Apeldoorn, 15 June 2023– Thermotraffic Holland B.V., a Third-Party Logistics service provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions in the field of temperature-controlled logistics, has created a new web portal with the Thinkwise Platform. The new software makes the entire logistic process transparent in real time, from intake and transport through to all customs declarations and documentation.
Thermotraffic Holland B.V. is a market leader in global temperature-controlled logistics. The company was founded in 1984 and has four branches, two in the Netherlands, one in Belgium and the other in the United Kingdom. Until recently, the planning of the logistic process was mainly performed in a traditional manner with a lot of manual effort, paper documentation, Excel spreadsheets, telephone, and e-mail. In addition, the company had made various acquisitions in the United Kingdom in recent years. Norish Ltd. and Kevin Hancock Ltd. have joined the Thermotraffic group. Through the combination of traditional processes and the integration of other organizations the necessity arose to modernize the logistic process and centralize the system management of the various business systems.
Tom van der Sluis, Account Executive at Thinkwise: "We are proud that an innovative logistic service provider as Thermotraffic uses the Thinkwise Platform to optimize its critical business processes. Chain integration is like conducting a symphony: you get the best result when every component works in harmony. If you have market knowledge and the right instrument, then fantasy is your only limitation."
Proof of Value project
Thermotraffic carried out the necessary selection procedure before it opted for Thinkwise. Standard logistic software and other low-code platforms were all reviewed, but ultimately Thinkwise turned out to be the best fit.
Peter Baaijens, Thermotraffic IT manager: “The search for a suitable application that could be broadly implemented within the entire Thermotraffic group turned out to not be that easy. Many providers were not able to offer all the functionality required to match Thermotraffic's ambitions. Thinkwise did offer us the possibility to perfectly match the software to our specific logistic processes. Using the Thinkwise Platform we independently developed an umbrella web portal with which we, but more importantly our partners and customers, can follow the logistic process from any location in real time.”
After a successful initial introduction, Thermotraffic carried out a Proof of Value project to obtain a good overview of the possibilities provided by Thinkwise. This project was decisive for the ultimate choice for Thinkwise. This success was the starting point for the project team to continue developing the logistic application. The application is now almost complete, but it will first be thoroughly tested before Thermotraffic puts it into production.
Business benefits
Several large Thermotraffic customers have already had a foretaste of the new logistic application and are very enthusiastic. Complete insight is now provided into all the orders that they send via Thermotraffic. Everything is fully transparent, and they can immediately review all the documents that belong with an order from any location at any time.
The new system also offers many benefits for Thermotraffic. The track & trace possibilities provide real-time insight into the complete logistic process, including all required documentation, thereby avoiding disruptions in the logistic chain. In addition, fewer contact moments, such as telephone and e-mail traffic, are necessary so that more focus can be given to carrying out the work according to the quality standards that customers expect from Thermotraffic.
Future
Thinkwise acts as a kind of umbrella over Thermotraffic's existing, separated, business applications. In the future the company expects to combine more functionality in the Thinkwise Platform including, for example, integrations with various WMS systems from acquired companies. Ultimately the entire process, from ‘farm to fork’, will be made transparent from a kind of central control tower. Thermotraffic has already taken a considerable step forward with the current application: “The new Thinkwise application will greatly improve our efficiency and market position,” Baaijens says.
“The flexible integration opportunities are perfect for future developments and requests from customers for a connection to their own systems. Furthermore, we have now gained so much experience with Thinkwise that we regularly discover new possibilities to take the following steps in our digital transformation.”