Global round up

Ceva Logistics has expanded its less-than-container-load (LCL) services with the addition of 30 new consolidation services around the world.

 

Building on the Hamburg to New York City service, which was launched in September this year, the company has now added the following ocean freight services: Los Angeles to Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne; Hamburg to Shanghai, Singapore and Dubai; Shanghai to Dallas, Singapore and Hamburg, and Nhava Sheva, India to New York.

 

The company said that the new services provide customers with greater choice between LCL, full-container load (FCL) and break-bulk shipments to suit their specific needs.

 

“With the addition of these new services, we have almost tripled the number of consolidation offerings for our customers,” said Greg Scott, Ceva’s Global LCL director. “With Ocean growth as a major focus for our business, it’s essential that we continue to identify opportunities to bring new solutions, such as this, to the market. These new LCL services mean our customers benefit from improved visibility en route and enhanced cargo flows, as well as access to CEVA’s integrated global network which can support their door-to-door transportation needs in house.”

 

The Institute of Transport Management has recognised logistics providers Gefco and Evolution Time Critical with awards for their services during a tough climate over the past year.

 

ITM gave a double accolade to French logistics provider Gefco for its services on the European continent and in the UK “[at] a time when budgetary constraints are tighter than ever”.

 

“Its extraordinary success in the logistics market, both in the UK and Europe, in spite of difficult prevailing conditions, means that it is truly deserving of the awards of European Logistics Company 2012 and UK Automotive Logistics Company 2012,” said ITM in a statement.

 

Amongst its latest service offering ITM recognised the daily distribution service from the UK to 15 European countries resulting in shorter shipping times and lower costs for customers.

 

Supported by Gefco’s overland network, the new service offers faster and more frequent distribution from its Coventry platform to strategic sites in Europe.

 

Meanwhile, Evolution Time Critical won the ITM’s Emergency Logistics Specialist 2012 award. “With a truly international network, Evolution Time Critical delivers to and from anywhere in the world,” said the Institute in a statement. “It makes promises that it can keep and it gets client deliveries where they need to go, whether this means chartering a plane or organising a helicopter drop. Congratulations are due to all at the company. The award of Emergency Logistics Specialist 2012 is well deserved.”

 

 Responding to the award Brad Brennan, managing director of Evolution Time Critical said: “We have been working with automotive manufacturers for over a decade now, and in that time we have seen the demand for emergency logistics grow significantly.  Emergency logistics has become an enabler which allows manufacturers to run ultra-lean production models.” 

 

The Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG) has announced it is implementing a cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics customer relationship management solution, which is managed by IT services supplier Sovereign Business Integration.

 

The solution will enable ECG to engage with its 3,200+ members, sponsors and other contacts while reducing the costs associated with upfront hardware and software purchases and the need for internal IT resources.

 

"As an organisation we carry out a wide range of activities that target or affect our members - from lobbying exercises to regional group meetings, regular events and our annual conference and, in addition, our weekly ECG News newsletter,” explained Mike Sturgeon, executive director, ECG. “Until recently, all our communications with our members about all these varied activities were conducted through and managed within our desktop applications, including Outlook and Excel, which really were not fit for purpose."

ECG went out to market during the summer this year and selected the cloud-based MS Dynamics solution managed by Sovereign Business Integration for a variety of reasons, including Sovereign's knowledge and experience in the automotive logistics industry.

Sturgeon added: "Dynamics was the most fit-for-purpose solution; we could not identify any other software that came as close in terms of the functionality we required. In addition, Sovereign is a trusted supplier to the industry, they understand the way in which it is structured and the nuances within it. This means that they had the expertise, skills and knowledge to easily tailor MS Dynamics to the particular requirements of our organisation."

 

Nominations are open for this year’s MAN everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards, the annually-held prize that recognises the success of women in transport and logistics in the UK and showcases the opportunities available to them across the industry.

 

Sponsored by MAN Truck & Bus UK it is organised by everywoman, a 40,000-strong female business community founded by Karen Gill and Maxine Benson in 1999 that seeks to increase the number of women in business and raise the status of women in the economic community.

 

Benson who is also director of everywoman said: “Transport and logistics play a vital role in society and is one of few areas showing consistent growth at a time of economic uncertainty. There are many opportunities for women and these awards seek to highlight this by shining the spotlight on those that are already succeeding within the sector.  We encourage all organisations to identify and nominate their female talent thereby encouraging more to explore the opportunities offered.” 

 

There are eight categories in this year’s awards: Rising Star of the Year; Commercial Driver of the Year; Director of the Year; The Warehousing Award; Industry Trainer of the Year Award; Green Champion; Team Leader of the Year; and Woman of the Year, given to one enthusiastic and dedicated woman whose vision, innovative approach and success make her an outstanding role model.

 

Nominations close on 13 February 2012 and the finalists will be announced in early April. The winners will be announced at luncheon and awards ceremony at The Savoy in London on 17 May. More information is available here.