PST CLC Mitsui-Soko has won The Best of Czech and Slovak Logistics in a highly competitive competition. In the “Best Logistics Project” category, the company won second place for the implementation of a digital twin in the finished goods and direct material warehouses at Philip Morris ČR in Kutná Hora, where PST CLC Mitsui-Soko outsources logistics. The results of the competition were announced during The Best of Czech and Slovak Logistics conference held at the International Engineering Fair in Brno. The competition was organised by Logistika.Tv together with the specialist TechMagazín and Robotic journal magazines, in cooperation with BVV Trade Fairs Brno.
“We perceive The Best of Czech and Slovak Logistics award as a significant recognition of the work of all those who participated in the digital twin implementation project at Philip Morris ČR in Kutná Hora. We are pleased that this project, which focuses on the optimisation of the main operating costs, especially in the areas of handling equipment productivity and human resources productivity, has impressed the expert jury,” says Petr Kotora, Director of Logistics at PST CLC Mitsui-Soko.
Vít Votroubek “This is a great honour and recognition of the work of colleagues”
Vít Votroubek, CEO of PST CLC Mitsui-Soko, adds: “When I learned of this success, I was very happy and immediately informed representatives of our parent Japanese group Mitsui-Soko, who were thrilled to receive such a prestigious award. We will definitely use this award in The Best of Czech and Slovak Logistics in our marketing communication. I consider it a great honour and an appreciation of the good work of my colleagues.”
FurtherVít Votroubek states: “In this context, I would like to mention the logistics expert Rudolf Malý, who, together with Twinzo, came up with the idea of implementing a digital twin within the framework of this project. A big thank you also goes to Igor Staš from our company, who had a lot of work with the project.” Vít Votroubek further pointed out that due to the successful results of the project in Kutná Hora, the digital twin will soon be implemented in the warehouse of CLC Mitsui-Soko in Úžice, which will bring simplification of work and savings.
Digital twin of the warehouse and electronic tasking
Now let’s take a brief look at the award-winning project. Two functionalities were implemented in Kutná Hora: (RTLS, i.e., Real Time Location System, of which the creation of a digital twin of warehouses was an integral part) and electronic ordering (AOS, i.e., Automated Ordering System). “The digital twin of the warehouse and the real-time location system of the handling equipment provides a real-time overview of the warehouse operations and keeps the history, allowing the warehouse manager to keep track of and manage the activities of the employees, increasing safety in the warehouse with the help of various tools,” describes Igor Staš, Operations Manager at PST CLC Mitsui-Soko. The system contains a number of analytical reports, from which each user can choose what is relevant to their needs.
The ‘electronic tasking’ functionality is the ability to communicate electronically – tasking between the customer service office and the shift supervisor, who then electronically tasks the warehouseman in the material handling equipment, without the need for a face-to-face meeting. This functionality also enables detailed analysis and reporting.
Innovation has brought cost savings to the customer and PST CLC Mitsui-Soko
“This innovation has brought cost savings on both the customer’s and our side. Thanks to the RTLS and AOS systems, we are able to control the activities in the 12,500 square metre warehouse from ‘one place’ and with only one manager, whereas before the deployment there were two managers per shift,” says Petr Kotora. The whole solution had the additional progress of reducing the number of handling equipment and the number of employees.
“The uniqueness of the solution lies in the simplicity of the whole system, in the price versus performance ratio. It has also helped us to identify gaps in the range and quality of skills of some of our staff. The return on investment in our case was less than a year,” says Igor Staš.
The 2nd place award in the ‘Best Logistics Project’ category in The Best of Czech and Slovak Logistics competition was presented to Petr Kotor (pictured in the middle) and Igor Stas (right), representatives of PST CLC Mitsui-Soko, by Ivan Škalda, Director of Logistics at Tescoma.
