We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Freight optimization leads to sustainable growth
CSCMP EDGE 2021

Freight optimization leads to sustainable growth

Consumer goods company Unilever has adopted a freight utilization strategy that’s helping the company reach its operational, financial, and environmental sustainability goals.

September 21, 2021
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
No Comments

With freight costs representing a large portion of its total supply chain costs and more than 300,000 shipments going out each year, the consumer goods giant Unilever needed a way to work within real-world constraints to maximize equipment utilization. The solution: meshing deployment planning and execution to create sustainable growth.

Unilever is not alone in its need to focus on equipment utilization. Many trucks on the road these days are not full. “While volume is growing, truckload utilization is getting worse, which is strange,” said Giovanni Dal Bon, head of logistics Unilever North America, during a Tuesday morning CSCMP EDGE session. 

Dal Bon believes it’s due to supply chains being under tremendous pressure from capacity constraints, unpredictable consumer demands, and lower service levels.

For Unilever, truckload utilization has proven to be a key contributor to both the company’s top line (growth) and its bottom line (profits), said Dal Bon. In 2018, Unilever developed a truckload utilization strategy, which included:

  • Implementing a load optimization tool.
  • Segmenting customers based on their ordering profile and then providing incentives for them to make orders that would lead to better load optimization.
  • Redesigning pallets to improve truck utilization.
  • Consolidating orders.
  • Creating dashboards to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and support the day-to-day focus on the strategy.

In general, better truck utilization has improved the company’s operational efficiency, lowered supply chain costs, reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gas impacts, and supported the company’s overall growth over the past few years, said Dal Bon.

  • Related Articles

    Report predicts rebound, strong growth for freight

    Commitment to sustainable procurement is on the rise

    National Science Foundation awards grant to study multi-echelon inventory optimization

Recent Articles by Supply Chain Quarterly Staff

Companies to grow investments in energy-transition solutions, emissions reduction

Cargo imports forecast to sink near three-year low in February

Air cargo demand slumped in 2022 after “extraordinary” levels in 2021

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Forecasts call for freight rate slumps in 2023

  • Projected U.S. recession in early 2023 will soften freight market

  • Inflation drops again as interest rate hikes hit home, NRF says

  • How to avoid the next crisis: A new approach to supply chain agility

  • New Jersey truck fleet says Freightliner tractors will deliver safety as well as freight

Featured Video

20221107korber large vs

Enhancing Customer Experience with Your Supply Chain Strategy

Viewer Contributed
With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses have had to transform their warehouses to handle online orders in addition to regularly scheduled inventory shipments. This means warehouses need more information than ever before to ensure they can meet customers' needs. As a result, companies need to select warehouse...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • A shipper's guide to navigating post-pandemic holiday freight

  • THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing