Log:Nett gives environmental advocate Maske full visibility and control over all its transports.
“We’re very pleased with Locus and their transport administration (TA) system Log:Nett, which we’ve been using since 2012. We can maintain full tracking of all our shipments with the best GPS and mapping solutions on the market. Thanks to their module-based EDI solution Log:Nett EDI, we’re able to operate 24/7 365 days a year. This gives us complete control over all our transports,” says Svein Gulbrandsen, Transport Manager at Maske AS.
Maske AS is Norway’s largest supplier of consumables for the commercial and public sectors. The Norwegian-owned company stocks over 14,000 products, including office, cleaning and health products, as well as other consumables from respected manufacturers. Maske has a turnover of NOK 1.2 billion. “We cover everything from office and computer equipment and light bulbs to items for schools and the health sector, and we are a total supplier of consumables to our customers. Products are distributed rapidly from our two central warehouses in Oslo and Trondheim,” says Gulbrandsen.
Climate-neutral supplier
Maske is the first climate-neutral supplier of consumables in Norway. “We have 16 zero-emission vehicles operating in the Trondheim and Østlandet areas of Norway. We also have a number of electric vans and trucks on order,” says Gulbrandsen. He adds that the City of Oslo requires that Maske only use zero-emission vehicles. “That’s why the necessary steps have been taken to satisfy their demands by using electric vans in Greater Oslo.”
Full tracking
“Log:Nett allows us to maintain full tracking of all our shipments. Our customer service centre can quickly log into the Log:Nett TA system and locate the shipments. All information is transferred to Locus, who send an EDI message (Log:Nett EDI) to our carriers,” says Gulbrandsen. “We allocate the assignments to carriers, while Locus is an information provider.”
Flexible standard portal
“We’ve been further developing Log:Nett together with Maske since 2012. The system has been crucial for the current customised TA solution, which is a flexible standard portal adapted to the customer’s specific wishes and needs. Maske has provided constructive feedback, ideas and suggestions for the development of the system. Our newly developed app from our development department in Denmark provides Maske with complete control over the vehicle from the moment it is fully loaded at the terminal until it arrives at the customer’s premises,” says Erik Egelund, who is responsible for customer satisfaction at Locus.
Fleet management app
GPS locations from the F-Link app allow Maske’s dispatchers to know where the vehicles are. “Every day we load the vans to bursting point and the app gives us an accurate overview and control over the utilisation rate. With GPS, we know exactly where the vehicles are and their expected arrival time at their destination. If there is an urgent order, we can call up an available vehicle. We can also generate statistics on each individual vehicle,” says Gulbrandsen. “The app also provides a basis for measuring CO2 emissions and the number of kilometres driven to help us achieve our environmental ambitions.”
Revenue growth
During the coronavirus pandemic, Maske’s revenue received a boost as a result of increased demand for face masks and infection control gowns. “The module-based EDI solution from Locus has given us better control over the shipments,” says Gulbrandsen, who believes that the uptime achieved by Locus has streamlined the flow of goods.
Control of all transports
“Log:Nett gives Maske control over its transports and carriers. The customer service centre knows where the vehicles are geographically, can track them using GPS and calculate the expected delivery time,” says Erik Egelund.
Detailed information on the shipment
“On Maske.no, our customers can search for their shipments either by order or shipping number. It gives them information about when the shipment has been scanned onto a vehicle and when it will arrive,” says Gulbrandsen. “With GPS and time data, the customer has complete control over the shipment of goods.”
Delivery statistics
“The Delivery Statistics report gives us good control over carriers, providing us with statistics on their own delivery quality. Both scanning and Track&Trace (T&T) are important because customers place high demands on the delivery of shipments,” says Gulbrandsen. He explains that Maske relies on complete visibility, tracking, status and deviation reporting. “T&T also gives us an overview of the product content. If the customer has their shipping number available, they can search for their shipments themselves,” says Gulbrandsen. He says that route consolidation allows Maske to make significant savings. “We’re now looking at optimising routes in advance so that we can include less frequent routes that will save us huge sums.”
Split Norway in two
Maske has a store system that is integrated with Log:Nett so that the warehouses in Vinterbro and Tiller have a full overview of shipments that are sent directly to stores. “We’ve split Norway in two, with postcodes from 0 to 5999 departing from Vinterbro and postcodes from 6000 departing from Tiller. This has streamlined transport and allows us to send the goods directly to stores. We’ve not calculated the system savings, but it has certainly increased delivery precision,” says Gulbrandsen.
Flexible and solution-oriented
“We’re very pleased with Locus. They’ve been living up to our expectations for many years. They are flexible and quick to develop solutions adapted to our needs. In particular I’d like to highlight the user-friendly handheld terminals used by our employees at goods reception and by our drivers. They spend an average of 1-2 hours learning all the necessary functions,” concludes Gulbrandsen.
Maske is the first climate-neutral supplier of consumables. “We have 16 zero-emission vehicles operating in the Trondheim and Østlandet areas of Norway,” says Transport Manager Svein Gulbrandsen (left) alongside Erik Egelund from Locus.
