

"This can significantly improve our performance, but also that of our partners," says Herten. HAVI uses the data export function from Cargoclix and has developed a dashboard that provides greater transparency on data quality, punctuality and capacity utilization. According to Herten, this will also help to drive further optimizations in the future.

Worldwide internet marketplace
Cargoclix is an Internet marketplace for the electronic tendering of transportation and logistics services and a provider of modular time slot management systems. The range of services offered by the logistics platform "Cargoclix Tender" includes worldwide tenders for contracts for transportation by road, rail, air freight, sea and inland waterway, courier express parcel services and logistics services such as warehousing. Cargoclix is a brand of Dr. Meier & Schmidt GmbH. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Freiburg im Breisgau.

Manager of major brands
Havi is a global, owner-managed company specializing in the management and optimization of leading brands' supply chains. It offers holistic, integrated solutions along the entire supply chain from raw material to customer. The services range from marketing analysis, packaging and supply chain management to logistics. Founded in 1974, HAVI employs more than 10,000 people and supplies customers in more than 100 countries. In Germany, HAVI is represented at a total of eight locations and has around 1,500 employees. Its customers include McDonald's, Nordsee, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Vapiano.