Petit Forestier Group Optimizes Its Transport Flows with a TMS.
This decision aligns with the Group’s policy to reduce its environmental impact and that of its clients, enhance their experience, and simplify operational management.
Laurent Simoneau, Director of Projects and Methods at Petit Forestier Group, shares more about this initiative.
(Reading time: approx. 3 minutes)
What is a TMS?
The Generix TMS is software adopted by the Group in 2021 to manage and optimize our transport operations. As logistics specialists, we distribute products, including vehicles, furniture, and containers, offered by our various rental brands.
For vehicles, it mainly involves flows between rental agencies, while for furniture and containers, it’s primarily about delivering or retrieving equipment from clients or transferring goods between depots. This constitutes transport orders, where the requester is either a rental agency or the client.
Why implement this tool?
The tool offers several advantages. One of the main benefits is route optimization. All transport tasks are listed in the TMS, which can automatically organize routes, optimize load capacity, and minimize empty kilometers. This internal tool is a valuable decision-making aid for our operators.*
Through an online platform accessible internally and externally, we can share reliable, real-time information on transport execution and related events.
It also enhances the customer experience and simplifies flow management, thanks to features such as automatic email notifications that improve communication regarding deliveries and pickups for clients and internally. Additionally, it enables digital transmission of transport orders to our carrier partners.
Not to mention, it supports our CSR strategy and our carbon footprint reduction goals.
How does this tool specifically reduce the carbon footprint?
Among the environmental objectives, CO₂ emissions were closely monitored.
A concrete example is the TMS’s ability to optimize vehicle loads during routes, thereby reducing the number of trips.
This tool also allows us to measure the carbon footprint of each transport. We can calculate the total CO₂ cost for an entire year across all our vehicle, furniture, and container activities.
A preliminary assessment showed that between 2021 and 2022, CO₂ emissions relative to revenue decreased by 2.8%. This demonstrates that the TMS project is beginning to reduce our carbon impact, even considering our growth.
What other indicators were monitored?
We achieved a return on investment in less than 12 months, a challenge successfully met in a shorter timeframe than anticipated. Simplifying and automating tasks has increased productivity by 30% in certain roles. Operators can thus focus more on value-added operations.
What are the next steps?
This project is far from complete, as the deployment of the Generix TMS solution continues in other European countries. We need to adapt on an international scale to meet the needs of all our clients. The implemented TMS tool gives us the flexibility to adapt accordingly.
*Operator: Responsible for organizing activities to connect the company, drivers, and clients.