Corporate report Motoblouz: top-level logistics!
Whether you order parts or equipment from your dealer or from an online store, all that good stuff has already traveled a long way when it arrives in your garage. In itself, that process in a warehouse does not seem very sexy. However, at Motoblouz webshop they approach things completely differently. With Boa concept, Motoblouz acquired the 'factory' solution among conveyor belts. Why is that good news for you? The right package delivered to your home even faster!
Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting,” Steve McQueen once said. McQueen should know. He became known as a star actor and in that capacity obviously had to wait a lot. But 'the King of Cool' actually acted mainly to finance his real passion: racing motorcycles and cars. Every racer will recognize his statement. And if racers have one thing in common, it's this: things can't go fast enough!
Stormy growth
Admittedly, it couldn't be over quickly enough, that's what we thought about the tour in advance Motoblouz Stockroom. Gradually, however, our admiration for the ingenuity of the entire logistics process grew. Moreover, there are striking parallels with what is already happening or is about to happen in the motorcycle industry. The logistics needs of a fast-growing e-commerce company such as Motoblouz are impressive and complex.
Motoblouz was founded in 2004 and grew to a turnover of 38,3 million euros in 2016. The company from Lille, Northern France, is now the market leader in the field of motorcycle equipment. In practice, this amounts to 1.050 orders per day. About 1.500 packages leave from the brand new distribution center every day. Size of the customer base: more than 800.000 (!) motorcyclists, including many motocross riders and endurists. In total, Motoblouz can count about 30% of all French motorcycles among its customers.
Internet of Things
Traditionally, conveyor belts are anything but an example of speed and flexibility. They are heavy, cumbersome and not very flexible. Particularly useful for transporting identical loads from A to B. High-tech? Well not really, a lot of noise from stupid machines mainly. But look, this is also where the digital revolution is making its debut! We talk about it with a trendy term Internet of Things (in English The Internet of Things). Yamaha equips its 2018 YZ450F with WiFi, allowing you to use a smartphone app to tailor the performance of your motorcycle to riding style, the nature of the track and the weather conditions... Yep, that is also a perfect example of the Internet of Things.
As an online medium, we at MXMag have always paid special attention to technological innovations. Data acquisition, motorcycle mapping, LITPro, TPI technology... What has come our way in the motorcycle (cross) world over the past ten years would have been labeled as science fiction in the 60s or 70s. This is also such a breakthrough, but one in the field of logistics.
Modular and intelligent
The clever minds of Boa-Concept play with their intelligent, modular “Plug-and-Carry” conveyor belt perfectly adapts to our changing environment. Digitization, mobility and flexibility of personnel and goods require new solutions.
There are plenty of concrete examples:
– The way to order a product: directly and online. No more faxes, order forms and telephone orders.
– The speed of delivery. Consumers and companies are no longer willing to wait weeks for their orders.
– Tracing products throughout the entire production and transport chain. When we order a product, we want to know where it comes from and when it will be delivered.
Mechanics meets artificial intelligence
The description of high-tech also fits the drive of this conveyor belt. The “Plug-and-Carry” system is 100% electric. No more pneumatic drive and the conveyor belt only operates effectively when a load is detected. This is more economical in terms of both energy consumption and wear.
The heart of Boa Concept's “Plug-and-Carry” concept is the printed circuit board that is installed per module of 1 to 3 meters. This printed circuit board allows the modules to communicate with each other. Moreover, taking into account factors such as the total capacity, the distance to be traveled and the nature of the packages (from small envelopes, a helmet to large loads such as tires), the entire installation uses collective artificial intelligence. In practice, this means:
– Directing packages by reading barcodes or RFID.
– Real-time communication between the different modules.
– Customization of the entire installation with different types of straight blocks, curved elements, distribution modules and a specific delivery module. A bit like building the perfect track; )
– The ability to adjust the conveyor belt trajectory quickly and cost-effectively.
– Less maintenance costs
In practice
Everything still smells like new in the Motoblouz warehouse, which is not surprising because it... 6000m2 large distribution center only became operational at the end of 2016. The first impression is one of a very neat and quiet environment. In this respect, little noise is not synonymous with a lack of activity. On the contrary, people work damn hard here! Many young, motivated employees who make it a point of honor to process orders as quickly and effectively as possible.
The fact that the boys and girls from the warehouse are also paid flexibly - depending on Motoblouz's financial performance - clearly ensures additional involvement. Just as top material brings out the best in a rider, Motoblouz's logistics employees know that with Boa Concept they can count on the most high-performance material for their job. Or how the road to the customer has also become a kind of race!
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