Strong growth of Dobbe Transport requires overview
The strong and consistent growth has been a constant in Dobbe’s history. Increasing inbound volumes and the use of warehouses at multiple sites made it increasingly difficult to maintain oversight.
ADR in Practice
Hazardous goods are also stored. These dangerous substances must be transported and stored in accordance with ADR regulations (Accord relatif au transport international de marchandises Dangereuses par Route). The ADR is established under the umbrella of the United Nations and includes requirements such as criteria for risk categories of dangerous goods, transport conditions, packaging and tank standards, and shipping procedures including labeling and documentation. For example, Dobbe’s relevant warehouses are equipped with nitrogen sprinkler systems.
What else does Dobbe do?
In addition to storage and transport for third parties, Dobbe also handles customs services and operates excise warehouses. For some customers, Dobbe also carries out order picking activities. Incoming goods are mainly stored in pallet and drive-in racks.
More Control Over Inbound and Outbound Flows
At a certain point, Dobbe decided to explore the use of a time slot management system, allowing carriers to book their own delivery times. Through several demos, they gained insight into the possibilities of such booking systems and ultimately chose DCT.
Rick Hoogenboom, Assistant Warehouse Manager at Dobbe, explains:
“At the time, we kept track of everything in simple lists, for example in Excel. It was a particularly labor-intensive process with endless emails and phone calls just to keep everything organized. Bit by bit, we began to lose control over the processes, and that’s when we started working with DCT.
We were pleasantly surprised by the excellent guidance and the simplicity of the product. The latter was especially important for the acceptance of the new system by our carriers. We had to clearly explain why loading or unloading times could no longer simply be arranged by email or phone. It took some getting used to, but in less than a month the system was fully accepted by everyone. User-friendliness is therefore an aspect you should pay close attention to when making a purchase.”
TSM in Practice: Streamlined Logistics at Dobbe
For the use of time slot management, a minimum threshold of 8 pallets is applied, partly due to the manpower required to load or unload a truck. Today, around 80 carriers use the application. New carriers must request an account from Dobbe and then receive their login details, after which they can immediately book a slot. Some receive one account for the entire company, while in other cases, users are given a personal account.
Efficiency and Oversight in Freight Planning with TSM at Dobbe
By applying a minimum threshold, approximately 75% of shipments are registered. Most customers visit frequently to unload. For example, the largest customer sometimes uses up to 18 slots per day. In practice, this amounts to a total of 30 to 40 trucks per day. The remaining 25% of shipments are ad hoc deliveries from companies that visit less frequently.
Since Dobbe has 18 docks spread across different locations, having a clear overview of activities was a key requirement for the TSM. By using colors in the application, potential bottlenecks can be identified at a glance. At Dobbe, slots are allocated to locations rather than to one of the 18 docks. A truck arrives at the agreed time at a location, where the team leader then decides exactly where the truck should be.
Request a demo
Request a demo and experience what flow can do for your logistics.
Other cases
