ECR Italy, the association that brings together the leading FMCG Industry and Retail companies in Italy, represented by GS1 Italy, has for several years identified the critical issue of declining transport capacity – mainly caused by the constant reduction in the number of available drivers in the labor market. To address this, they launched a search for solutions through dedicated cross-functional working groups. One of these groups focused on improving slot booking systems and processes and was entrusted to the guidance and coordination of aBCD Consulting.
The challenge
Through leading the working group, encouraging dialogue, engaging resources and companies, conducting interviews and analyses, we set the objective of making the slot booking process more efficient across the entire supply chain. The goal was to recover productivity and make better use of transportation assets – recognized as a critical resource – while safeguarding the end-to-end objectives of the supply chain itself.
The solution
The project path of the working group:
aBCD Consulting developed a three-phase approach:
A Tactical "Field Working Group"
aimed at identifying short-term solutions and best practices, through interventions on processes, behaviors, and tools. The focus was on achieving concrete, effective results within approximately one year.
A Strategic "Executive Working Group"
that, inspired by the strategic vision of its participants and by the insights gathered in the tactical phase, combined them with available (or potentially available) technological tools and developments. The goal was to design a standardized, automated, robust, and efficient end-to-end process with a medium-to-long-term horizon (>2 years).
A Practical experimentation phase,
where, based on the best practices and opportunities identified in the previous phases, pilot projects tested implementations in the field. This phase involved using advanced technologies for demand planning and flow optimization, leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, reviewing operational practices to minimize bottlenecks, and creating a monitoring system with dedicated KPIs to measure logistics performance and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
Results
The project successfully completed the first two phases, with a very high and consistent level of participation and interest over a period of approximately 18 months. Thanks to the contributions of all participating Directors and Managers, and with the coordination and support of GS1 Italy, this work led to two publications, available online at the following links:
