Success Stories

Container Swinglift

Interview with:	Carl Marchese , CEO
Company Name:	Container Swinglift
Business Type:	Container Transport
Operational Area:	Queensland

Challenge

To align themselves with a technology partner who could introduce the smarts that would enable them to improve the sophistication of the service and become the premium carrier in the market.

Solution

TransLogix Sapphire Transport, Warehousing, Financials, Web Interface and Document Management modules.

Benefits 

• Estimated revenue recovery of $100k in the first year.
• Reduced administrative overheads.
• Enhanced customer service through efficient and accurate reporting.
• Improved productivity of staff.

Background

Container Swinglift is a specialist port logistics operator that provides container transport, warehousing and distribution services for containerised sea freight. With 25 years experience, the company was the first to introduce side loaders to Australia which now remains a core component of the service together with general container transport services.

Following considerable demand from customers, Container Swinglift introduced their warehouse service which extends the container and general transport service to include unloading and the storing and distribution of goods. Considered as a value-add to their customer base, the warehousing service remains closely tied to their core business of container transport.

Around 2003, Container Swinglift, focusing on their growth strategy, commenced a review of the company structure and operations. At this time, Carl Marchese was brought onboard as CEO. To ensure continued success of the business the team re-evaluated the company's point of difference and considered what would set them apart from the competition.

The Challenge

Many companies can move containers from A to B, however, in order to really establish themselves as a premium carrier in the market Container Swinglift had to find ways to elevate their service. With this in mind the system they were operating on became a key focus.

According to Carl, "one of the biggest challenges was that the system we had at the time simply didn't have the smarts that we needed to address various operational issues that had been identified. While it met the fundamental requirements it wasn't able to generate automated reports for our customers, it didn't have a user interface or web portal from where they could obtain information and importantly, the system wasn't integrated to our accounting back-end."

One of the big problems was the company's ability to provide accurate and timely information to customers, not only around how they planned to deliver the service but also as events occurred, alerting customers to changes or delays. "When the business was stretched, we struggled to stay on top of these basic requirements" said Carl.

In addition to focusing on customer service delivery the business also faced challenges with revenue leakage. The pricing structure was based on moving goods from A to B which worked well when jobs ran smoothly, however, if changes needed to be made to the service or problems arose which required additional services, then the existing system was unable to track these efficiently. Consequently, costs were not being added to jobs.

The Solution

Container Swinglift went live with the Transport, Warehouse and Accounting modules (General Ledger, Purchasing, Web Interface, Images everywhere) in August 2005. "We felt confident that through a combination of us changing the way in which we worked and tailoring the system to our needs, we could come up with the best solution and one that would grow with us in time," added Carl.

Container Swinglift started out with 12 users on the new system. Initially there was some natural resistance from staff around the change, however, after the initial bedding in period and good training and implementation, these users became comfortable and came to realise that the new system was a lot more powerful. The business now has 16 users on the system.

The Benefits

Flexible billing to eliminate revenue leakage

Container Swinglift has been able to build much tighter controls around revenue recovery. "When we initially reviewed our revenue leakage it was estimated at $2,000 per week which meant that $100k of yearly revenue was being lost as a result of billing omissions," said Carl.

"The nature of the market means that terms can differ greatly from customer to customer and therefore having flexibility in terms of the rate structure proved to be an immediate benefit. Now, being able to freely negotiate terms with customers and knowing that our billing system can cope gives us confidence and means that the whole billing process is more accurate and efficient."

Improved customer service and retention

Another major benefit is the improved level of customer service that the system facilitates. The nature of the business sees Container Swinglift not only service direct clients but also freight forwarders. The difference being that with the direct clients, they are dealing with a single, major importer, or a single major exporter whereas through a freight forwarder they can potentially be dealing with 20 or 30 different customers.

Says Carl, "the communication demands on our team for freight forwarders was and still is quite high and staying on top of that communication becomes very resource intensive. Previously we struggled to remain consistent in our service levels as far as providing regular and accurate communication. We now rely on the TransLogix system to provide automated delivery updates and status reports, sending vital information to customers automatically at set times of the day or based on certain events. Essentially this enables our customers to receive information before they need to ask for it."

Additionally, the customer web portal provides customers ready access to information around billing and proof of delivery saving time and money and reducing their frustration if they need information quickly.  

Reduced administrative costs

Over the past eight years the business has enjoyed significant growth. Carl adds, 'we have certainly put on more staff during this time but if we put that relative to the business today, then we'd have a lot more people on the team than we do right now. The beauty of the system means that the business can grow but it does not necessarily have to increase the amount of administrative staff in the same proportion.

As a result of improved operational efficiencies our staff are freed up to go that extra mile for customers and concentrate on delivering exceptional service. In turn our sales team has more confidence and they are able to track those customers who are looking for a service provider that can offer a more rounded, comprehensive service," continues Carl.

Future Plans

Container Swinglift is looking more seriously at electronic dispatch of jobs to in-vehicle devices using TransLogix mobility. The business will also look to leverage the openness of the TransLogix system and the ready access to information to aid in the development of other proprietary systems unique to the business.

A strong partnership

"We really wanted to align ourselves with a partner that was strong and reliable. During the implementation a lot of effort was made to get the system to do what we wanted it to do, in order to get the results we needed. TransLogix introduced the smarts and the system has successfully moved with us as we have grown," concludes Carl.

http://www.containerswinglift.com.au/

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