How Control Towers create agile supply chains

Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex due to the increasing number of parties involved. Also, Covid-19, Ukraine, oil supply disruption, and other unexpected market developments have only increased the necessity for better visibility. Good risk management allows companies to avoid or minimise the impact of crises. However, proactively avoiding risks can result in additional economic value. The availability of control through data of all transport parties can help predict and optimise the regular supply chain processes, helping to tackle possible disruptions. Supply chain visibility and control are fundamental to fluent supply chain flows and efficiency.

Connecting the dots for automotive supplier Auria Solutions

The benefits of Control Towers are well known to Auria Solutions. The company is the second biggest global supplier of automotive, acoustic, and other fibre-based automotive products. Auria Solutions has the requirement to connect 24 manufacturing facilities and 10 commercial, engineering, testing, and tooling facilities. The ECC team and its services are helping to ensure that all these facilities and clients have the necessary resources to fuel their production process and deliver end products to clients. Since implementing the ECC Control Tower service in 2019, cooperation has resulted in an outstanding 10% cost saving!

2nd global leading automotive acoustic supplier
5000 employees
Focused on innovation and sustainability
24 manufacturing facilities
10 commercial, engineering, and testing facilities
Global network

8 strengths of Control Towers

What are the 8 strengths that Control Tower can bring to a supply chain? Discover the benefits in an interview with Auria Solutions - a global leader in automotive acoustic supplies.

1. Choosing an easy implementation

Ewals Cargo Care and Auria Solutions were no strangers to each other. Thanks to the quality of transport services provided in the past, it was clear that there was an opportunity for even bigger cooperation. The next step to intensify the partnership was to transition from ECC as a multimodal transport provider to a partner in supply chain optimisation by applying their Control Tower concept.

“We have chosen Ewals Cargo Care because we know their transport quality from past experiences. One major distinction of the Control Towers team of Ewals is proactivity and support during the implementation process.”

2. Understanding the customer

Understanding customers’ needs and trust is crucial when sharing operational data. Clear visibility and reliability are also important at each step of the supply chain to prevent disruptions in ongoing operations.

“Ewals Cargo Care absolutely understands our automotive industry. If the supplier is not part of the complete process, everything can collapse. ECC learned about our business, way of working, and all the sites of the supply chain to provide the best support. It provided not only what Auria wished to have implemented, but also searched for other beneficial opportunities and tailored the solutions to our needs.’’

3. Resilience in a dynamic market

With a large partner network of over 1000 carriers and an own fleet of over 3,400 trailers, ECC is prepared for all scenarios. This leads to better flexibility, reliability, and capacity.

“As you know, there are capacity constraints on the market. I’m very delighted to have a good partner like Ewals Cargo Care who knows the business and all the different carriers European-wide. With this knowledge in the background, I believe we are well prepared.”

4. Connecting efforts for a better tomorrow

ECC’s expertise is rooted in over 100 years of experience in its field. Being a long-term market leader would not be possible without continuous improvement. This innovative mindset keeps the company and its clients ahead in the market.

“What’s important is to have a good partner in place. Then the business is running smoothly. When that is in place, it is all about continuous improvement. Ewals ensures exactly that.”

5. One system for all tasks

Supply chains can be dynamic, with production plants often operating at high and maximum speed efficiency. Therefore, Control Towers services are there to simplify and support daily tasks. The simplicity of supply chain optimisation for clients lies in the consolidation of all operations into one crucial process and system—a simple concept but one that requires skill and experience to implement.

“Our plants are overloaded with daily tasks, so providing orders in a simple manner takes just a moment. This improves our productivity. With Ewals, IT systems are seamlessly connected and the communication is flexible and seamless.”

6. Continuous improvement

Our Control Tower team analyses all relevant supply chain data to fuel Auria’s growth and make data-based decisions. Each quarter, Kaizen (continuous improvement) sessions are held, where, based on complex analysis, efficiency savings are identified and opportunities are discussed to develop improved ways of working. Thanks to business intelligence and a team of experts, ECC can provide an overview of, for example:

Market situation updates
Ongoing business developments
Foreseen and unforeseen costs per plant and lane
Key performance indicators per plant and per carrier
Proposed and executed carrier changes and updates
Ongoing operational topics
Invoicing statistics and claims
Continuous improvement plans
Tenders development and support

“I’m absolutely impressed and delighted to see continuous improvement. Ewals Cargo Care has its own team of experts, who always conduct excellent and complete analyses, which include cost-saving triggers. For any lane from A to B we have a complete insight, and we understand both where we’re losing money and where we can save money. On top of this, it has some ideas about potential lane improvements, which we can discuss with our plant teams.”

7. Co-creation mindset

The Control Tower team scales efficiency by utilising out-of-the-box thinking and with a co-creation mindset beyond the transportation flows.

“If we have some ideas, Ewals is always open to listening to us and following up on different proposals. They give us additional insights, such as how to load materials in a different way to create additional loading capacity on the trailer. Another example is changing the delivery frequency from weekly to biweekly or the other way around. All factors are considered to increase efficiency and deliver cost savings. We can learn from these investigations and experiences and make data-driven choices and justifications.”

8. Always looking ahead

With over 100 years of experience with ECC in the market, the company never stops developing. So far, the cooperation has been a tremendous success. ECC are continuously improving through new trailer concepts, always renewing and expanding its own fleet, supporting subcontractors with its Driver Training program, and much more. The drive for providing value never stops.

“The continuous improvement team is cooperating very well with the other parties in the supply chain, such as suppliers. Ewals Cargo Care supports them in how they can provide additional value to Auria, such as raising awareness on the impact of incorrect bookings or the most efficient way of loading. This is done through practical handovers, like manuals with pictures or technical drawings, for the best insights and alignment of the parties. ECC proactively extends its value in the supply chain and takes an advisory or educational role.”

Focus on your core business, ECC does the rest

With companies' growth, logistics complexity only continues to increase. This is why the Control Tower team offers a modular set of services, from designing and optimising logistics networks to reporting, business intelligence, and tendering. Thanks to multiple areas of expertise, customers can benefit from a comprehensive solution.