EV Cargo Technology boosts container fill levels for M&S

Marks & Spencer has reported significantly reduced lead times and shipping costs in the last year after adopting a new optimisation system from EV Cargo Technology.

The packaging module also cuts wastage and promotes sustainability by improving transit packaging compliance, minimising damage and increasing the amount of product which can be shipped.

Since implementing the system a year ago, M&S said it had been able to rationalise 3,800 carton types to just 10 – a 99% reduction in under eight weeks. As a result, the retailer has increased shipping container fill levels for clothing garments by more than 15% to 95%.

The module is also said to have helped condense lead times for approval of transit packaging and shipping of goods from 72 hours to just a few minutes.

This has helped M&S exceed its planned benefit of 15% cost savings, part of a three-year initiative to increase efficiency within its international supply chain through packaging optimisation.

Stephen Jarman, vendor performance and compliance for M&S, said: “Underpinning this success has been the migration from a clunky packaging approval tool to EV Cargo Technology’s streamlined Packaging Compliance module, which has provided the data to help us track cartons, establish what was in them and dramatically improve container fill levels.

“It reduced complexity and cut out the need for lots of extra solutions from a supplier perspective. Significantly, it has also reduced the lead time required from approving transit packaging to raising a packing list, giving us more flexibility with time in case any issues were to arise.”

The cloud-based module requires suppliers to confirm transit packaging sizes and construction against agreed standards set by the retailer or brand owner. Any requests that are outside of tolerances are flagged, reviewed and, if appropriate, rejected either manually or through automation built into the system.

Duncan Grewcock, EV Cargo Technology’s chief commercial officer, said: “EV Cargo Technology is renowned for intelligently applying supply chain technology to deliver operational, cost and sustainability improvements for its customers. The positive results with M&S are encouraging and very typical of what can be achieved.

“Our data-led approach and application of best practise through our range of global supply chain modules continues to deliver unrivalled benefits to manufacturers and retailers with complex international supply chain needs.”