Arla Foods is cutting back on road miles and emissions as well as increasing efficiency, after introducing new technology across the company’s sites in the UK.

A video conferencing system is enabling colleagues at Arla’s processing sites and logistics functions to have face-to-face contact without needing to travel across the country. The system also provides a vital link to the recently centralised planning team, as well as allowing Arla’s drivers to provide debriefs and receive feedback quickly and simply.

Teresa Nabozna, administrative controller on Arla’s national debriefing system, said: “All our drivers must have debriefs after they finish a shift. Previously this was done separately at our different sites. Now we just have one central team that deals with it all.”

“We find that drivers are able to debrief sooner, which means if any issues have occurred they are able to provide much more accurate details, and it also allows us to feedback any important information they need to know.”

Centralising operations to its head office at Arla House in Leeds, Arla now has one core logistics planning team. Its new system, which incorporates Life Size, gives the team everything it needs to know, from the location of drivers to regional updates, as well as enabling logistical planning on a national scale.

“Centralising the team has allowed us to streamline our planning process,” explained Graham Hirst, Arla’s transport project manager.

“We are able to maintain regular contact with drivers and for site colleagues to be updated on any issues on a regular basis. Arla’s overall target is to reduce its CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020, which is why we are using this management system to help us reduce our carbon footprint.”

Looking to develop the system even further, Arla is planning to extend it across other functions and also implement an audio and video switching system that enables debriefers to switch from one site to another without having to swap places or equipment.
 

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