– Robert Schmidkunz, Head of Logistics Safety, Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH, Business Line Logistics
Evonik Industries AG is one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies. In a sector where health, security, safety and environmental protection heavily influence a company’s reputation and profits, risks must be carefully controlled. That makes risk management a key concern for the company’s services unit, Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH, which is responsible for managing site operations, utilities and waste, technical services and logistics.
The Logistics department of Evonik Technology & Infrastructure manages the complete supply chain, including the receipt of raw material, warehousing and the shipping of finished products. In 2015 alone, the company transported 5,531,000 tons of hazardous goods by air, sea, rail or road. Internal risk management experts play a critical role in that process, ensuring that warehousing and transportation are safe. Since more than five years the company runs its own transport risk analysis with its proprietary methodology based on business continuity management assessment best practices to identify, evaluate and improve risks of all routes, regardless of the mode of transportation.
In light of the Responsible Care Initiative for the global chemistry industry and Evonik’s aspiration to continuously improve and ensure the safety of all parties and supply chains involved, full control and transparency are crucial. Transportation of hazardous goods needs to be well planned and monitored to minimize the impact of disturbances such as traffic jams or accidents on route. To keep risks under control, Evonik needed a full picture of the status of goods in transit and the ability to intervene with the best alternative solution if necessary.
To aid its continuing efforts to improve transparency and responsiveness in its logistics processes, Evonik has adopted Everstream Analytics, a cloud-based supply chain risk management platform. The solution complements the organization’s existing tools by supporting the evaluation of different transportation options and optimizing current risk monitoring procedures. It provides a way to visualize and evaluate vulnerabilities at every point in the supply chain, along with 24/7 near real-time monitoring of relevant incidents. The system assesses more than 35 different risk categories, from operational risks like customs delays to climate related factors like blizzards and other severe weather events.
Evonik has integrated all its relevant supply chain data into the Everstream Analytics platform. Using aggregated data from an extensive database of historical incidents, Everstream generates heat maps and visualizes the incident density and severity to highlight risk hotspots. Incident Monitoring also gives near real-time notifications should accidents, delays, strikes, or other disruptions arise.
With Everstream, Evonik can plan the safe transportation of hazardous goods more efficiently. The risk-related heat mapping supports Evonik’s existing transportation risk analysis processes, allowing the company to focus more of its attention on the route segments that present the greatest risks. This saves time, reduces costs, and improves the effectiveness of transportation planning. It also helps Evonik take a proactive approach –identifying potential disruptions before they affect shipments and briefing drivers to avoid them, triggering mitigation measures accordingly. If a situation on the ground changes, the Incident Monitoring functionality acts as an early warning system. This enables Evonik to react quickly and to evaluate whether the planned route still meets security standards. And, where changes need to be made, the software allows them to be developed and implemented more efficiently, leading to the optimal solution for each individual shipment.
In combination, Heat Mapping and Incident Monitoring help the company to prioritize its overall risk reduction efforts, identifying the most vulnerable parts of its supply chains and enabling a more directed approach for audits and interventions where necessary. In addition to the applications already in use, Evonik is also exploring Everstream solutions for a range of other activities. The platform can be used as a tool to assess new or potential business sites or as support for general logistics project planning or project implementation along the supply chain.
| Customer Objectives – Increase transparency and continuously improve the safety of hazardous goods along the supply chain – Ensure the best route for all shipments with appropriate measures to avoid risks – Fully visualize risks to enable a controlled, proactive approach Everstream Solution Customer Benefits |
