Business. Moving past the blocks.
LOGISTICS
Our focus remained on cost, service and safety in operations. Despite a 7% increase in diesel rates, our total distribution cost per tonne was at par with that in 2015. We adhered to our logistics KPIs such as direct dispatches, yard firing ratio, reduced lead distance and improved home market sales.
Sales and operation planning (S&OP) was strengthened
through cross functional meetings. The optimiser tool
output was used for contribution maximisation vs.
cost minimisation and mode vs. source planning vs.
decisions. Forty nine model warehouses were created
in compliance with a seven-point checklist including
hygiene, and health & safety of contract labourers
working in the warehouses. The top warehouses in
each region were awarded for creating the best
‘model warehouse’.Demonetisation provided us with the opportunity to go
cashless in our logistics operations including education
and awareness of transporters, C&F agents and
warehouse operators. Labourers and drivers were given
assistance to open Jan Dhan accounts. Transporters
were encouraged to use petro cards and fast tags.
Use of global positioning system (GPS) and radio frequency identification (RFID) improved visibility across the organisation. Project E-passport was piloted and rolled out at Bhatapara in December 2016. It provides information about vehicle and traffic safety data trends, which in turn enables monitoring of trucks and drivers and expedites action to improve safety compliance. Project E-pod was piloted at Darlaghat, through which trucks can be monitored in real time through mobile-enabled software.
About 14% of our cement supply to the markets was through the environment-friendly sea route using ten captive and one chartered ship. About 24% of the transport was through rail.
Our Health and Safety Improvement Plan (HSIP) for 2017 was rolled out with clear action points that emphasise driver safety, driver management centre (DMC), journey risk management (JRM) and overall safety in logistics operations. Our Vision 2020 Roadmap on HSIP has been approved. This will make ACL a world class organisation in logistics safety.