Bolloré Logistics Singapore, a major player in international logistics and freight forwarding, announces plan for its first automation facility with one of the world’s leading luxury products group LVMH today.
Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the new 20,000 square meter automation facility will be built with an investment of S$10 million between Bolloré Logistics and LVMH as part of a long-term partnership to significantly drive productivity and increase space efficiency.
“Automation is the key for Singapore’s logistics sector to cope with emerging patterns globally. The setup will be housed in Bolloré Logistics Green Hub, our high-tech logistic facility in Pioneer Turn, and we are happy to announce that the co-development of this automation has secured a long term commitment from LVMH. Bolloré Logistics strives to be at the forefront of innovation and prides itself in developing advanced supply chains for its customers,” says Mr. Cyril Dumon, Chief Executive Officer of Bolloré Logistics Asia Pacific.
“The close partnership between LVMH and Bolloré Logistics has strongly supported the growth of the business in the last 15 years. With the introduction of automation, it further reinforces our connections and emphasizes our expertise on safety, quality, service and efficiency for the next 10 years,” says Mr. Guillaume Mechain, Supply Chain Director of LVMH, Asia Pacific.
Collectively designed by Bolloré Logistics, LVMH and Dematic, this combination of multi-shuttle system and picking technology is the first of its kind to be deployed in Singapore and the region.
The state-of-the-art facility will bring significant transformation to tackle supply chain operations – from the order preparation process, inbound to final dispatch of the orders, to integrating control checks that ensure greater accuracy.
It also allows Bolloré Logistics to meet new challenges arising from the emergence of e-commerce and increase of future distribution channels globally, by bringing with it the capability to prepare e-commerce orders with a high level of accuracy while reducing the time to market, thus increasing its agility and capacity to absorb peak level of activity.
“Working closely together with Bolloré Logistics, we have developed an innovative automated solution that will bring tremendous improvements in productivity, accuracy and space efficiency. This project represents a number of industry firsts both in Singapore and in the Region and we are delighted to be involved with the Bolloré Logistics team in designing, delivering and supporting the project,” says Mr. Michael Bradshaw, Director Dematic SEA.
The facility will allow for higher storage density to make efficient use of limited warehouse space in Singapore. In terms of productivity, it will achieve throughput levels up to 10 times as compared to conventional methods, and will improve order lead time while using only half of the existing manpower resources.
“Bolloré Logistics strongly believes that innovation starts from the bottom and has invested in various training and developmental programs within the company over the years. Our objective is to empower our staff. As part of Change Management, Bolloré Logistics has initiated several HR initiatives and a dedicated pilot development program known as ‘Level Up’. The program which includes a variety of technical and soft skill training, is specifically designed to equip our staff with necessary skills to cope with challenges that may come with automation,” note Mr. Fabien Giordano, Managing Director of Bolloré Logistics Singapore.
“The ground staff is looking forward to this automation facility. Early communication is already in place to assist the staff so they are prepared for what’s coming. Although staff skills need to be upgraded through training, they can use this chance to expand their skillset and integrate flexibility to increase productivity,” note Mr. Tan Kok Xiong, Supervisor, Bolloré Logistics Singapore.
With Singapore as the company’s regional hub, the new facility through its adaptable and scalable world-class system aims to create a future-ready infrastructure to support the demands of the Asia Pacific region. The plan is also in line with the government’s direction towards a future-ready Singapore and is supported by EDB.
“Bolloré Logistics’ partnership with LVMH is an excellent example of the supply chain collaborations that EDB wants to help grow in Singapore. Such investments in operations excellence support Singapore’s efforts to transform the industry and create better jobs for Singaporeans,” says Mr Lee Eng Keat, Executive Director of Logistics, Singapore Economic Development Board.
This project sets as a flagship and creates a model for Bolloré Logistics globally as the future of warehousing in land-scarce countries once it is slated to complete in January 2018.
Starting Innovation at the Heart of Asia Pacific
This initiative is just one of the many in the pipeline under the Bolloré Logistics vision to shift the paradigms of the logistic industry through innovation and technologies starting from the heart of Asia Pacific in Singapore.
Bolloré Logistics created B.Lab, an internal innovation community in 2016 in order to accelerate the digitization of the supply chain. The objective is to improve our value proposition with existing clients by creating new products, services and innovative processes in relation with the digital.
Their flagship logistic facility Green Hub in Pioneer Turn – a 42,000 square meter Bolloré Logistics high-tech warehouse facility has achieved remarkable accolades since its launch in 2012. The integrated logistics center also serves as a regional distribution center for multinational corporations. As an eco-friendly solution to reduce CO2 emissions, the group also introduced its first hybrid shuttle in 2015. And in 2016, BlueSG, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, has been awarded a 10-year car-sharing contract by the Singapore government to operate a fleet of 1,000 electric cars by 2020 under the national electric vehicle (EV) car-sharing programme, a major step towards Singapore’s vision of a car-lite and an environment friendly society.