Strategic modeling of distribution operation reduces empty miles
Paragon Software Systems, Inc., a leader in vehicle routing and scheduling optimization solutions, announces that Noble Foods, supplier of fresh eggs to the UK’s major retailers has selected the company’s Integrated Fleets planning solution as its strategic modeling tool of choice. The Paragon software will be used to help Noble Foods streamline its distribution operation, which sees 72 million eggs being delivered every week.
In a retail egg market worth £900 million ($1.4M US) a year, Noble Foods operates seven days a week out of seven sites, collecting eggs from more than 470 locations throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Each week at its two packing centers in Lincolnshire and Fife, Noble Foods grades, packs and delivers more than 72 million eggs to major retailers and regional distribution centers.
With its fleet of more than 160 temperature-controlled vehicles covering eleven million kilometers every year and consuming three million liters of fuel, Noble Foods needed to upgrade its manual fleet scheduling system, which was managed locally for each region. Following an intensive evaluation and decision process, Noble Foods selected Paragon’s Integrated Fleets planning solution with INRIX-based road speed data and HERE map content, which includes bridge height data.
Paragon Integrated Fleets enables vehicles at multiple sites to be treated as a single integrated transport resource, so that movements to and from different depots can be combined into efficient routes that reduce overall empty running. It generates route plans with efficient backloads, which increases asset utilization, improves productivity and reduces empty mileage.
The system enables Noble Foods to feed information into the Paragon routing and scheduling solution and make informed decisions about where each vehicle will be based, which vehicles will collect from which locations, and which will distribute to which outlets. It creates schedules for each region and it also allows the company to run theoretical models, taking into account its planned move to a new depot in Oxfordshire.
“Paragon Integrated Fleets allows us to model a complete change in our operations. The move to a new depot means new transport operations, and the Paragon solution enables us to see the bigger picture, look at different scenarios and optimize the planning around that,” said Michael Tucker, Transport Controller at Noble Foods. “As a strategic planning tool, it was quick to implement and easy to use.”
