Every year, Kauno grūdai exports its products—flour and its products, instant products, fodder, raw materials, etc.—to more than 50 countries. As production volumes keep growing, the company constantly explores ways to improve its logistics infrastructure so that the operations run smoothly. Therefore, Kauno Grūdai entrusted the management of its logistics processes to Cargo Stream. According to representatives of Kauno Grūdai, more efficient and digitised processes are essential for many sectors, including food production.
As production volumes grow, so does the importance of logistics
According to Arnoldas Gečas, Head of Logistics at Kauno Grūdai, with supply chain disruptions disturbing the world, market leaders must make every effort to ensure the efficiency of their operations.
“At a time when the world is talking about the shortage of raw materials more and more, avoiding mistakes and working as efficiently as possible is our top priority. We are about to open a new 1,800 sqm warehouse in the Kėdainiai district, where we have invested more than 3 million euros. The demand for fast-moving products produced by Kauno Grūdai is constantly growing, so the increasing production capacity forces us to take an even more responsible approach to logistics,” said A. Gečas.
Choosing modern solutions
“Kauno Grūdai operates a total of 6 warehouses, and 30 employees are responsible for logistics processes. The company continuously purchases logistics services as it transports its products daily in Lithuania and abroad and fulfils more than 15,000 orders annually. To improve this area of its activities, Kauno Grūdai has decided to implement a technological solution to speed up the processes and reduce human errors.
“For some time now, we have been looking for a modern yet easy-to-use solution covering the entire logistics chain. We evaluated various options and chose Cargo Stream, which could fit our needs and the required functionality. With this platform, our workload has been reduced two times, and the management of logistics processes has become much simpler for our employees,” said Mr Gečas.
According to the company, the platform also contributes to the efficiency of warehouse management—digitised warehouse yard management via the Cargo Stream app helps drivers and warehouse staff to get instant information on the status of loading and better manage processes.
Time saved is golden
According to Šarūnas Belickas, Operations Manager at Cargo Stream, Kauno Grūdai is one of the many success stories where a large-scale company integrating a versatile solution has experienced comprehensive benefits for employees, partners, and the environment.
“Companies choose a digital solution like Cargo Stream for a variety of reasons: for some, the transparency that our platform provides is important. For others, it is important to speed up processes. And others are looking for a way to simplify procurement—annual tenders. Ultimately, they get the tools to achieve these results and more, such as additional benefits: access to sustainability reports and a wealth of data that allows them to improve their operations,” said Mr Belickas.
According to the platform’s COO, many people underestimate the impact improvement in the efficiency of processes of this magnitude has on the supply chain for manufacturing and other companies. According to Mr Belickas, supply chain participants—shippers, carriers, and warehouse workers—normally communicate via email and calls. The platform thus saves time and helps to see and manage all the necessary information in one place.
“By moving part of logistics processes to the Cargo Stream platform, Kauno Grūdai employees no longer have to coordinate and track shipments using calls or emails—the platform handles everything automatically and in real-time. Not only are processes speeded up, but transparency is also increased—the agreed terms and conditions are verified by artificial intelligence against the final invoices, thus avoiding unforeseen costs and reducing the workload of the accounting department. Most importantly, the platform-driven processes reduce the likelihood of human error by 99 per cent, which means that, in many cases, digital tools help avoid the monetary losses and supply chain disruptions that would occur if a shipment was delayed.”
Cargo Stream’s solution is not only used by shippers but also by leading transport logistics companies and freight forwarders. The Lithuanian platform has become a key learning tool for transport management students in 4 Lithuanian and French higher education institutions, which are using this digital tool to enable students to create value in their companies immediately after their studies by working with a versatile system.