Logicom 4.0 technology project underway
Citet, in collaboration with the Spanish Logistics Centre, CEL, and the Transport and Logistics Business Organisation, UNO, have launched the Logicom 4.0 project. The aim of this initiative is to reduce the number of incidents in the shipment of goods, mostly caused by the large number of actors involved in the supply chain.
The Association of Electronic and Information Technology Industries of the Basque Country, Gaia; the Spanish Confederation of Information Technology, Communications and Electronics Companies, Conetic; and the Information Technology and radio frequency identification company, Amipem Consultores, have also collaborated in the project.
Logicom 4.0 integrates a standard system for the identification and traceability of packages, together with the connection to a platform for the digitalisation and transaction of documentation, thus minimising errors in communication and management, reducing incidents and optimising customer service, facilitating agile decision-making while reducing the cost derived from these transport inefficiencies.
In Spain, more than 500 million parcels are shipped every year. According to data from the Logistics and Transport Business Organisation, UNO, these movements reach peaks on specific dates, such as the week of Black Friday, when parcel delivery companies move around two million parcels a day and in many cases, even operators working in closed networks are forced to subcontract and try to integrate third parties to be able to respond to this demand. In this context, the lack of standards and the lack of interoperability between the management systems of the different actors involved in the supply chain makes the traceability of shipments very complex and increases incident rates, especially in open networks, where more than one transport operator is involved in the process.
New business models around collaborative logistics are emerging in response to the demands of the administration, which seek to rationalise the flow of goods transport within cities and reduce related emissions. Among these new models (shared micro-platforms, urban consolidation centres, lockers, convenience points, etc.), it is essential to work around interoperable standards and tools, where all agents “speak the same language”.
In response to this problem and as a result of the collaboration between two key sectors of the Spanish economy, the logistics sector and the information technology sector, the Logicom 4.0 project has arisen with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. This solution integrates a standard intermodal platform for the identification and traceability of packages and communication between freight transport agents with the GNE platform, Gaia Net Exchange, a document exchange platform that offers companies the possibility of streamlining the digitalised delivery of documentation, invoices, delivery notes, orders or bank integration, in which more than 13,000 entities currently participate.
Ramón García García, CEO of Citet comments: “The initiative launched with Logicom 4.0 offers a standard tool to the market to facilitate comprehensive traceability and real interoperability between the agents involved from commercial distribution to delivery, at a very opportune time when collaborative solutions are required that adapt to the new requirements of the administration and consumers in the distribution of goods”.
“Increasing standardisation and traceability between the different links in the supply chain is an effective source for injecting competitiveness and added value into the country’s economy,” explains Francisco Aranda, secretary general of UNO. “At UNO we are very pleased to participate in this innovative project, Logicom 4.0, which provides real solutions to the new demands of the market, making available to SMEs and the self-employed a real collaborative tool that streamlines and improves their operations,” adds the secretary general of UNO.
From the point of view of the logistics sector, “Logicom 4.0 will represent a major advance in the distribution of products, reducing incidents and thus improving delivery efficiency”, comments José Estrada, general manager of the Spanish Logistics Centre. “In the current context with the immediacy demanded by e-commerce, it is a competitive solution to guarantee the information and service demanded by the new online shopper with a direct impact on cost reduction for all actors in the supply chain.
