Meet CARU Containers: one of the world’s largest container traders. The company sells and rents both new and used containers, with the focus mainly on the latter. Sea containers that have for years been used to ship goods are given a second life, also with sustainability in mind. CARU containers can be found the world over, from Africa to America and Asia to Europe. Together with CARU, CQM developed an algorithm that gives the container trader global insight into the supply chain for the purposes of asset optimization. This allows CARU to underpin decisions with data, work more efficiently and reduce costs. Read this case study to learn more about this successful collaboration.
CARU's complex logistics
Paul Bremer,
Data Analyst at CARU Containers
“The container business has a big environmental impact, and at CARU Containers we’re well aware of that fact," says Paul Bremer, Data Analyst at CARU Containers. “Across the globe, containers are used to ship goods in more or less every sector. Our customers are resellers, end-users (e.g. storage for construction companies) and freight forwarders. Moving containers around the world is a complex global logistical challenge and over the coming years we want to get a better grip on it. Alongside that, we’d like to move forward step by step in terms of sustainability, so we can reduce our impact on the environment. One such step is that CARU is to have the first electric empty container truck in the Port of Rotterdam, with the electricity coming from solar panels on site in the CARU depot. And,” Paul adds proudly, “we’re on track to achieve B Corp certification in 2024.”
“At CARU, we appreciate that we can only make real progress if we manage things in a data-driven way,” says Paul. “Without data we have no insights, making it is increasingly difficult to always make the optimal decision, especially where a certain degree of uncertainty is involved. So we were looking for a party who could help us in this. The reason we chose CQM is pretty clear: they’re a leading player when it comes to Operations Research and applications in the logistics sector. Their experience in the transport world made CQM the ideal partner.”
Insight into the entire supply chain
“One step towards achieving our goals is the tool CQM has developed with us,” Paul explains. “The algorithm gives us more insight into and control over our supply chain processes. The tool lets us see the optimal container movements and gives options for proactively dealing with expected shortages or surpluses of containers at given locations. Before, decisions were based on static Excel files, and many assumptions drawn from knowledge and experience. We still have that in-house, but now it’s underpinned by a dashboard and the ability to calculate exactly what impact a given choice will have. Moreover, before we had to call back and forth with overseas offices, also taking into account any time differences. That's all in the past now. Today, we can make fact-based decisions and see at a glance what’s needed to match supply and demand worldwide. Reducing costs and ensuring more efficient logistics.”
Better service through smarter choices
“The tool has been used on a small scale and initial results have been positive. We now expect to start using the algorithm on a large scale by the end of 2023. So all our employees will be able to see on the dashboard what’s going on within our supply chain. In addition, we can make smarter choices because the tool uses scenario planning to optimize and examine the robustness of every choice made. There’s also a forecasting component, and we can use those predictions to try to look a few weeks ahead. So for example, where we previously chose to sell containers locally, we now rent them for one-time use (one-way lease) and then sell the container at destination. We can now see in advance that this decision will lead to better results in the longer term. The service to our resale clients will also improve significantly, because we will be providing input for their stock management. The tool lets us provide better insight into the numbers of containers and their expected arrival times.”
On the collaboration
“The CARU project is really interesting because we genuinely worked together on it,” explains Jannet, Partner at CQM. “In a preliminary study, we determined where Data Science would add most value. The combination of forecasting, optimization and the clear visualization the dashboard offers lead to global insights and globally optimal choices.”
Paul concludes with a compliment. “If you’re looking for a party who are strong in model-based thinking and mastering complex material, then CQM are the guys for you. It’s a real joy working with people who genuinely think with you and are keen to be on site with you every week. An external party like this can help you zoom out every now and then to reflect on your original goal. So that together you can move your organization forward.”
Would you like to know more about Data Science in the Supply Chain?
Do you also want to add value to your organization with forecasting, optimization or an intelligent dashboard?
Please contact Jannet, she will be happy to help you!
