Anton wins PSA Award
Distrilog Group participates every year in Top Coach for Top Talent (T4T), a project by Supply Chain Masters, the network organisation for professionals working in procurement, supply chain and logistics. This is how we came to welcome Anton, a student in his final year, for an exciting apprenticeship and last-year assignment. After presenting his bachelor assignment, Anton went on to win the PSA Antwerp Award.
Top talent Anton Smidts, final-year student in Logistics Management at the KDG University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp, joined Distrilog Group in March, supervised by top coach and site manager Gert Van Rillaer. The project? Optimising the current warehouse lay-out of our site for Tom&Co at Weversstraat 34 in Londerzeel. The result? A 110-page document formulating the response to the research question: ‘How can custom-based slotting improve efficiency throughout the Tom&Co chain?’.
“During this apprenticeship I had the chance to analyse the operations of both Distrilog and Tom & Co. In doing so, I was able to align the logistics processes of Distrilog with the customer’s commercial processes”, says Anton. “I chose to run through the logistics chain from back to front – in order to establish where adjustments were possible or necessary. I made a number of observations beforehand, during the first weeks of my apprenticeship in the Tom&Co stores.”
Slotting tool
This study allowed Anton to make a number of clear conclusions: “I realised that goods were best grouped by family, in order to gain efficiency throughout the chain. The pick frequency is also a highly important parameter. If the goods are stored smartly, the distances in the warehouse can be reduced significantly.” Anton also designed his own slotting tool: “That’s a smart working model providing a visual representation of the most optimal location for goods storage.”
Contract extension
Top coach Gert Van Rillaer praises Anton and his research: “The subject was so challenging, we expected a surprise, and Anton was also able to meet this expectation. His abilities to analyse, listen and be solution-oriented were certainly to his advantage. Furthermore, Anton set to work very autonomously with the given material. Instructions? He didn’t need any.”
“Our contract with Tom&Co has since been extended, and the results of Anton’s research most certainly contributed. We are including both his findings and use of the slotting tool as we continue optimising our logistics processes”, confirms Gert.
iPhone 12
With his presentation – in no less than three languages – Anton successfully convinced the jury of six. He also achieved an amazing score of 18.9/20 and was the clear winner. He was handed the award, along with an iPhone 12, by PSA Antwerp, the largest container handler in the Port of Antwerp. Congratulations, Anton!
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