The Challenge
FEGA & Schmitt recognised the opportunity to improve efficiency, reliability, and asset utilisation when transporting electrical goods in roll cages from a central warehouse to distribution centres for customer delivery.
The Solution
Partnering with smart systems providers FEGA & Schmitt deployed smart roll cages connected to the Sigofox 0G Network. The IoT solution enables remote tracking of cages for improved efficiencies and a better customer experience.
The Results
Smart roll cages provide visibility and data insights enabling optimisation of operational processes:
- improved transportation efficiency
- reduced losses and damages
- optimised asset utilisation
- reduced cost, time, and space
0G Network Operator
As the exclusive Sigfox 0G Network Operator, Heliot Europe owns and operates the national 0G Network covering Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia, suitable for the vast majority of loT applications.
Customer
FEGA & Schmitt is a reliable partner in materials procurement for the electrical trade, electrical retailers and industry. They offer a broad and deep range of goods and reliable logistics in central and southern Germany
Good reasons for FEGA & Schmitt to digitise its fleet
For nearly 50 years, FEGA & Schmitt has supported the German electrical industry by distributing high-quality goods, reliable services, and excellent customer service.
Traditionally, FEGA & Schmitt transported goods across its distribution network on wooden pallets shrink wrapping the bundle. Freight forwarders shipped the pallets to regional distribution centres where transporters took over to manage the final delivery to customers.
As the pace of business accelerated over the years, this process became slow, expensive, and error-prone.
Pallets were vulnerable to theft, loss, and damage. The process lacked transparency to let FEGA & Schmitt pinpoint problems impacting the end-user experience. Common challenges included slow pallet return to FEGA & Schmitt for re-use, incorrect delivery, and lack of pallets available in the right place at the right time for reliable distribution.
We have not always been able to reliably get the loading equipment back, or it has arrived damaged. This caused very high costs.
Roland Huber, Project Management Logistics
at FEGA & Schmitt
Partnering for success to introduce smart fleet management
After researching different alternatives for cutting-edge logistics solutions, FEGA & Schmitt chose to partner with Wanzl, a global leader in innovative smart systems for various industries, including retail and transportation.
Wanzl introduced FEGA & Schmitt to smart roll cages connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). Each cage is fitted with a fit-for-purpose tracking IoT device and connected to the Sigfox public, low-cost, low-power wide-area 0G Network, dedicated to connecting IoT devices over long distances.
FEGA & Schmitt chose the 0G Network because of its ability to reliably support two-way communication over long distances across outdoors and indoors environments. It provides FEGA & Schmitt with instant, easy network connectivity and European coverage.
The device is a cost-effective all-in-one solution that remotely monitors and sends near real-time location information on roll cages to a web-based application. Every pre-configured device uses long-life batteries, performing maintenance free over many years. Connecting the roll cage to the Sigfox 0G Network is seamless and easy.
Each device sends asset location data to an online web application. At any time, the FEGA & Schmitt team can use the application to gain end-to-end visibility to the logistics process and optimise delivery processes. Retail customers also access the web application for real-time insights into the location of their shipment, which helps improve their end-user experience. Once the goods reach the destination, the empty smart roll cages are folded into an L-shape to save space, pushed into each other, and returned. Permanently monitored and optimised rotations ensure the safe, timely return of the roll cages to FEGA & Schmitt at lower cost.
Remarkable business outcomes
Since deploying IoT-enabled roll cages on 50% of their fleet to improve asset tracking across its logistics network, FEGA & Schmitt has experienced remarkable business benefits. Greater visibility of the logistics network has improved transportation efficiency and asset utilisation, reduced losses and damages, and helped the company achieve time and cost savings.
Damage to the packages is prevented, transport on the truck is possible in a space-saving manner, we save on packing aids such as film, transport to the individual areas is faster, and the process steps are streamlined.
The solution enables us to reduce the expenditure on new roll cages by 75%.
Roland Huber, Project Management Logistics
at FEGA & Schmitt
The future of FEGA & Schmitt’s smart roll cage fleet
Convinced by the benefits and strong ROI, FEGA & Schmitt is preparing to connect its entire roll cage fleet and more diverse IoT-enabled loading equipment, including parcel roll containers, picking trolleys, long goods racks, and system pallets.
