1. Executive Summary:
Logistics is about more than just moving goods; it’s about people. For a major retail organization in the Netherlands, manual processes were exhausting the planning team, while unpredictable arrival times frustrated store staff. The Track and Trace project was our answer. By leveraging telematics data, we’ve provided the real-time visibility needed to transform the delivery experience. This project hasn’t just improved ETA accuracy and optimized operational milestones—it has restored predictability to the entire supply chain.
NAV IT didn’t just integrate systems; however, we engineered an intelligent bridge between the telematic devices and SAP environment, using a custom SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) application to feed data to SAP Global Track and Trace (GTT).
This shift helped resolve tracking chaos, real time visibility of trucks and trailers, and better preparedness of stores for loading and unloading due to known arrival times of the driver. Reduced time to act to anamolies due to immediate notifications to planners when there was a deviation from normal.
The result: 95% automation of key milestones, a 50% drop in internal disputes, and a 75% faster update time for trip statuses.
2. The Client’s Challenge & Pain Points
The transportation planning department was a source of daily stress. Running on siloed planning platforms and telematics devices meant the team lacked a “single source of truth”
- Operational Blind Spots: The company relied on two conflicting providers—Tcomm for company trailers and Trimble for trucks—resulting in data fragmentation. While they had raw latitude/longitude data, it was not in a format that SAP Transportation Management (TM) could read, leaving planners unable to verify the actual location of goods without manual intervention.
- The ETA Illusion: The client to have system where the ETA of the trailer was estimated for each store accurately so that the stores were informed in advance and were prepared for loading unloading activities. To calculate the ETA , the following requirements were to be added: break after 4.5 hours of driving and a rest after 9.5 hours.
- Store Inefficiency: Stores were often playing a guessing game. Without timely alerts, unloading took longer than it should, which capped the daily capacity of our trailers and slowed down the entire network.
- Security Gaps: Planners faced a critical visibility gap. They couldn’t immediately tell if a trailer door was opened outside of authorized geofences, making it harder to protect cargo in real-time.
3. NAV IT’s Partnership and the Strategic Solution
The client chose NAV IT to implement an advanced telematics integration that would translate raw signals into business intelligence. Our approach moved beyond simple tracking to intelligent interpretation.
Strategic Solution: Intelligent Translation with SAP BTP & GTT NAV IT deployed a lightweight SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) application to act as the “brain” between the telematics hardware and SAP Global Track and Trace (GTT).
- Unifying the Data: We built a translator that consumes raw Tcomm pings (latitude/longitude/event type) every 10 minutes and converts them into GTT-compatible events. The system always knows exactly what’s happening with the trailer, eliminating the need for planners to go looking for answers.
- ETA Precision: Our ETAs are now smarter and more empathetic to the driver’s journey. By factoring in 4.5-hour and 11-hour rest requirements, the system provides a pinpoint arrival time that reflects the reality of the road.
- Empowering the Stores: We’ve replaced “waiting and wondering” with proactive communication. Automated “Arriving Soon” notifications now go out 15 minutes before arrival, This allowed store teams to prepare the loading dock in advance, streamlining the unloading process.
- Automated Security: The system was configured to trigger immediate email notifications to the distribution center if a door open event occurred outside of a designated geofence.
Core Technology (TBD)
|
Feature Focus |
Technology Functionality |
Human/Business Impact |
|
Intelligent translation |
BTP App to translate raw pings to GTT events |
Provided a unified and real-time view of the trailer location . |
|
Operational Reality |
Dynamic Drive time Logic : recalculates ETAs based on legal break/rest time requirements. |
Stores and planners can trust the arrival time, knowing it accounts for mandatory driver stops. |
|
Proactive Alerting |
Automated Event Triggering sends emails for geofence breaches and “15-min out” alerts. |
Reduced response time to security events and maximized the number of stores served per trip. |
4. Results
The implementation drove operational efficiency and established a scalable foundation for future enhancements. By automating the “noise” of tracking, the planning team saw a 50% reduction in dispute inquiries regarding goods status.
Quantified Outcomes
|
KPI Category |
Metric |
Improvement |
|
Process Automation |
Automation of Key Milestones (Arrival, Departure, Unloading) |
95% Automation |
|
Team Performance |
Dispute/Inquiry volume on goods status |
50% Reduction |
|
Reliability and store efficiency |
Stored served per trailer |
Increased due to advance store preparation |
|
Security and Incident response |
Critical Event Response Time |
Immediate action based on email notification |
5. Conclusion: NAV IT – Your Partner for Growth
This project demonstrates how NAV IT bridges the gap between hardware and business strategy. By deploying a custom SAP BTP and GTT solution, we helped the client move from fragmented, manual tracking to a fully automated, real-time distribution network. This transformation not only secured their shipments but optimized their entire delivery capacity, ensuring they can serve more stores with greater reliability.