SCEA

Metro win double in October

Nov 22, 2023 | , , ,

In partnership with key technology partners WNS and Windward, Metro has won the Innovation Category at this month’s Supply Chain Excellence and ISG Paragon Awards, for two AI powered solutions.

It is through award-winning initiatives such as these, that we maintain our strong track record in the market - at the cutting edge of new technology - and it is through the power of leveraging these partnerships that new innovations become reality. 

The future ability of our customers to compete globally, with competitive advantage in their supply chain, relies on us maintaining high levels of innovation and when we collaborate with the right partners, we all come out as winners.

AI driven Ocean freight visibility

In its 27th year, the Supply Chain Excellence Awards are the longest-standing trade awards in the European supply chain sector and are renowned for their vigorous judging process, which includes formal presentations for finalists and direct feedback from judges.

The winners of the Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2023 were announced at the London Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on Thursday 9th November, with Metro & Windward winners of The Supply Chain Innovation Award, for our AI powered Ocean visibility solution.

The Ocean Freight Visibility (OFV) solution provides real-time visibility of shipping milestones, with AI Predicted ETAs for better planning, management by exception, and risk mitigation.

OFV is already delivering to a 75% reduction in time spent on shipment operations and a 50% decrease in demurrage & detention costs. 

Simon George, Group IT Director. “This award is fitting recognition of a partnership that is built on innovation, trust, and a shared commitment to excellence.

We're not just collaborators, we're design partners, and what we've achieved together is brilliant.

Our journey doesn't end here; it evolves. We're excited about the future possibilities, and promise to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible.”

Digitising Customs with AI optimised data capture

Information Services Group (ISG), the global technology research and advisory firm, announced the winners of the 2023 ISG Paragon Awards, which celebrate the transformation of industry partnerships through new approaches and technologies, at the Park Plaza Victoria London on the 15th November.

In partnership with WNS, Metro won the Innovation Category, with the judges “Recognising the importance of imagination and entrepreneurial spirit in helping organisations future-proof their businesses and better serve clients.”

In the run up to Brexit, the Metro management team recognised that customers trading with Europe would need significant support to cope with an impending tsunami of new EU/UK border controls and tasked the Technical Solutions team with finding a solution.

Customs Document System (CuDoS) was their solution. To massively increase the volume of customs declarations that could be handled at any time, by digitising and automating the process.

Since 2020 Metro has partnered with WNS, a leading Business Process Management (BPM) provider, to leverage their technology, analytics and process expertise to co-create innovative, digitally led solutions. 

For Metro’s CuDoS solution this meant the automation of cognitive data extraction and contextualisation, using the latest AI/ML and automation capabilities to overhaul and optimise the data capture and customs declaration processes.

With WNS’ digitisation support, Metro’s CuDoS solution is now achieving an SLA of 98% on turnaround times (customer submission/request through to document delivery) of under two hours and other CuDoS performance statistics were just as compelling for the judges:

 – 20% reduction in headline costs, with 25% increase in volumes
– 96% of declarations processed and submitted to HMRC within 30 minutes of documents receipt
– 99% processing accuracy
– ML/AI contributed to record turnaround speeds under 8 mins

Metro are at the forefront of AI-powered shipment visibility, automated customs brokerage solutions, global emissions monitoring and supply chain management, with our MVT platform.

To learn more about any of the solutions highlighted in this report, or to arrange a demo, EMAIL Ian Powell, Customer & Technical Solutions Director.

BHX

Positive developments at our Birmingham hub airport

Nov 8, 2023 | , ,

Metro have worked in a strategic partnership with Birmingham Airport for almost 10 years and its importance as an air cargo hub and global gateway for the Midlands, has been further underlined by critical ground-handling investments and pending China freighter services.

Metro’s partnership with Birmingham International Airport reduces lead times and carbon emission’s, while increasing schedule reliability and enhanced air services and ground-handling capability further boosts this success. 

The scale and efficiency of the airport and cargo handling operations at Birmingham, together with our long-standing strategic partnerships with these operators, enables us to process and collect cargo very quickly after aircraft arrival, avoiding the delays and congestion experienced in peak periods at other UK hubs.

The scope of the airport’s handling capability has been further enhanced by a key ground-handling partner, Swissport, who have installed a main deck loader to accelerate the loading/offloading of freighter aircraft, which will be particularly valuable for the impending China services.

Enhanced relations with the ground-handling operations mean that additional value added services such as cargo packing, palletisation, SKU sortation can take place at the airport rather than transit through off airport.

Three major Middle-Eastern airlines are enhancing the airport’s connectivity to the region’s strategic air hubs, with Emirates’ iconic A380 ‘superjumbo’ serving Birmingham twice-daily from Dubai, while Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, operate thrice-weekly flights to and from Jeddah and Qatar Airways running daily services to Doha.

In in addition to the daily wide body flights from Qatar Airways, scheduled Saudi flights and enhanced Emirates service, Air India and Turkish Airways have also increased services.  

Metro are able to offer time critical ‘JIT’ services through the airport where freight can be transferred in minutes rather than hours from aircraft to the road. Additional customs formalities such as ATA carnets are handled swiftly and efficiently. 

Birmingham International is the UK’s fastest-growing airport and our central air freight hub, with proximity to major clients and manufacturing regions, for speed of first/final mile logistics and 90% of the UK population within a few hours drive.

For further information on our air freight and BHX gateway solutions please EMAIL Andrew Brooks.

Metro Great Place to Work 2

Metro is officially a Great Place to Work

Nov 8, 2023 | ,

Every member of our team has a critical role in building the trust, confidence, and satisfaction that creates the customer relationships which have seen us thrive for almost 50 years. Being certified a ‘Great Place to Work’ demonstrates that we care about our employees and support them, while encouraging them to grow with Metro.

We’re proud to announce that we have been awarded ‘Great Place to Work’ certification, which is an honour that is granted to those businesses that provide exceptional employee support, positioning Metro alongside leading employers including, Accenture, Cisco, DHL, KPMG and Vodafone.

The global ‘Great Place to Work’ certification process surveys over 10 million employees, from more than 10,000 companies in nearly 100 countries annually. To be awarded their certificate, companies must demonstrate outstanding employee experience, high trust in management, strong teamwork and employee retention, among other criteria.

A large part of the ‘Great Place to Work’ evaluation is based on confidential surveys in which employees assessed Metro in 20 areas based on their personal experiences across dimensions like caring, community, justice, pride, leadership behaviour and respect.

Having amassed over 30 years of data, the ‘Great Place to Work’ certification process is one of the most respected and comprehensive measures of workplace culture and talent management best practices.

Paul Moss, Metro’s HR Director, “becoming a great place to work starts with a culture that enables all people to have the opportunity to reach their potential. It is our behaviours, our beliefs and how we develop our people that defines how we do business.”

“That commitment to developing our team has served as Metro’s foundation for nearly five decades and it is an honour to be recognised by this ‘Great Place to Work’ certification, because it’s what our people say about their experiences and opportunities that achieved it.” 

“From a business perspective, ‘Great Place to Work’ certification is a globally recognised process that’s backed by honest feedback by employees, which means it is a great way for us to attract and demonstrate to new talent the benefits and opportunities for personal and professional development, and what they can expect from our company and culture.”

If you, or someone you know, would like to work with a progressive colleague-focused business, please EMAIL Paul Moss a CV, with covering letter.

brainstorm 2

Unleashing creativity and collaboration

Oct 24, 2023 | , ,

In an ever-evolving business landscape, staying ahead of the curve requires constant innovation and foresight, and a crucial step in achieving this is through internal workshops that challenge the status quo and stimulate new ideas.

Metro’s Technical Solutions leadership team recently hosted colleagues in a cross-functional workshop, to enhance internal cooperation and cultivate initiatives for our 2024 roadmap. 

The workshop was followed by team building activities and a post-event dinner, to foster camaraderie and collaboration among colleagues, that will prove invaluable for Metro’s future success.

Representatives from the Metro board kicked off the session by presenting an overview of the organisation's strategy and goals for 2024 and beyond, providing a solid foundation for the workshop. 

Technical Solutions is focused on four key areas and delegates were reminded that their output had to incorporate at least one of the following characteristics.

- Digitalisation: The continued adoption of digital technologies that improves processes and creates new opportunities

- Digital twin: Creating indistinguishable digital counterparts to the physical supply chain.

- Platform Engineering: Accelerated development in customer facing applications.

- Big data: Integrate, manage, and analyse to uncover and deliver business value.

The workshop provided the ideal platform for participants to unleash their collective creativity and explore initiatives and ideas that aligned with Metro’s long-term goals. 

The output was really thoughtful and impressive, with a wide range of creative ideas and improvement considered. The most worthy now forming apart of our development roadmap for the next 12 to 18 months including the following.

1. The automation and semi-automation of multiple manual processes, including further innovation of existing ML and AI technology deployed in our customs application, CuDoS.

2. Further development to our ocean freight visibility and enhanced visibility on air and road freight shipments.

3. The migration of additional existing applications to our new technology stack, delivering a curated set of applications that will increase end users’ productivity.

4. Advanced business intelligence – leveraging our extensive data to provide customers with on demand reporting and analytics, that deliver actionable insight to drive supply chain performance.

Metro is leading the industry in developing the technologies and platforms that simplify supply chain management, with visibility, environment and customs modules, together with integrations of critical digital trade documents, including electronic bills of lading (eBL).

By investing in days like this, Metro is positioning itself for a positive future, driven by innovation, collaboration, and a shared vision for future success.

EMAIL Ian Powell for further Information on our digital capability and how this can benefit your global trade and business growth ambitions.

Category: Metro

Air | Brexit | China | EU | Metro | Road | Sea | Sea/Air | Supply Chain

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