Direct delivery: a case study on the loading efficiency at
the foreign SCA terminals

Abstract: Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolag, SCA is one of the leading forest industries
which produces and sell products like pulp, solid wood, publication paper
and personal care products. The distribution and logistic unit of the
company is SCA Transforest.

The goods are transported from the producing unit to one of Transforests
terminals for further transportation to the customers. Transforest use
specially made RoRo vessels with a cassette system to transport good to the
European market. A cassette is a type of goods-carrier on which the goods
are loaded. The purposes with using goods-carries are to reduce the
discharging time for the vessel, the risk of damage to the goods and number
of handling the goods. The reduction of the handling is achieved by direct
loading. The goods are loaded from one goods-carrier directly on to next
without any extra value adding handling. Today the terminals have different
routines for when to direct load and when not to. The terminals have
internal targets for direct deliver and to be able to reach those they
direct deliver as much as possible without considering the loading
efficiency. For some of the direct deliveries performed the efficiency and
the economy are questionable.

The purpose of the thesis was to study the loading efficiency at the
foreign terminals, to detect variables which affect the loading result and
create routines for when to direct deliver. Focus for the study has been
the terminal in Rotterdam. To achieve this interviews and observations were
performed at the terminals. Then a time study was conducted at the
Rotterdam terminal and the costs connected to the loading procedures were
identified. The new routines for direct delivery are presented below.

•The Advice for the loading instruction should be received by the
forwarding department one day before the vessels arrival at the terminal.
•Do not direct deliver less than a full lorry, preferably more than 24 ton.
•Do not direct deliver if the cassette contains more than three production
orders.
•Do not direct deliver if the load has to be taken from more than one
cassette.
•The cassettes must not stand at the terminals longer than two calls.
•Discharge the reels that are not for direct loading in to bay to make the
reels for direct delivery easier to access.

To achieve a more efficient loading procedure at the terminals, time
registration should be introduced in the terminals so they can have a
better control over the activities performed. The reservation of the reels
should be done by the stevedoring personnel and not the forwarding
department. The stevedores have a better control over the stock and
therefore can coordinate the loading more efficient. To avoid that the sale
offices order reels without a customer, harder sanctions should be placed
on them for the reels not sold. The internal goal of direct delivery
should be reviewed to see if it is a suited target for the terminal because
they can not affect the outcome. SCA should also try to sell VMI solutions
to their customers. SCA will get a better control of the production
planning and information of the customer delivery will be available earlier
in the supply chain which makes it possible to coordinate the transports
better.