BIFA 2018

Metro shortlisted for two freight industry awards

Oct 24, 2023 |

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) have revealed the finalists for the 35th Freight Service Awards, with Metro shortlisted in the Sustainable Logistics and Specialist Services categories.

BIFA is the trade association for the freight, logistics and supply chain management sector and their annual Freight Service Awards are the industry’s most contested and highly sought trade awards, because peer recognition is the ultimate accolade.

Sustainable Logistics 

Metro’s submission for the Sustainable Logistics Award described how a client’s commitment to drive down their operations CO2 emissions and create more sustainable supply chains was supported by three Metro initiatives, that focused on their critical air freight channel.

Over a two-year span Metro created:

1. A cloud-based tool to measure and monitor the CO2 emissions of every shipment.

2. Became the first UK forwarder to invest in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programme.

3. Participated in Sustainable Flight Challenges to generate CO2 savings exceeding 37%.

The critical insights gained from the Sustainable Flight Challenges were invaluable in developing the operational templates that are now paving the way for a more sustainable air freight channel for the featured client.

Specialist Services 

This category highlights the value that forwarders add, to enhance the freight element and the difference it makes to their customers.

Metro’s entry outlined how, at a time of limited transport capacity, a car manufacturing client’s finished vehicles were safely shipped to international markets, using a solution that reduced transit times, cut costs, lowered emissions and avoided disruption at destination.

Visibility of critical supply chain milestones and connectivity between Metro’s supply chain management platform and the client's ERP system gave them the confidence to give their dealers direct access to Metro’s visibility tools, providing reassurance on their vehicle orders.

With Metro’s solutions the client could continue delivering customer orders in a challenging environment, with the solution set to continue for 12 months.

BIFA Freight Service Award winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony Luncheon to be held on Thursday 18th January 2024 at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London, EC1.

If you would like to learn more about the solutions highlighted here, please EMAIL Andrew Smith, Metro’s Chief Commercial Officer. 

metro tech

Major system upgrade deployed

Oct 24, 2023 | , , ,

Industry leading operating system CargoWise is now in place, with Metro recently completing a three year project to transition to the new core freight forwarding operations platform.

Headed by our Business Process Solutions (BPS) team of 12 the project’s success is testament to the remarkable dedication and teamwork exhibited by every member involved within BPS and the other Solutions teams. 

Metro began implementing the CargoWise transition three years ago, department by department, with large parts of the business successfully transitioning through the lockdown period, with modular learning, devised by our internal training team.

Our ops teams are constantly executing highly complex shipping transactions across multiple users, functions, offices, countries, currencies and languages, and vast amounts of time, effort and teamwork were necessary to map out the workflows for each department and individual customer. 

The documented workflows standardised best practice in automating and optimising business processes and real-time data visibility.

Critically, through the transition process, we continued to provide our valued customers with an uninterrupted service, by taking scoping sessions, UAT and staff training outside of core hours. BPS further supported their colleagues with an extended period of in-person hyper support, so that each department had ‘go-live’ desk support.

By integrating CargoWise digital processes, business rules and workflows, we can identify and eradicate errors before anything untoward happens, which means that instead of ‘fire-fighting’ operational issues, our colleagues are now free to concentrate on adding more value for our customers.

Customer and supplier integrations accounted for a large part of the transition to ensure all needs were safely catered for. Real-time visibility, detailed financial reporting, performance management and improved data quality speed up processes and decision making, and increases the volume of data we can share with customers, enhancing the way they can view and manipulate this information.

The project has been three years in the planning, training and implementation, with every area of the company being completely reviewed and processes optimised, with the final part of the Metro business transitioning to CargoWise on the 1st October.

Metro’s supply chain management portal, MVT, now boasts compatible modules including customs (CuDoS), DC delivery management, environment, and tracking, with notification engine solutions, which embrace AI, machine learning and automation technology. 

The project’s completion underlines our commitment to establishing and upholding the very best standards and emphasises our dedication to tailoring solutions to meet the specific needs and requirements of our diverse customer base.

Metro are at the forefront of digital freight operations, electronic trade documentation and automated customs brokerage solutions. 

The Metro board continue to invest in technical capabilities and innovative technology, which adds value for the business and our customers. EMAIL Ian Powell, to learn more.

MVT

Taking Metro technology to the next level

Sep 13, 2023 | , ,

Metro has been a technology first company for decades, becoming one of the earliest paperless forwarders almost 20 years ago and innovating leading-edge supply chain management, tracking and business-process technology ever since.

As a result, we have become increasingly integrated with many of our customers and partners, to share real-time data, accelerate workflows, automate processes and optimise their supply chains.

Conception, implementation and continued evolution of arguably the world’s most comprehensive logistics management platform, the proprietary MVT, further enhances our value proposition.

Wisetech Global began writing code for freight forwarders in 1994 and today they are a leading provider of software solutions to the logistics industry globally, with the top 25 global freight forwarders deploying their solutions.

In 2020, Metro took the strategic decision to partner with the Wisetech Global team and integrate their CargoWise One (CW1) operations solution with our multi-award winning MVT platform.

CW1 is an enterprise-class management system, with a deeply feature-rich set of vertical and horizontal, whole-of-enterprise capabilities, across the supply chain. 

Integration with MVT provides a significantly enhanced, global operations platform, which has been designed to drive productivity, profitability, automation, supply chain compliance and global reach. It simplifies and improves integration and communication with customers, partners, vendors and carriers, which enhances regulatory compliance with customs, security and dangerous goods authorities globally.

The CW1 project has been 2.5 years in the planning, training and implementation, with every area of the company being completely reviewed and processes optimised to utilise the full technical advantages of CW1, with the final part of the Metro business transitioning to CW1 on the 1st October.

The My Visibility Tool portal now boasts CW1 compatible modules including our latest (customs) CuDoS, (DC delivery management) DCM, (environment) Eco, and (tracking) T&T with Notification engine solutions, which embrace AI, machine learning and automation technology. 

Customers will be automatically transitioned to the latest version of Track and Trace (v4) and will still have access to our legacy MVTe solution for older shipments and corresponding documentation & reports. 

Our investment in AI features heavily in version 4 with optimised models that predict arrival dates and ETA insights to proactively notify users of reasons for delay. This development will be extended in 2024 with a customer facing API based on the standards of UN/CEFACT and the DCSA, that will load updated shipment and tracking data, directly into their systems.

Metro has rebranded with a new logo and documentation output from the CW1 system is being adapted to reflect this positive change and innovation.

Metro's board realises software implementation and rollout is rarely a smooth transition, internally and externally and while our work with CW1 has not been without its challenges over the last couple of years, we're delighted with the outcomes, the specific advantages it's brought us and the efforts of all the teams involved in this major undertaking.

Finally, we'd like to thank all our customers, partners and suppliers, for your ongoing support during this time.

The Metro board continues to invest in our technical capabilities and innovative technology, which adds value to the business and our customers. EMAIL Ian Powell, to learn more.

Logistics UK Awards 23

Metro short-listed for two industry awards

Aug 29, 2023 |

We are very proud to be short-listed, with a prestige car brand client, for Logistics UK’s ‘Partner of the Year’ at the Logistics UK Awards, with a second short-listing for a ‘Supply Chain Innovation Award’, at the Supply Chain Excellence Awards, in association with a technology partner.

Trade awards are a great opportunity to highlight the professionalism of our team, by showcasing the successes we have achieved with customers and partners, in demonstrating the value and impact delivered by Metro.

Logistics UK Awards Finalist; Logistics Partner of the Year

In 2021 our client, a midlands based prestige car and luxury SUV manufacturer, launched their corporate strategy to create more sustainable supply chains and achieve net-zero emissions by 2039.

The award submission to Logistics UK highlighted the support Metro provided our client in moving towards their environmental objective, with three specific initiatives, including the conception and development of a cloud-based tool to calculate emission costs and CO2 equivalent emissions, of every consignment, by any mode: 

1. To measure and monitor emissions in the supply chain.

2. To access sustainable aviation fuel and tests to conduct flights in the most sustainable manner possible.

3. To create operational templates and drive down CO2 emissions by 1/3rd in the critical air freight channel.

In driving supply chain efficiency, with carbon footprint measuring and reduction through MVT Eco, Metro is positioning this client ahead of regulations (reporting Scope 3 emissions) and giving them a competitive advantage, with the tools to benchmark environmental performance.

Winner to be announced on the 7th December 2023.

Metro has specialised in the automotive, construction and agricultural vehicle sectors for over four decades, working with many of the most respected and established global brands, to coordinate the end to end movement of vehicles and machinery around the world, by RoRo and container services.

Supply Chain Excellence Awards Finalist; Supply Chain Innovation Award

Technology is a key differentiator for Metro. Conceived, created and supported by our technical solutions team, our technology is innovative and valuable to our customers. 

Evolving continuously we constantly scan for emerging technologies and trailblazing partners to take our solutions to the next level and add even more value.

MVT is our cloud-based, hyper secure, workflow solution that connects shippers to their entire supply chain, harnessing participant, process and inventory data to provide complete real-time visibility, control and intelligence.

Accurate ETA real-time visibility and current shipment information is a critical milestone, but traditional methods rely on carriers and terminal operators' updates, which are often inaccurate or outdated, leading to wasted time and resource in tracking accurate updates.

Metro partnered with Windward, the leading Maritime AI company, and its Ocean Freight Visibility (OFV) solution to develop real-time visibility and AI Predicted ETAs for better planning, management by exception, and risk mitigation, which led to a 75% reduction in time spent on shipment operations and a 50% decrease in demurrage & detention costs.

The solutions developed with Windward includes “Reasons for Delay”, which automatically provides users with actionable visibility to support better business decisions and exception management.

Windward’s AI Predicted ETAs and delays updates are automated through API integration which enables efficient communication internally and externally with direct integration through our TMS and customer portal.

ETA Predictions, which are 88% more accurate than carrier ETA predictions, are displayed on Metro’s customer portal, next to the carrier’s most updated ETA, together with reasons for delay for containers arriving late.

Windward’s solution has also provided full visibility on over 95% of container milestones from Gate In at the port of loading to Gate Out at the destination port, with proactive mitigation measures and management by exception, to free up our operators’ time, to focus on customers.

Winner to be announced on the 9th November 2023.

Metro are at the forefront of supply chain management and visibility, in conceiving and developing the technologies that deliver real value in supporting businesses of all types and sizes.

The Metro board continues to invest in internally developed and externally acquired innovation in 2023-2024, which promises to be an exciting period for the Technical Solutions Team and business as a whole.

To learn more about our automotive capability, or how we can simplify your supply chain management, EMAIL Elliot Carlile.   

Category: Metro

Environment | Metro | MVT | Supply Chain | Technology

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