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France Air improves fill rate with DDS Logistics’ TMS

    Air-handling systems specialist France Air has chosen DDS Logistics’ TMS (Transport Management System) solution to manage flows, transport plans… and improve fill rate.

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    At France Air, customer service is a genuine commitment. That’s why the specialist in air-handling systems (ventilation, filtering, heating…) design and distribution continues the optimization of its information system by looking for the most suitable solution for each of its activities: logistics, accounting, transport… “For each activity we go for the ‘best of breed’ solutions” France Air Supply Chain director Olivier Davoine explains. For transport, the company has adopted French TMS leader DDS Logistics’ solution: DDS Shipper.

    France Air’s supply chain relies on a central platform located in Beynost (12.000 sq. m.) near Lyons (Ain) and a network of thirteen regional branches throughout France. This scheme makes it possible to distribute the products made by the company’s suppliers (located mainly in France and Western Europe). Every day, four hundred deliveries are made to fitters everywhere in France. Single-parcel and express delivery services account for nearly 80% of these flows for which national deals with major carriers have been signed. “For Less Than Truckload, Full Truckloads and direct deliveries between suppliers and clients we resort to chartering, with all the complexities involved in points of delivery moving with worksites” Olivier Davoine adds.

    Better flow tracking

    Now that DDS Shipper has been implemented, it is possible to manage all downstream and direct supplier flows. The software calculates tariffs, charters carriers, sends transport and consolidation orders and issues documents automatically. With the EDI interface to communicate with its main carriers, France Air is able to have an accurate vision of traffic and freight. The software solution also makes it possible to measure their fill rate. “DDS Shipper gives us an overview of shippers’ rates and services, the truth of figures. We verify that commitments are fulfilled in the shortest possible time. Up until now the variance between our calculations and the transport companies’ could be significant”.

    Delivering efficiency

    In addition to task automation, functionalities such as “appointment making” and “barcode label creation” prove to be great assets in customer service and relations with carriers.

    The former lets you inform the carrier that delivery time is critical: “When equipment needs to be set up on an apartment block building site, streets may need to be blocked. This function will let the carrier know that delivery must be made within a defined timeframe”.

    The latter helps carriers save time and reduce wrong delivery risk. Barcode labels readable for carriers are put on parcels when they are loaded, providing information such as the type of flow (parcel delivery service, express…), as well as the transport route with the different checkpoints to the destination…

    “With this system, carriers no longer have to re-label parcels at their platforms. They know exactly which route the goods must go. This saves them time and errors. Some carriers even offered us discounts if we used this system with them” Olivier Davoine says.

    The next step is the implementation of the Invoice control module. Another big step towards better customer service.

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