Supply Chain Optimization

De-stressing the Supply Chain

MJC², in a collaboration with 20 European organisations, has developed an innovative approach for "de-stressing" the supply chain and reducing GHG emissions in global logistics operations.

The project, known as SYNCHRO-NET, is coordinated by DHL and also involves major logistics companies COSCO Shipping Lines and Kuehne+Nagel.

Increasing Supply Chain Sustainability

Reducing emissions and increasing sustainability in the supply chain has been on the agenda for many years, and is of ever-increasing importance.

In many cases the result is a win-win: the SYNCHRO-NET algorithms find solutions that are in fact lower cost AND greener. This is because the AI optimization process can consider and combine millions of possible multimodal routes for the freight, finding good options that would be missed unless the user spent literally hours searching.

The optimization approach also has an extra layer of sophistication, tailoring solutions to users based on their priorities. The system learns the user's preferences and intelligently suggests solutions that offer the right balance between cost, emissions and service level.

Win-win Solutions

SYNCHRO-NET's de-stressing optimization has been trialled in several operations, including three major demonstration environments, in Spain, Greece, and Ireland and by considering both import/export shipment from/to Far East as well as intra-European corridors.

Results have been very impressive: 5-10% reduction in costs and 10-12% reduction in GHG emissions (as well as reduced congestion in ports and increased reliability).

From a technical perspective, the software has been shown to be able to cope with large operations, moving 1000s of shipments in the global supply chain.

Although highly innovative and well beyond current state-of-the-art tools, the SYNCHRO-NET environment contains the real-world rules and constraints needed to ensure that it generates practicable solutions. For example, compatibility rules, time constraints such as drivers' regulations, detailed cost models, port/terminal operations, and equipment planning are all contemplated.