metro tech

Major system upgrade deployed

Oct 24, 2023 | , , ,

Industry leading operating system CargoWise is now in place, with Metro recently completing a three year project to transition to the new core freight forwarding operations platform.

Headed by our Business Process Solutions (BPS) team of 12 the project’s success is testament to the remarkable dedication and teamwork exhibited by every member involved within BPS and the other Solutions teams. 

Metro began implementing the CargoWise transition three years ago, department by department, with large parts of the business successfully transitioning through the lockdown period, with modular learning, devised by our internal training team.

Our ops teams are constantly executing highly complex shipping transactions across multiple users, functions, offices, countries, currencies and languages, and vast amounts of time, effort and teamwork were necessary to map out the workflows for each department and individual customer. 

The documented workflows standardised best practice in automating and optimising business processes and real-time data visibility.

Critically, through the transition process, we continued to provide our valued customers with an uninterrupted service, by taking scoping sessions, UAT and staff training outside of core hours. BPS further supported their colleagues with an extended period of in-person hyper support, so that each department had ‘go-live’ desk support.

By integrating CargoWise digital processes, business rules and workflows, we can identify and eradicate errors before anything untoward happens, which means that instead of ‘fire-fighting’ operational issues, our colleagues are now free to concentrate on adding more value for our customers.

Customer and supplier integrations accounted for a large part of the transition to ensure all needs were safely catered for. Real-time visibility, detailed financial reporting, performance management and improved data quality speed up processes and decision making, and increases the volume of data we can share with customers, enhancing the way they can view and manipulate this information.

The project has been three years in the planning, training and implementation, with every area of the company being completely reviewed and processes optimised, with the final part of the Metro business transitioning to CargoWise on the 1st October.

Metro’s supply chain management portal, MVT, now boasts compatible modules including customs (CuDoS), DC delivery management, environment, and tracking, with notification engine solutions, which embrace AI, machine learning and automation technology. 

The project’s completion underlines our commitment to establishing and upholding the very best standards and emphasises our dedication to tailoring solutions to meet the specific needs and requirements of our diverse customer base.

Metro are at the forefront of digital freight operations, electronic trade documentation and automated customs brokerage solutions. 

The Metro board continue to invest in technical capabilities and innovative technology, which adds value for the business and our customers. EMAIL Ian Powell, to learn more.

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.

eBill

eBills have same legal recognition as paper bills of lading

Oct 12, 2023 | , ,

The UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) came into force on the 20th September, providing an electronic bill of lading (eBill) the same legal status as a paper bill of lading.

This is a major step forward in the modernisation of international trade and is anticipated to boost the UK economy by over £1 billion over the next decade, by removing the barriers of time and cost associated with exchanging paper documents. 

The issue of ‘possession’, which has been the main obstacle to the legal recognition of electronic trade documents, has been resolved by the development of distributed ledger technology and blockchain technology, which have established reliable systems for the identification and control of electronic trade documents.

The ETDA permits a person to possess, endorse and part with possession of an eBill, which means that where an eBill has been transferred to a new lawful holder, possession gives that holder the right to demand delivery of the goods. 

Using eBills

Starting your electronic trade documents journey is simple!

You, your consignee and Metro register on the secure platform utilised by the carrier and after draft approval, the eBill will be issued and transferred digitally through the platform to the parties you nominate.

Increased efficiency 

The move to eBills provides significant cost savings, removes the need to print documents and arrange for them to be couriered to third parties, which means the process is swifter and reduces the likelihood for errors or loss.

Creating eBills can be automated, with the document produced at the touch of a button, and instantly transferred onto the relevant party, which avoids the issues and storage costs associated with paper bills of lading, where the goods cannot be released if there is a delay in receiving the paper document. 

Increased security 

Electronic Bills of Lading increase the security surrounding a transaction and the protection of confidential information, with electronic bill of lading systems approved for use by the shipping lines’ insurers.

Blockchain technology creates a digital record of transactions and the distributive ledger system allows participants to access information instantaneously, while limiting the risk of fraudulent activity by storing information on multiple servers, meaning that a perpetrator would have to access all versions to alter the document. 

If you’re ready to simply your trade document generation, reduce administration, save courier fees, avoid release delays and unnecessary costs, contact your Metro account director, or EMAIL Jade Barrow, Business Process Optimisation Director.

MVT

Taking Metro technology to the next level

Sep 13, 2023 | , ,

Metro has been a technology first company for decades, becoming one of the earliest paperless forwarders almost 20 years ago and innovating leading-edge supply chain management, tracking and business-process technology ever since.

As a result, we have become increasingly integrated with many of our customers and partners, to share real-time data, accelerate workflows, automate processes and optimise their supply chains.

Conception, implementation and continued evolution of arguably the world’s most comprehensive logistics management platform, the proprietary MVT, further enhances our value proposition.

Wisetech Global began writing code for freight forwarders in 1994 and today they are a leading provider of software solutions to the logistics industry globally, with the top 25 global freight forwarders deploying their solutions.

In 2020, Metro took the strategic decision to partner with the Wisetech Global team and integrate their CargoWise One (CW1) operations solution with our multi-award winning MVT platform.

CW1 is an enterprise-class management system, with a deeply feature-rich set of vertical and horizontal, whole-of-enterprise capabilities, across the supply chain. 

Integration with MVT provides a significantly enhanced, global operations platform, which has been designed to drive productivity, profitability, automation, supply chain compliance and global reach. It simplifies and improves integration and communication with customers, partners, vendors and carriers, which enhances regulatory compliance with customs, security and dangerous goods authorities globally.

The CW1 project has been 2.5 years in the planning, training and implementation, with every area of the company being completely reviewed and processes optimised to utilise the full technical advantages of CW1, with the final part of the Metro business transitioning to CW1 on the 1st October.

The My Visibility Tool portal now boasts CW1 compatible modules including our latest (customs) CuDoS, (DC delivery management) DCM, (environment) Eco, and (tracking) T&T with Notification engine solutions, which embrace AI, machine learning and automation technology. 

Customers will be automatically transitioned to the latest version of Track and Trace (v4) and will still have access to our legacy MVTe solution for older shipments and corresponding documentation & reports. 

Our investment in AI features heavily in version 4 with optimised models that predict arrival dates and ETA insights to proactively notify users of reasons for delay. This development will be extended in 2024 with a customer facing API based on the standards of UN/CEFACT and the DCSA, that will load updated shipment and tracking data, directly into their systems.

Metro has rebranded with a new logo and documentation output from the CW1 system is being adapted to reflect this positive change and innovation.

Metro's board realises software implementation and rollout is rarely a smooth transition, internally and externally and while our work with CW1 has not been without its challenges over the last couple of years, we're delighted with the outcomes, the specific advantages it's brought us and the efforts of all the teams involved in this major undertaking.

Finally, we'd like to thank all our customers, partners and suppliers, for your ongoing support during this time.

The Metro board continues to invest in our technical capabilities and innovative technology, which adds value to the business and our customers. EMAIL Ian Powell, to learn more.

Category: Technology

MVT | Supply Chain | Technology

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