Number 1 / Article 1 / 2019

The road to CO2-neutral transportation

The road to CO2-neutral transportation This marks an important milestone in the project that Henk Heijnen (Manager Transport at Pon Logistics) and Raymond van der Putten (Pon Procurement) have been working on since February 2017. It all started with an ambitious customer question from Pon Logistics: “How can we ensure CO2-neutral transport by 2020?” 

How do you handle a customer question like that?  
Raymond: “To start with, it’s important that you know what the customer question means exactly and which conditions you are dealing with. What does CO2-neutral actually mean? What types of alternative fuels are available? Which suppliers can offer what we are looking for? Jaap Tuinstra and Ivar ten Tuijnte (Manager Public Affairs at Pon and Product Specialist Trucks at MAN respectively) supported us with this.”

Henk: “This isn’t your average tender process where it’s usually all about the price. Quality, reliability, sustainability, flexibility, competitiveness, and continuity are all important aspects that you discuss with your preferred supplier. You’re working towards a shared goal. That requires a new, transparent way of collaborating and negotiating. Thanks to the high level of knowledge and expertise present, we were able to make quick progress.” 

Eventually a choice was made for a partnership with the Koopman Logistics Group. Has there ever been such a long-term contract with a transport partner before? 
Raymond: “No, the market wasn’t right. Because of the investments involved with CO2-neutral transport for both parties and the continuity that has to be safeguarded, we have now chosen a long-term partnership. Strict agreements were made with regard to performance and unforeseen market developments. This is something we need to keep being able to respond to. If everything goes as expected, this partnership should last for five years – or even longer.”

What developments are planned for the coming months?
Henk: “The coming months are all about the Supply Chain Optimization Plan (SCOP). That’s where we suggest ideas to compensate for the cost increases. For instance, there is currently a pilot running, related to blockchain technology, that we have high hopes for. The ideas from the SCOP influence the entire chain and therefore require commitment from everyone involved. It’s a big challenge, but I’m confident!”

Is it true that you also started using a newly developed tool this year?
Henk: “Yes, together we developed a new dynamic calculation model. We can use it to calculate what influence a change in delivery via certain channels will have on CO2 emissions and costs, for example. We’re going to use this insight into the chain for further optimization.”

Raymond: “That allows us to calculate the impact of something before we actually implement it. Instead of reacting, we become more proactive and deliberate. I’ve noticed that this makes CO2 much more tangible and measurable.”

Finally, what’s next?
Henk: “Now that the partnership with our main shipper Koopman has been established, we hope to come to similar agreements with our other shippers, perhaps in a different form. In that sense this was a learning experience and a great blueprint for future partnerships.”

Raymond: “The great thing about projects like this is that we ensure long-term goals are safeguarded from behind the scenes, while day-to-day operations continue as usual. Hopefully, we can achieve more successes like this in future.”

The collaboration between Pon Logistics and Koopman in numbers (2017)

Koopman Cargo

• Partners with PL since 2008
• 90,543 annual Dedicated day/night stops (357 stops per day)

Koopman Autotransport

• Collaboration since 1975 (Over 43 years)  
• 72,748 vehicles from Losplaats Leusden
• 10,568 vehicles from C.RO Rotterdam
• 3,027 inter-dealer transports