JCB Equipment sign three year contract to reduce transport costs

Construction manufacturer JCB has signed up a British transport management company on a three year contract to help direct their transport operations as part of an initiative to reduce supply chain costs and carbon emissions whilst improving service and visibility.

As part of the contract, involving the processing of over €12million transport activity, 3t (www.3t-europe.com) will be responsible for carrier selection and fulfilment, reporting transport activity and implementing cost and service improvement initiatives for the JCB service division which distributes parts worldwide across its network of 16 warehouses. The manufacturing company is also committed to reducing 35% of its carbon emissions by 2020.

3t will oversee the outbound transport and delivery of replacement parts from the UK based World Parts Centre, European Parts Centre in France and the Czech Parts Centre to dealers across the globe.

To help reduce waste in the supply chain and minimise costs for clients, 3t has developed a range of services, including their own in house transport management system, Global Carrier Manager (GCM). The system includes modules to manage communications, track and trace, order control and transport optimisation. It integrates fully with JCB’s order management and warehouse management system, as well as their multi modal carrier partners.

"JCB Service set very high standards of customer service and aims to fulfil 95% availability of all urgent parts within 24 hours," comments Tim Fawkes, Business Development Manager at 3t. "The company has an international customer base shipping to around 90 countries, resulting in a complex and highly demanding distribution network. Having worked with JCB for some years, we have proved that it is possible to make substantial transport savings without compromising the high standard of customer service that JCB are known for."

With a range of over 300 machines, JCB is one of the world’s top three manufacturers of construction equipment and has factories in the UK, Brazil, North America, India, China and Germany. The company employs over 10,000 people on four continents selling to 150 countries through 2,000 dealer depots.

"We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with 3t once again," comments Chris Buckler, General Manager of JCB Service’s Parts Operations. "They have gained a good insight into the complexity of meeting the demands of JCB Service’s customers, as well as the importance of driving down costs without compromising on the quality of customer service. With this insight, 3t have already played a significant part in streamlining our transport operations, taking out cost whilst maintaining a prompt and efficient service."

3t has been offering transport management solutions to companies across the UK and Europe for over 11 years. The company, which manages freight lanes in over 30 countries, is based in Leicestershire and also has a site in Paris. 3t manages all areas of transport operations including reducing empty running, measuring waste in the supply chain and introducing continuous improvement mechanisms.