Velux chooses Join2ship to give visibility to its logistics sites.

Velux France chooses Join2ship to offer real-time visibility and better organization to its logistics sites.

For more than 75 years Velux, part of VKR Holding A/S, has been developing and marketing products to improve the living environment by letting natural light and fresh air in through the roof. To help optimize its transport, the Danish group has equipped itself with the collaborative transport solution Join2ship, developed by the publisher DDS Logistics.

Roof windows, solutions for flat roofs, natural light ducts, modular skylights, roller shutters, blinds, intelligent controls… Velux is present in more than 40 countries around the world, with more than 11,500 employees.

The group has four plants in France, located in Feuquières (60), Bourbonnes (52), Marnay (70) and Reignier (74). Its national courier flows and its south-eastern batches transit via two cross-dock platforms in the Paris region. 

“Every day, more than fifty shuttles leave our manufacturing sites via our distribution centers or depots to supply France and Europe. In this organization, we face a lack of follow-up on the departures and arrivals of our shuttles between the different sites. We therefore looked for a solution capable of providing us with real-time visibility to improve our logistics organization and control the respect of our carriers’ contracts“, explains Vincent Arnoux, Logistics Director of Velux France.

Real-time visibility on inter-site transport shuttles

Velux France then launched a call for tenders with transport editors on the market. Looking for a simple, intuitive and affordable solution. The company opted for the collaborative transport platform Join2ship, developed by the publisher DDS Logistics. 

The solution is deployed, in a first phase, for the management of French shuttles supplying Europe and those transiting between its Feuquières plant and its cross-dock platform.

Join2ship allows Velux France to develop an action plan to manage, initially, 4500 shipments with its depots and carriers, to create functional loading schedules. And to obtain, in real time, a clear vision of the position of its subcontractors’ trucks. 

The solution also improves communication with its transport providers: “Join2ship’s real-time mobile tracing application allows us to immediately and seamlessly track our carriers. The photos taken at the departure and arrival of the parcels allow us to improve the quality of the load and avoid disputes with our carriers. “says Marc Lachaize, Transport Manager of Velux France.

“The information, as close as possible to events, enables our logistics managers at the different sites to react more proactively to contingencies, to better plan storage capacities and ultimately to improve order preparation,” Vincent Arnoux adds.

Towards a new delivery follow-up service for Velux customers

In a second phase, the Danish group intends to work on the upstream part of its supply chain. And offer its customers real-time visibility on the receipt of their products. “Today, our customers can already track the status of their orders. Soon, thanks to Join2ship, they will be able to have visibility on the arrival of their delivery and be alerted in case of driver delays. “says Marc Lachaize.

“The support provided by the DDS teams ensures a rapid and coordinated start-up and gives us hope that the solution will eventually be rolled out across Europe. All the data collected from all our processes can finally be extracted to enable us to produce statistics and make improvements. The objective? That the entire supply chain gains and becomes more efficient,” concludes Vincent Arnoux.