Europe-wide Track & Trace for greater customer service

Continental wanted to build a Europe-wide tracking system for all road haulage which needed to be extendable to unit loads or sea and air transport all over the world in a flexible way. The performance of the logistics service providers also needed to be monitored and controlled centrally.
 
Before the project started, there was still no overall IT-supported system at Continental for tracking tire transports from the various production sites and warehouses in Europe to the customers. The Track & Trace process was not standardised within the Continental Group. 

It was therefore not possible to monitor the worldwide distribution of tires directly from the production site or via regional distribution centres in a consistent way. Once the shipment was handed over to the carrier, 
there was no longer complete information transparency as far as Continental were concerned. 

Because the general communication process was mapped in an organisational way and had no IT support, it was very laborious and required a lot of time. Continental searched the market for an innovative solution to close this information gap.

Requirement profile

• Europe-wide Track & Trace
• Standardised status data  
• Neutral logistics service provider reporting
• Fast incorporation of different SAP systems 
• Future extension through EURO-LOG's container management tool and sea & air transports

EURO-LOG's ONE TRACK Basis enabled dovetailing of the logistics processes from transport planning through to tire delivery to the customer to be achieved. A standardised process was created which runs automatically and offers the opportunity of real-time intervention in the event of problems. Using the intelligent solution, all tire transports can now be controlled across the logistics service providers. 

The system offers up-to-date status information in real time to both Continental employees in sales and logistics and Continental's customers via a central location. Status information can be integrated in a flexible way after handing the shipment over to the carrier: web-based, by EDI, by SMS or via mobile devices. The new solution means Continental's sales department can now forward status information directly to customers. Laborious, manual investigations with carriers are a thing of the past, because status enquires and even requests for transport documents can be made at any time for a transport via the T&T system. 

Continental's customers already receive reliable information in advance about which tire deliveries are arriving and when. The Track & Trace system was quickly and flexibly integrated into Continental's existing IT landscape and processes information from different sources. 

The system interface was designed with the Continental layout. Filters enable an individual view which is tailored to Continental's needs. There is also an interface with the container management system which was introduced later and was also provided by EURO-LOG. Linking the two solutions means it is now also possible to track Continental's container transports at all times.

Benefits of the Track & Trace system

• Improved customer service, easier communication
• Standardised, easily adaptable cloud solution
• Harmonised status data for all service providers  
• Active, customer-oriented control of the supply chain
• Traceable performance monitoring of service providers for both sides in real time
• Flexibly extendable to sea, air and express transports

Download the Continental case study as a PDF.

Continental employees can use the system's active notification for important transports. Employees receive automatic status feedback by email for transports they have selected themselves when there are non-conformities or delays. This improves the service for customers, because they can be proactively informed about any possible problems.

Using the Track & Trace system, Continental can now measure the actual number of punctual transports and other key performance indicators. 

The system also enables the reduction of logistics costs for services that have not been provided. The reporting system means that the performance of the various service providers can be evaluated. This not only offers targeted checking of logistics service providers, but also an information base for any possible escalation. 

Every service provider has the opportunity to check their own performance and optimise it.