Every afternoon a lorry crosses the Danish border. It is loaded with goods from Siemens and heading for DanTransport, one of Denmark’s largest transportation and forwarding companies, with offices in various locations including Taulov. The lorry’s arrival at 4 pm results in an enormous amount of activity at DanTransport. Within two hours, all the goods will have been forwarded and be back on the roads with new destinations. ‘’Without an advanced bar code solution, we wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the task. Within a time frame of two hours, it would have been impossible to sort, distribute and record the entire Siemens consignment,’’ comments Joan K. Svenningsen, shipping agent and daily Siemens coordinator at DanTransport.

Hectic Activity

In order to comply with the timeframe, it was necessary to develop an entirely new bar code-based system that could ensure rapid forwarding. The Danish consultancy firm Industrial Bar Code Solutions (IBS) worked in close collaboration with DanTransport to produce a tailor-made advanced bar code solution for managing the Siemens order. IBS developed a wireless IT solution based on radio communications and portable terminals from Intermec that transmit data directly to a PC server on the network.

As data is transferred online, the central database is updated at the very moment the load or individual consignment is scanned by the bar code gun. The gun can also display data on the consignment at the same time. The IBS solution also ensures that several scanners can be connected to the same order.

''We wouldn’t have won the order from Siemens without the IBS solution, and even with the bar code system it becomes hectic when the lorries arrive. We do not know until the same day what or how much is in the lorry, so time is short,'' comments Joan K Svenningsen, who receives information on quantity, weight, volume and destination only at midday. All information is exchanged between the sender, partners, DanTransport and the customer via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). EDI is almost a necessity with such large transportation tasks, as so much data is transmitted, acknowledged and forwarded to the next link.

Bar Codes are the Future

DanTransport, part of the FLS Group, employs 100 people in Taulov, which is a natural intersection for transport between Jutland/Fyn and the rest of Europe. From there, parcels, goods lots and entire loads are freighted to and from Europe. Annually DanTransport forwards around 30,000 Siemens consignments containing anything from microchips to large electrical cabinets. The 120-150 daily consignments may need to be delivered to 100 different clients, such as electrical installation engineers, hospitals or electronics companies. Customers order the goods directly from Siemens, which assigns them with bar codes before dispatch.

Nedlloyd, DanTransport’s German partner for the Siemens order, transports the goods to Taulov. From there, they are forwarded to the rest of Denmark, while other goods for Scandinavia are shipped directly from Hamburg to Sweden, Norway or Finland. The morning after arrival in Taulov, the Siemens' Danish department can check which goods are underway, as the customers must have them delivered before 2 pm. ‘’Whatever arrives in Taulov is delivered with 100 per cent certainty.

This is guaranteed by our IBS system. Very soon, we plan to extend our bar code solution to include other customers. Bar codes are the future, as they eliminate dispatch errors, and because our customers demand security, precision and track & trace possibilities,‘’ says Joan K. Svenningsen. Track & trace functionality is provided by means of the Internet and DanTrack, which allows relevant people in the transport chain access in order to record, retrieve and update information on transportation operated by DanTransport and its partners throughout the world.