At Refresco Calvörde in Germany, the guard house stands empty. Strange, for such a large and busy production site. What is going on here? According to Christian Engel, Director of Warehouse Operations Europe: “This used to be our Gate House for the security guards. We worked here in a three-shift environment, with three security guards 24/7.” Before implementing Peripass, they had to manually check all the trucks coming in and going out, and those guards had to open the barrier gates. “This is now fully automated with Peripass.”
The drivers who arrive on-site use the kiosks to check in and then receive their personal PIN code. “We have two PIN pads, a higher-set one for trucks and a lower-set pad for regular vehicles. No one needs to exit their truck, which enhances safety. The barrier gate opens when they enter their four- or six-digit code.”
Refresco understands that being a truck driver is a tough job, and they wanted to make the processes on their site as efficient and effective as possible for everybody who comes to it.
“We wanted to become a really great place to load, so we said, okay, let’s find a solution that helps us automate this.”
“Before implementing Peripass, the parking lot was super crowded. All the trucks had to wait here; we had to call them in manually. Now, we call them in with auto dispatch as soon as they check in and we have a free dock.” This improved flow made it possible to reduce truck waiting times, and now the parking lot is nearly empty while they process more trucks!
When drivers use the PIN pad, a signal is sent to the warehouse crew to prepare the shipment. This is done through a connection between Peripass and SAP. So, by the time the truck arrives at the dock, the actual loading can start.
The Refresco team displays their Peripass dashboard on a large screen in the dispatching office. “This visualisation of our docks and yard here at Refresco helps keep an eye on the ongoing auto dispatch.” What does that mean for Refresco?
“We use auto dispatch most of the day and every day. It has made our life much easier because you can free up much time for the staff.”
But how was it done before Peripass? “We did dispatching completely manually. We had to call them to their dock in various ways. A phone call, sometimes sending someone out on foot, sometimes we used pagers… It was complicated.” That has changed. The drivers now get an SMS message with their dock information.
After loading, the drivers used to return to the reception desk to get their delivery papers. This area is now closed like the guard house, and the check-out process is fully automated. “The driver uses the PIN code at the check-out kiosk. He selects his language, maybe English, and enters the PIN code he received earlier. And with the PIN code, we know the connected delivery and can print out the papers.”
The delivery papers get printed, and the driver is off to his next destination. It has become that easy!
“We are so satisfied with Peripass and this yard management tool that this has become a European Standard for us. We are going to roll it out on other sites. Four more to come at the end of this year. Yeah, the future is bright. I think we will have more sites with Peripass very soon.”
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