Material Handling Blog

13 Amazing Logistics Stories

Traditionally, Logistics Management has been defined as an efficient flow and storage of goods from their point of origin to the point of consumption. The process covers a diverse number of functional areas such as transportation, traffic, shipping, storage, receiving and import/export operations. But over the years, Logistics management has become much more – it is now an important way for companies to reduce their costs and to improve their overall customer service.

A recent US study found that logistics costs account for almost 10% of the gross domestic product. Be it national defense, a manufacturing firm, a terrorist outfit, a space project, a courier company – how efficiently logistics are managed can make the difference between success and failure for them. So how exactly has Logistics evolved over the years?

1. Glass Recycling Logistics:

A process as complex as glass recycling (that involves collecting and sorting broken glass pieces of every conceivable type and color; mixed with metal, ceramic, and other materials) would simply not be doable without detailed attention to the minutest aspect of logistics management. The state of the art glass recycling facility at ‘Visy Recycling Glass’ in Laverton is a classic example of success based on logistics management. It is the only facility of its kind within Australia that allows mixed and broken glass to be sorted into different colors, whilst removing high levels of contamination during the process.

The automated glass facility is fully computerized - each step of the process is accessible and adjustable through a computer monitored system. Using optical sorting, the automated glass facility identifies and separates the different types or colors of glass by taking individual snapshots of each piece of glass at high speed. Air jets are then used to shoot different types of glass into individual color streams.

The cameras used in the automated optical sort can sort up to a million individual pieces of glass per minute and can detect up to 16 million different colors in total.

“The facility was upgraded in 2005 and has driven glass recycling rates from 65,000 tonne to up to 120,000 tonne per annum or just under a 50% improvement in recovery rates since its completion.” (Powder and Bulk blog)

2. Largest Earth Mover in the World:

The bulldozing industry has tried to tackle the creation of a bigger and better earth mover for decades.  But because of the logistical problems inherent in the creating equipment of that size, it could not be done.  That is, until the German company, Krupp; overcame the logistical problems to create the largest earth mover in the world.
Specifications: (courtesy American Top Ten blog)

• The mover stands 311 feet tall and 705 feet long.
• It weighs over 45,500 tons
• Cost $100 million to build
• Took 5 years to design and manufacture
• 5 years to assemble.
• Requires 5 people to operate it.
• The Bucket Wheel is over 70 feet in diameter with 20 buckets,each of which can hold over 530 cubic feet of material.
• A 6-foot man can stand up inside one of the buckets.
• It moves on 12 crawlers (each is 12 feet wide, 8′ high and 46 feet long).There are 8 crawlers in front and 4 in back.
• It has a maximum speed of 1 mile in 3 hours (1/3 mile/hour).
• It can remove over 76,455 cubic meters each day.(100,000 large dump trucks at 40yds. each)

3. Wartime Logistics – When Medics Had to Fight:

Military logistics management can spell the difference between defeat and victory for a nation. During the counterattack in the spring of 1951 against Chinese forces in Korea, the rapid advance of United Nations forces cut off many enemy units behind their lines. The Medical Company of the 21st Regiment, 24th Infantry Division (68 men), set up its tents near a rice paddy on the night of 26 May. 1LT John Atkins, the company administrative assistant, ordered that the guard be doubled that evening from four to eight personnel due to the rumors of enemy troops. It was a wise precaution. A surprise attack that night meant that some men who had never ever fired a weapon before had to hold their own until daylight – which they did!

“Any unit, CS or CSS, can find itself under attack in the "rear" areas no matter how secure it thinks it is. Sensible guard measures and quick reaction teams to cope with varying levels of threat are critical. If appropriate plans are taken, the mission can continue even during such an attack.” (Fighting Medics)

4. Improvising: Making Do with What You Have:

Here are some amazing pictures of ordinary people finding cost-efficient methods to do what needs to be done. (Warning: Use your discretion while viewing some of these pictures – they may be perceived as offensive by some people – especially by animal lovers/vegetarians.)
(Lords of the logistics – Part I)

(Lords of the logistics – Part II)

5. Terror Logistics:

And do you think the terrorists could come close to achieving all that they did without detailed 1231d78ab8 attention to logistics management? (We’re hardly rooting for their success, though!) The recent bomb blasts in Mumbai, India (which incidentally got several typepad blogs banned in India, including this one), seem to have been masterminded in Saudi Arabia.

“Interrogation by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) indicates that the train-blast conspiracy was hatched in Saudi Arabia. Terrorists received all logistics support from their associates in that country. Terrorists took a cue from the logistics management system practiced in the industry. They cooperated with each other to manage their logistics support system without being caught. All the financial and logistics support were provided to the terrorists in India secretly that kept the Indian security agencies in the dark. The logistics support used by the terrorists included money, arms, ammunitions and other materials used in the blasts.” (Mumbai Blasts - Material Handling Blog) 

6. Only 7-Star Hotel in the World - Hotel - Burj-Al-Arab:

Anybody who has seen the Burj-Al-Arab knows that the stunning effects are a result of excellent logistics management. “Designed to resemble a billowing sail, the hotel soars to a height of 321 metres, dominating the Dubai coastline. At night, it offers an unforgettable sight, surrounded by choreographed colour sculptures of water and fire. This all-suite hotel reflects the finest that the world has to offer.” (View pictures here)

7. Defense Logistics – British Government:

The British government is polishing up it’s act, in terms of logistics. “The Defence Logistics will support aircraft fleets for the royal Air Force, royal Navy and Army. It will also support land forces and battleships…” Read entire post

8. Pollution Control Logistics:

While we haven’t changed our earth-polluting ways; during the past three decades, we have certainly made attempts to use technology for reducing the negative impact of pollutants.

“Toxic exhaust from power plants accounts for much of the nation’s air pollution. Congress’s 1990 Clean Air Act required that all electric generating plants in the U.S. reduce their emissions by 2010. In response, many plants have already added scrubbers to their chimneys. These industrial pollution control devices can remove toxic substances from exhaust streams, or neutralize them so that they are harmless or even recyclable.” (American Top Ten Blog)

Besides scrubbers, baghouses, bioreactors, catalytic converters, solar power, biodiesel and wind energy are some environment friendly options that are currently used by the manufacturing industry.
(More about pollution control technologies HERE)

9. China – Best in Logistics:

China is geared to become the next global logistics giant. According to this ‘Material Handling Blog’ post, “… despite a rather dramatic decrease in the rate of growth of the Chinese Logistics industry, the industry still ballooned by over 25%.  At this point, we must all either learn to embrace China’s influence on Material Handling and learn to incorporate it, or else be swallowed by the competition.”

10. Superlative Malthouse:

Just how far can good logistics management can impact the malt industry? The Dutch brewery group Bavaria N.V. with headquarters in Lieshout has, along with Buhler, gradually increased its malting operation to its current annual output of about 150,000 metric tons of malt. “Today, three tower malthouses based on different process technologies stand in Lieshout. To them has been added the most recently built two-floor round kiln with a rotary kiln floor housed in a steel building.” (Powder and Bulk article)

“Each malting tower contains an “Ecosteep” unit at the top for a batch size of 440 metric tons of barley… The decision to choose a rotary kiln was based on the previous experience of Holland Malt with stationary and rotary kiln decks. Compared to the stationary kiln floor, the rotary type offers the advantage of producing very uniform germination. This is because the kiln deck rotates endlessly and therefore prevents differences in quality. Moreover, as a result of the fixed arrangement of the screw turner and of the loading and unloading unit, contamination underneath the kiln deck is much lower than with a stationary floor. This results in a maximum degree of sanitation even in this critical zone of the germination process.”

11. The REFER Turnaround:

In the mid-1990s, like many European railway agencies, Rede Ferroviária Nacional, EP (REFER) was facing significant internal and external challenges. Having been recently spun off from its former government-owned and controlled parent company, it was under pressure to improve financial performance, operating efficiencies and customer service.

Earlier, REFER had been dependent on outdated technology for its information systems – they had changed little since the 1970s. New technology was required in order for REFER to meet its long-term objectives. The implementation began in September 1997 under an accelerated timetable. Automated interfaces have now been developed between SAP R/3 and subcontractor systems to track information such as work plans, resource prices and quantities. This was just one of the many changes that the company implemented in order to become dynamic. In a very short period of time, REFER has come a great distance - from a department within a government-controlled bureaucracy to an independent, forward-thinking company. (Read Complete Case Study)

12. The ECIL Turnaround:

Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), a Public Enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy in India suffered a loss of Rs.10 crore (approx 2.2 million USD) in 1997-98 and a substantial loss of Rs.60 crore (approx 13 million USD) in 1998-99.

“The company had to initiate a number of innovative measurers to tide over the crisis. Material costs constituting around 55-60 % of the total cost, it became imperative for the company to introduce a host of innovative practices in the area of materials management.” (IIMM article)

“Simple initiatives were implemented effectively resulting in incredible results that culminated in the historic turnaround of the company that brought wide recognition and national awards like SCOPE award for Outstanding Performance and Contribution to Public Sector Management.” (IIMM)

The company has now moved from a loss of Rs. 60 crore (approx 13 million USD) to a profit of Rs. 130 crore (approx 290 million USD).

13. Open Warehousing can succeed:

While the idea of open warehousing sounds quite attractive in principle, there are many practical difficulties in its implementation. Simply put, too many cooks spoil the broth – too many people with access to the materials can very easily translate to chaos.

One group that had unwavering faith in open warehousing is GMR. The world’s largest combined cycle power plant on a single barge, and India’s first and the only barge mounted power plant; is owned by the GMR Group.

GMR aggressively promoted an Open Warehouse System to ensure accessibility to Operation and Maintenance Teams but ran into problems soon enough. Implementing the system resulted in several discrepancies. But the company was not ready to give up on open warehousing just yet. They studied the flaws of the initial implementation – missing inventory and physical discrepancies; and launched the system again. This time around, they worked with the Zero Indenting System [ZIS]. “The successful establishment of Zero Indenting System was sufficient to boost the morale of every team member as it facilitated ease of working, but the probability of making the Open Warehouse System vulnerable still existed. To cement this, what was required was Perpetual Inventory verification [PIV].” (IIMM)

“… implementing the Open Warehouse System has been an excellent source of experience for each team member. The opportunity also saw the team to work together to drive home the point ‘With a little effort, we can indeed inculcate good team spirit even in an Open Warehouse’”

Logistics Management has come a long way over the years; and the above stories are proof of how vital it is to the success of an organization.