From headaches to headway: how idoba optimised logistics for a major retailer

Using data analytics to improve cost and time savings and scheduling and rostering headaches for an iconic Australian retailer.

The logistics network constraints of a nationwide major retailer are enough to make most minds boggle. They’re working to fulfill the fast-moving stock requirements of retail outlets across Australia. There’s different types of trucks that need to be paired to different types of trailers transporting cold, warm and mixed freight. And then there’s the various physical constraints of each delivery location that impedes certain trucks from delivering to those locations. On top of this you need to roster your people to align load/unload capacity to freight movements. And that’s if it all goes smoothly and to plan! The reality is supply chains don’t always flow efficiently and the variability impacts the day-to-day operation of stores.

One of Australia’s iconic national retailers wanted to improve scheduling across their logistics network and were keen to explore how data science and machine learning could help to rapidly respond to day-to-day variability as it occurred. They reached out to idoba, seeking a partner to build a solution that supported schedule optimisation and decision support.

After working with our client to deeply understand their operational realities and constraints, idoba developed a machine learning algorithm that was robust enough to ingest large amounts of data and flexible enough to allow users to adjust constraints to reduce operational costs. The model built considers constraints ranging from time to load and unload trailers, the availability of trailers, to the hourly rates for staff at the distribution centres and stores. The algorithm then leverages multiple supply chain scenarios to optimise for the constraints presented by the user, before presenting the outcomes in an interactive dashboard for the scheduler to support timely and effective decision making.

Importantly, idoba’s data science platform, Akumen™ provided a means to accelerate the development, deployment, and training of the solution, including de-risking a significant technical investment and accelerating the speed of delivery. The end result for our client – a reduction in the time and money spent on scheduling and rostering as well as improved supply chain operations.