Opsi, SAB partner in unique training academy
Johannesburg, South Arica, May 18, 2009:
Opsi, a provider of logistics software, today announced that it had entered into a training partnership with South African Breweries (SAB), a subsidiary of SABMiller, in an initiative called the Routing and Scheduling Academy.
This follows the successful roll-out of Opsi's FLO system for multi-drop routing and scheduling. FLO is installed in all 62 distribution depots of SAB, including Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) in South Africa.
FLO is a routing and scheduling tool with many unique features. These include the ability to model a rich set of real world constraints, including delivery windows, vehicle exclusions, product exclusions, individual working hours by vehicle, multiple-container vehicles, as well as trailer constraints.
FLO also features integration with GPS tracking to correct stop co-ordinates and to detect unauthorised visits. On the accounting side, FLO has a strong marginal cost algorithm and a complete delivery de-brief module. FLO handles all aspects of the planning as well as the execution of the delivery. Reporting by exception is a key feature included in FLO's strong operational and management reporting module.
The Routing and Scheduling Academy partnership, hosted at the SAB Training Institute, in Kyalami, undertakes courses and training workshops that include practical hands-on training for all planners, back-up planners and distribution managers within SAB's ABI and Beer Divisions. These training programmes provide existing and new staff an ongoing and advanced exposure to the FLO software, enabling them to exploit fully the efficiency and productivity capabilities of this leading logistics product.
The concept of the academy was developed by SAB with support from Opsi. In practice, the academy has managed to align both systems and operations. This has enhanced the ongoing benefits derived by delegates from the courses and training, which in turn, has ensured the maximum optimisation of their operational systems. In addition, the academy is complemented by the support of SAB's BIS team and operations experts. A collaboration room, which Opsi contributes to and helps manage, has also enabled SAB to assist users to troubleshoot and continuously optimise the application of their systems, thus complementing the anchoring efforts of SAB's systems and operations consultants.
The main rationale behind SAB's 2006 decision to implement a new routing and scheduling system was to provide better routing efficiency and reliability and thereby improve customer service. The decision by SAB to proceed with Opsi's FLO software followed an in-depth evaluation of FLO in a head-to-head operational study with the latest version of their existing solution. The SAB users found that FLO provided much stronger routing algorithms, thereby providing more effective and cheaper routing solutions, and had the additional advantage that it was much easier to use. In addition, Opsi impressed SAB by quickly incorporating a number of very specific enhancements as key to the SAB operation.
The FLO implementation started at the SAB Beer division in May 2006, at their 42 depots and, after a break, was followed in 2008 with the ABI implementations at 20 depots. Each divisional implementation used a common template and a standardised tight interface to SAB's SAP system, while remaining unique to the individuality of the particular depot.
Bruce Mattheus, SAB's Business Systems Manager of Sales & Distribution, commented: “It is a testament to Opsi that they are SAB's first point of call when investigating options and solutions to routing and scheduling challenges faced by our business and we look forward to their ongoing willingness and highly valued expertise in dealing with our current and future business challenges.”
He added: “Opsi will provide resources for the Routing and Scheduling Academy and perform ongoing systems anchoring to our FLO users so that skills and scheduling ability improves to the benefit of our customers and our business in general.”
For further information, please contact David Lubinsky: tel 011 880 7951, fax 011 880 2424, e-mail david.lubinsky@opsi.co.za.
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About SAB
SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across five continents. Born in 1895, SAB Ltd is the South African subsidiary of SABMiller plc, one of
the largest brewers by volume in the world. SAB plc acquired the Miller Brewing
Company in July 2002 and SABMiller was formed.
SAB operates seven breweries and 42 depots in South Africa with the brand portfolio of ten beers and two flavoured alcohol drinks (FADs).
SAB has an annual brewing capacity of 3.1-billion litres.
SAB Limited employs 4800 at SAB and, including ABI, now some 8200 people in South Africa.
About OPSI Systems
Opsi provides a complete logistics solution through its suite of platforms, enabling companies to more efficiently design and manage their supply chains. Opsi enables enterprises from a variety of markets, with varying fleet sizes, to manage their vehicle logistics, including the planning, scheduling, routing, management and auditing of their fleets with GPS tracking. Opsi's transport optimisation and management solutions have been proven across the globe in real world implementations by leading innovators such as Air Liquide, Barloworld, British American Tobacco (BAT), British Petroleum (BP), Clover, Coca Cola, DHL, Diageo, Parmalat, Reckitt Benckiser and SABMiller.
