What will happen to our luggage? The key to solving the “Logistics 2024 Problem” is April 8th, 17:11

The ``2024 problem'' in logistics is that there are concerns about a decrease in transportation volume due to the application of upper limit regulations on overtime work. Logistics companies are being forced to make major changes in order to resolve issues that can impact our lives.

An initiative called "Material Handling Reform" that I'm not used to hearing about, and an unusual collaboration between rivals. Explorations that go beyond the boundaries of companies have begun, overturning conventional wisdom in the Japanese logistics industry. (Reporter Shuntaro Hayakawa, Fukuoka Bureau/Reporter Daisuke Kobayashi, Hiroshima Bureau)

Logistics companies under pressure to transform

A meeting of the "Kyushu Logistics Study Group" was held in Fukuoka City in late February this year.

15 companies, including major transportation companies and supermarkets, are members of the study group, which was launched in August of last year.

Behind this is a sense of crisis that the 2024 logistics problem could have a major impact on corporate management.

There are concerns that transport volumes will decrease due to the implementation of caps on overtime work for truck drivers starting in April.

We have been holding discussions for the past two and a half years, believing that it would be impossible to address the 2024 problem with a single company's measures alone.

On this day, the topic of discussion was "Material Handling Reform."

Disparate “material handling”

"Material handling" is an abbreviation for material handling, which means the work of transporting things. We have ``trolleys with baskets,'' ``containers,'' and ``six-wheeled carts'' for delivering products.

Trucks are used to transport various products such as food and daily necessities to supermarkets and other locations.

However, the shapes and sizes of trolleys and containers vary depending on the company. Even if we want to promote efficient delivery, it is difficult to transport large quantities using machines.

The ``Kyushu Logistics Study Group'' is working on a joint transportation initiative within Fukuoka Prefecture that efficiently transports products from various companies using a single truck, and has achieved great results.

However, the disparity in material handling is a major barrier to expanding joint delivery.

The study group's meeting materials contain harsh words, saying that each company has been promoting the operation of ``material handling'' with only their own profits and efficiency in mind.

``Retailers' selfishness,'' ``manufacturers' selfishness,'' and ``wholesale caught between retailers and manufacturers.'' A microcosm of the challenges in logistics.

Toward unification of “material handling”

At the meeting in late February, members discussed standardizing material handling standards.

The study group believes that if standards are unified, in other words, if they can be arranged like ``sea containers'', transportation work can be made much more efficient.

We received many positive opinions from the companies interviewed.

Participant member

: ``In America and Europe, all manufacturers use the same containers and similar sizes. For example, for juice, the contents and design may be different, but the size should be the same. It's only natural that we all share the same idea that logistics is more efficient if we use physical objects.''

``We all have the same general idea and direction, so I think it would be great if we could work together to create a single model.''

However, even if one agrees with the direction of unifying material handling, it is difficult to give an immediate answer as to what specific standards should be adopted, as each company's interests are involved. We also heard frank opinions from the members.

Participating member

: ``I'm interested in standardizing material handling standards, but I can't stop thinking about which company should match the containers.''

The study group plans to continue discussions with the aim of unifying material handling standards, working not only with retailers but also with manufacturers.

In addition to expanding joint delivery, our goal is to reduce truck mileage by 50% in the future.

Initiator of the study group Aeon Kyushu President Yuji Shibata:

``Everyone agrees with the general idea.However, when you get into the specifics, it's still true.The biggest challenge is to eliminate them one by one.'' I don't think it's something that can be done in one or two years, but something that can be completed in three to five years.There are many issues to overcome, but if we can make changes starting from the downstream distribution industry, we can create a good shape. I think so.”

Unusual collaboration between rivals

Furthermore, the movement of rivals to team up with each other is beginning to spread. Osakikamijima Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, is located on the Seto Inland Sea and has a population of approximately 6,800 people.

Rival companies that operate supermarkets and other stores on this island combine cargo into one truck and jointly deliver it.

The truck transportation is handled by a supermarket with 64 stores mainly in Hiroshima Prefecture.

I visited the delivery site. It was around 4:30 a.m. in mid-March. A truck arrived at a supermarket's distribution base in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima to load cargo.

When the door of the loading platform was opened, there was already fresh food to be delivered to stores of other companies in the same industry.

The empty space on this truck is used to load meat, sashimi, bread, vegetables, frozen foods, etc. to be transported to supermarket stores.

The distance from here to the destination store on the island is approximately 50 km in a straight line. It took us over an hour to arrive at the ferry terminal via the expressway.

After a 30-minute ferry journey, we arrived at the supermarket on the island before it opened at 9:30am.

After unloading the company's cargo at the supermarket store, the truck headed to another company's store on the island.

Why did "rival companies" form an unusual collaboration? Companies operating supermarkets and other stores on this island were unable to fill trucks with their own products alone, and inefficiency was a major issue.

Therefore, we decided to combine cargo from multiple companies onto one truck. This allows companies to reduce the working hours of truck drivers.

Furthermore, the 13,500 yen ferry fee required for a 4-ton truck to travel to and from Osakikamijima can also be reduced.

Although the volume of transportation remains the same, the work hours of drivers can be reduced.

Kazumi Fujiwara, Supply Chain Department, Fresta Holdings,

``I think joint delivery has great benefits because it reduces the driver's working hours and doesn't require a car.By jointly delivering, each company can It also benefits local customers by lowering costs.”

Expanding cooperation in joint delivery

In such joint shipping, the products and quantities being transported become known to other companies.

Additionally, consolidating trucks into one vehicle changes the delivery route, and even if delivery delays by just 30 minutes, it will greatly affect the arrival and departure times of many employees and part-time workers.

The supermarkets we interviewed believe that this is one of the reasons why joint delivery has not spread until now.

Still, reducing the working hours of drivers is an urgent issue for companies.

In order to respond to the ``2024 problem'' in logistics, we are negotiating with other companies to explore various possibilities, such as expanding this initiative to other regions and being able to carry cargo from different industries. We are.

Kazumi Fujiwara, Supply Chain Department:

``In the future, we would like to further expand this initiative by interacting and discussing with companies that transport goods, including clothing and pharmaceuticals, to see if we can jointly deliver goods to mountainous areas.'' ”

The ``2024 problem'' has the potential to affect our lives. A private think tank estimates that if no measures are taken, approximately 35% of parcels nationwide will not be able to be transported by 2030, and the question of how far efforts can be made to improve delivery efficiency through these efforts will be a key to solving the problem. This is the key.

Shuntaro Hayakawa,

reporter at Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Joined the

station in 2010

after working in the economics department, etc.

Covers Fukuoka city government and the local economy.

Fascinated by Kyushu's local fish,

actively covers the efforts of businesses

struggling to deliver food.

Hiroshima Broadcasting Station Reporter

Daisuke Kobayashi

Joined the station in 2006

Worked at five broadcasting stations: Tottori → Wakayama → Tokyo → Morioka → Hiroshima

Covered various sites across the country as a News Watch 9 reporter