Graphics of the vehicles subject within my thesis.

Appendices

Appendix A;

Graphics of the vehicles subject within my thesis.

Length; 7 meters Wide 2,54 meters Height; 2.86 meters

Tilt-cart trailer Length; 6.90 meters Wide 2,50 meters Height; 2.90 meters

Curtain sided semi-trailer Length; 13.60 meters Wide 2,45 meters Height; 2.60 meters

Semi-trailer with a solid box Length; 13.40 meters Wide 2,50 meters Height; 2.70 meters

The future; Truck with long trailer Length; approximately 25 meters

Appendix B

Appendix C; Constraining the research

International transported freight categorized 2001

12%

1%

1%

15%

14%

1% 13%

6%

1%

36%

Agricultural products and livestock Solid minerals

Ore and metal-risidues Raw materials; building materials

Chemical products Nutrients and animal feed

Mineral oil and oil products Metal and metal semi-manuf acturers

Fertilizers Remaining goods and manufacturers

• Waste products vehicles

• Agriculture vehicles

• Distribution vehicles

• Car transport

• Building materials transport

• Exceptional transport

• Conditioned transport

• Vegetables and fruit transport

• Tip-up truck

• United couriers

• Physical distribution group

• Milk vehicles

• Ornamental plants vehicles

• DTSV (Tank Silo Transport)

• Saveetra

• Moving vehicles

• Deep Sea container alliance

Source; www.cbs.statline.nl, Nomenclature des marchandises pour les statistiques de Transport, Révisée

Appendix D;

Vehicles used for transportation by road in 2001. This is categorized by sort of vehicle.

Vehicles used for domestic transport, 2001

5% 16%

21%

8%

1% 6%

12%

23%

1% 7%

Container vehicle Platform trailer Closed vehicle Container/sw apbody Insulated vehicle Car transporter Bulk vehicle Tipper

Low bed trailer Others

Source; www.cbs.statline.nl, Freight transported within the Netherlands, categorized by vehicle

Appendix E

Dachser; A European transportation company

During my research I had an interview with Mr. Spieker, one of the main transporting organizations for Akzo Nobel Coatings. Subject was the way the company build their distribution network and what sort of vehicles they use to convey freight for their clients. What came forward is that every distribution network has its own roots and characteristics. The way Dachser build there network is not unique, however they have characteristics what distinguish themselves from others.

Dachser is a German company what started in 1940 and is still a family owned company. Through their historian background they are notably operating in German speaking countries. Their idea is that they have several places and between them they have scheduled trucks riding. This system works like a time-table. Each day on a fixed time a truck is leaving, heading to a fixed destination from where the cargo is brought to their final destination. Each point functions as a cross-docking centre from where freight is grouped all for the same destination. A trucks arrives, unloads, the pallet is placed to an area where other freight for the same region is placed and with the arrival of the truck it is all loaded into the truck. Often there is only a box waiting to be loaded and a truck picks the box up when he is loaded. When the freight to be conveyed for a company is bigger than 5.000 kg it is send directly to the destination. This ride takes place besides the scheduled rides. With the distribution point situated at strategic points the goal is to travel each ride by average 400 kilometres. This enables to convey freight over a big area in Europe at a fast and efficient way.

Every package has is own bar code. This is attached at the freight by Dachser or, when the sending company is well equipped, this is done by the sending company self. Now the sending company can easily trace where there freight is and if it is still in tact. This can be monitored through pictures of a digital camera.

Some bigger distributions points function as cross-docking centres from where the products are transported to other countries. Cross-docking, as well named as ‘flow through warehousing of distribution’ is a concept where products of several suppliers are gathered in a distribution centre.

From there off they are, without intermediate stocking, sorted and combined for transport to the receivers. Cross-docking is mainly aiming for the distribution of end products to retailers. Goal is reduction of storage, stocking and handling costs. Cross Docking has to be distinguished from Transit.

Transit is where the goods are already picked for their destination by the provider and delivered already sorted out to the distribution centre. In daily practice these two terms are often mixed, but they have their own definition.

On balance, cross-docking will lead to higher transportation costs as compared with normal distribution, because of the lack of storage and a higher frequency and less consolidation points.

The character of the distribution centre will change through this new transportation concept; These centre are dynamic, labour intensive and more focused on the direct regrouping of freight, instead of stocking it.

With a grouping of freight from several suppliers a higher truckload is established and a more efficient loading of the vehicles. This can be arranged for transport between distribution centres but for the final recipients as well. In that case the places of delivery situated not far from each other are combined in one ride.

An example; When a package has to be transported from Sassenheim to France and it is 1.500 kg, it leaves Sassenheim at 10.00 am. It arrives at 12.30 pm in Zevenaar and goes then to Saarbrücken, where all the packages for destination France are assembled. However, packages for that region arrive at the same distribution point. Therefore, within that centre, with help of barcodes, the cargo of one truck is immediately sorted out and transferred to the appropriate waiting box or semi-trailer. In an overnight ride the cargo is brought to one of the distribution centres in France. Therefore, delivery within 24 hours can be assured. Other assembly points are; Mannheim for Spain and Portugal and Hanover for the Scandinavian countries.

To grow and to continue deliveries with a level of qualities they took over a French company some years ago, to ensure the quality level they had worked so carefully for. Because they were dependent on an agent in France who couldn’t provide the information and could not assure an appointed time they took over a French company, Graveleau. This company is still operating in his own colours under his own name, but the technical facilities are all provided by Dachser. Information systems leading to electronic data interchange, bar code readers are all operating on the same level as in other companies as well, ensuring the level of quality where the costumers are used to.

Regarding the vehicles used, Mr. Spieker stated, that he didn’t saw the advantage for curtain sided vehicles. As almost every distribution centre works with ramps where the trucks are loaded or unloaded, it is useless to have curtain sided trailers. Boxes are the prevailing way to transport the freight. However, the use of platform trailers is prevailing between the distribution centres. They are positioned at a ramp, waiting for the truck to arrive and to convey the grouped freight according the specified time-table. Arrived at the destination, the box is dropped and a new one is taken on the way back.

Appendix F

A description of the different drivers for the transportation market within Europe A resume;

Political

• Legislation concerning measurements; With exception of Finland and Sweden, the measures of vehicles is unified in Europe. Any significant change couldn’t be expected in the following years, despite the tests to do so in various countries. E.g. Swedish companies are testing in co- operation of the NEA ¹

• Effort by the European commission to promote the use of different modalities; Despite the fact that transport by road as compared with the different modalities has the biggest growth rates, the transportation by rail has the preference of the European authorities. However the longer transportation times seems to be the main struggling point. Regarding the strong position of transport by road of the total tons per kilometre, any significant changes shouldn’t be expected, despite the wish of the European commission. Transport by road will continue to offer specific advantages as door-to-door delivery without any additional activities. However, the commission shall continue to increase the price of transport by road to push the other modalities in a competitive position.

• The introduction of the Maut, tax per kilometre. The transportation companies in all the different European countries, especially the ones travelling through Germany, will suffer from the introduction of the Maut. This will be introduced eventually in other European countries as well.

Economical

• The transportation market within Europe can be described as a competitive one. The North- West European countries have the experience in logistical advanced solutions but meets competition from surrounding Eastern and Southern countries. The differences in the costs of personnel between the Western European transporting companies and their other European colleagues remain high, despite the declining gap between them. The differences in the offered transportation quality between the regions are decreasing as well. For the moment, due to better management, higher quality of the vehicles and the infrastructure, the production of notably the West European transporters is 25% higher. However, these East European companies compensate this lower productivity by paying lower wages resulting consequently in better profit margins and lower prices asked for their services.

Social

• Due to the 48 hours working legislation, two consequences are likely to occur. On the one hand the stimulus of an international transporting organization where co-operation is significant. Due to the restriction of the hours that a chauffeur is able to drive, a transporting organization should co-operate with another foreign transportation company to deliver cargo on the other side of Europe. This could lead to mergers and take-overs from transportation companies. Another consequence is that, due to this restriction, the transportation companies will focus on their own region. Functioning in a network with other European companies, the need for a well build network within their own region is required. That comes forward out of the generic strategies of Porter as well (chapter 4.2)

• Increasing demands from ship-from-parties; These companies need professional logistics service providers who are able to deliver logistical solutions in stead of transportation capacity only. They expect innovation, not only technical, but more on the domain of organizing the processes and building transportation networks. Ship-from-parties expect more knowledge from their logistical partners; they force them to invest in quality control, warehousing and information services; otherwise they will found another partner. Due to the search for more efficiency of the ship-from-parties, these companies disposed of the transportation task. Cost

1 NEA; Dutch research and educative centre for transportation.

of personnel, vehicles and the lower prices asked by the transportation companies to fulfil this task led to this out sourcing decision.

Technical

• As mentioned in the chapter describing the developments within Central Europe and Southern Europe the role of the harbours at the Mediterranean Sea, in particular the Adriatic Sea, will gain importance. Furthermore with more efficiently working harbours in South Europe and the increasing globalisation of the production the use of containers will increase as well. Because of the increased use of them the transport towards the hinterland (Eastern Europe) will increase as well. This use of containers will be stimulated by the European government as well, because the containers will be further transported by train when arrived in the harbours as well. However, a problem for the transportation companies is that they don’t know what they convey. Not necessarily the sort of products, but more the weight of it, due to the fact that the containers are sealed as prevention for robberies. With increasing control of exceeding the maximum axle weight this could lead to problems for the transportation companies.

• The influence of Information Technology. In the past the information technology offered the transportation companies the possibilities to provide extra information to their clients. Now, without this technology, they are nowhere in providing the demanded services from the ship- from-parties. The importance of the ICT has another consequence. In the Western countries their advantage on the domain of logistical solution is significant. However, to profit from these advantages, their establishments or co-operating partner organizations in the other European countries should work with the same technology as well. To install these programmes and to profit from them it is clear that smaller transportation companies are been taken over by bigger Western organizations (E.g. Dachser taking over Graveleau and TNT taking over Italian transportation companies). The strive for an efficient use of ICT lead to the development of large logistics organizations, who, eventually could ride with standardized vehicles.

• As already seen, the new transporting concepts lead to a more efficient system of transportation. However, the take-over and mergers of transporting companies is also due to the low margins and the consequently following bankruptcies of transportation companies. In the chapter describing the new transportation concepts, a shift from European distribution centres towards regional centres appeared. This trend has been recognized by the Transport and Logistic Netherlands and founded by statistics provided by the CBS; through a further focussing on the region of the transportation companies they fulfil the transportation task for the coupling 3^rd - and 4^th- party logistics organizations. That’s what came forward out of the generic strategies of Porter as well.

Appendix G

Information was obtained by interviews held with the following respondents.

Ship-from-party

Akzo Nobel; Mr. Hoogervorst

Mr. Rijsoord

Logistics service provider

TNT; Mr. P. Roelofs

Transporting organization

Wesseling Transport; Mr. Wesseling

De Wilde Transport; Mr. W. Kompier

Dachser; Mr. Spieker

De Greef Transport Mr. de Greef

Receiving organization

Akzo Nobel Mr. Hoogervorst

Mr. Rijsoord

Brach Organizations

Transport and Logistic Netherlands (TLN); Mr. Ohm, MR. De Bruin Mr. Ruijgrok

RAI- Association; Mr. Satijn

NIWO; Mrs. Niehoff

TLN Italy Mrs. Thieme

Federation of Belgian Transporters; Mrs. De Maegd

Building organizations

HLM-Group Mr. Verweije

Karhoff Group Mr. Karhoff

Marketing Departments of Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes

Sweden Mr. Nyqvist

France Mr. Hecklé

European consultancy bureau

Prognos AG; Mr. Grotrian