Lafarge is a member of the Holcim Group. Recently, the company chose to upgrade to the latest version of Inform’s transport optimization software for the building materials industry. They will use the software to optimize the dispatch of their truck fleet in the aggregates business.
The aggregates business of Lafarge France includes 160 locations and operates a fleet of 700 to 900 trucks. Compared to standard transport planning software, INFORM’s solution is powered by algorithms that analyze a virtually endless number of scheduling decisions in real-time and identify those that are ideal for minimizing costs and maximizing service level & on-time performance.
“We have been using INFORM’s transport optimization software for over 25 years in our aggregates business,” said Kevin Perrault. Perrault is the Head of Supply Chain Projects at Lafarge France. “We pride ourselves in delivering the best possible service to our customers and upgrading our operations to the latest version is a key element to help us achieve our goals and to remain competitive in the industry.”
New features
The new version (V10) features an overhauled user interface (UI). It also receives it power from the latest aggregates optimizer. Inspired by feedback from customers and partners, Inform designed the new UI to accelerate user adoption, while the updated algorithms further increase truck fleet productivity.
“The release also comes with a new interface technology. This makes it easier to embed our system into a wider corporate supply chain environment and to connect it to other third-party system,” explains Dr. Flachskampf, Head of Road Transport at INFORM’s Logistics Division. “We have also taken this opportunity to review all key optimization parameters of our implementation at Lafarge France Aggregates. This will lead to further savings down the road.”
“As a long-time INFORM customer, we are looking forward to further strengthening and streamlining our processes in accordance with logistics scheme which are in constant evolution” says Kevin Parrault.
INFORM’s software will run on a private AWS cloud. New map and truck availability functionalities as well as improved telematics communication round off the project. The upgrade is now under deployment and will go-live in Q1 2022. It will build on INFORM’s growing footprint of V10 users in the building materials industry.
About Lafarge
A member of Holcim group, Lafarge France is made up of 4 activities (cement, aggregates, concrete, solutions & products) present throughout the country and has more than 4,500 employees spread over more than 400 sites. They extract and derive mineral resources from quarries and from secondary material recovery and recycling. In factories and ready-mix plants, they transform them to produce cement and concrete. Lafarge France offers professionals materials to build sustainably and shape the living environment: infrastructures, hospitals, offices, collective and individual housing, low consumption houses.
Committed to a sustainable development approach, the 4 product lines act in favour of the environment, whether it is the redevelopment of quarries, the monitoring of biodiversity or energy saving. Since 2012, this commitment has SNB (National Strategy for Biodiversity) recognition by the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition. You can obtain more complete information on Lafarge France on www.lafarge.fr.
About Inform GmbH
Inform develops software for the optimization of business processes using Digital Decision Making based on Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research. The company supplements classic IT systems and increases the profitability and resilience of many companies. While data management software only provides information, Inform systems can analyze large amounts of data in a matter of seconds. It can also calculate numerous decision variants and suggest the best possible solution to the user for implementation. Today, more than 800 software engineers, data analysts and consultants support more than 1,000 customers worldwide. They offer support in manufacturing, trade, aviation, ports, logistics, banks and insurance companies. Processes including sales planning, production planning, personnel deployment, logistics and transport, inventories, supply chain management as well as fraud prevention in insurance and payment transactions are optimized. www.inform-software.com
