Chefs Culinar enhances last-mile delivery with Descartes
German wholesale food distributor Chefs Culinar is using Descartes Systems Group’s last mile delivery solution to enhance its operations, including via integration into vehicle telematics systems.
The Descartes route planning technology allows Chefs Culinar’s route planners to automate and optimise the route planning associated with deliveries, to support meeting on-time delivery commitments to customers.
This includes optimising regular fixed deliveries for clients, and managing any ad-hoc deliveries that may be required. For Chefs Culinar this has resulted a reduction in total mileage and delivery times; improvements in delivery density; and savings in time, fuel and costs associated with deliveries, both from an planning and execution perspective.
“Chefs Culinar has been delivering food products for over 100 years,” said Dr Frank Scholz, group CIO at parent company Citti Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG.
“In that time our product range has expanded, along with our reach across Europe. As part of that success, punctual deliveries to our customers continues to form a core component of our service promise.
“Customers today expect to have the capabilities to process orders digitally, reliably and quickly – they count on suppliers to demonstrate traceability, transparency, and to offer sustainable solutions as they deliver goods.
“Descartes’ technology enables us to meet these requirements, despite how complex supply chains are becoming globally, and while order and delivery demands become ever more personalised and dynamic. What is more, enhancements to our operations are having a positive knock on effect to our own sustainability goals, as we have improved our carbon footprint.”
Descartes’ cloud-based last-mile delivery solution has been integrated into Chefs Culinar’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and vehicle telematics systems.
Descartes says its technology allows distribution-intensive companies to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. It supports standard and dynamic delivery requirements; including same-day delivery, by offering flexible, efficient and cost-effective time windows and delivery options.
The Descartes solution improves route productivity by using advanced AI-led optimisation technology to reduce the distance driven per delivery, which maximises delivery capacity and reduces costs.
With an integrated GPS-based mobile application, the solution coordinates drivers, dispatchers and call centres to ensure that routes are executed according to plan and so that exceptions are handled efficiently, says Descartes. Additionally, the solution improves delivery sustainability, by enhancing route productivity, resulting in less CO2 per delivery.
“It has been immensely rewarding for Descartes to see the impact that our technology has had on Chefs Culinar’s delivery operations,” said Peio Ribas, senior vice president EMEA at Descartes Systems Group.
“Our last mile delivery solutions have been designed to help distribution-intensive companies to automate and optimise their delivery operations. So, it’s great to see how our technology is playing a key role in enabling Chefs Culinar to continue to deliver goods to its customers on-time and efficiently – while maintaining a great customer service, keeping operational costs low, and while meeting its own sustainability commitments.”
