Linfox raises the bar for safety and innovation

Linfox is an Australian success story, founded by one man – Lindsay Fox – with one truck in the 1950s. Today, one of Lindsay’s sons, Peter, is the chairman of the board of the Linfox Group, which has more than 22,000 people working in 10 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, with a range of related business activities across four operating divisions.

Inside Linfox Logistics NZ’s main distribution centre
– the flagship of the New Zealand operation

One of the operating divisions is Linfox Logistics which provides tailored supply chain solutions mainly for blue-chip clients. Linfox Logistics commenced operations in New Zealand in 1989, and set up within the three main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Its distribution clients number just 15, and include Lion, Progressive Enterprises, Nestlé, Dulux, Unilever, Arnott’s and Red Bull.

Why so few clients? “We don’t want to be everything to everyone,” explains Aidan Lovelock, Linfox Logistics NZ manager of business development. “We’d rather add considerable value to a small number of dedicated clients.”

The New Zealand business has three modes of operation: transport (clients include Bunnings, Tegel and Marley), warehousing (either 3PL services through a Linfox warehouse or on a customer’s own site – Lion uses Linfox staff to oversee its warehousing at The Pride at East Tamaki), or a combination of both (such as Unilever and Nestlé).

Flagship site

The Linfox Logistics warehouse within Goodman’s Westney Industry Park, situated within a ‘stone’s throw’ of Auckland International Airport, is the flagship of the New Zealand operation. The 50,000 sq m shed occupies the end of Verissimo Drive and rubs shoulders with other international freight and logistics providers.

It’s the largest 3PL shed of its type in New Zealand, Aidan explains, with one point of entry/exit, a one-way traffic flow system for inwards goods, putaway, picking and dispatch of outwards goods, and full onsite security. Features include:

• 40,000 sq m floor space across two separate chambers
• 7000 sq m drive-through canopy
• 13.3 m apex, allowing racking to seven pallets high
• Storage capacity of 40,000 pallets
• A discrete bunded dangerous goods (DG) store
• Temperature-controlled storage facilities.

Clients have their own dedicated area within the shed; for some this represents their national stock holding, while others have warehouses nearer the point of manufacture or a geographically split inventory strategy. Aidan says the shed is currently running at an optimal 84% capacity. Over the years this figure has peaked as high as 93–94%.

Why so much variation? “A client’s business can vary in terms of the amount of stock they hold within New Zealand,” he says. “It’s not so much a case of business dropping off, more a case of the client working smarter.”

All clients have some degree of interface with Linfox’s own warehouse management system, and many are moving to a SAP back-office platform with freight and operations applications. This is good news for Linfox as globally the group is moving to a B2B interface resource based in Australia. “Rather than individual countries doing their own thing, we’ll have compatibility across the entire network which will reduce challenges and allow us to interact seamlessly,” Aidan explains.

Vision ZERO

Linfox Logistics currently has three focuses of attention: safety, the environment, and innovation – in that order. “Safety is the cornerstone of our business and we’re committed to achieving the aims of Vision ZERO,” Aidan says. Indeed, Linfox developed its Vision ZERO programme, a global initiative that aims for zero fatalities, zero injuries, zero motor vehicle accidents, zero net environmental emissions, and zero tolerance of unsafe behaviours and practices in the workplace. “It’s all about setting simple safety rules and guidelines, providing leadership, taking responsibility, being accountable, and encouraging safe behaviour across all operations,” he explains. “Since adopting the programme in 2006, the Linfox Group has reduced its lost-time injury frequency rate by 90% – and we’re still making progress.”

The company’s dedication to improving safety was recognised in 2007 when it was awarded the ACC Workplace Safety Award at the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards; it was again a finalist in 2010.

Green Fox

In 2010, the Linfox Group made a visible commitment to the environment with the release of its Green Fox strategic sustainability plan, which aims for 50% reduction in the rate of carbon emissions by 2015 based on 2006–2007 emissions. This was a revised target after Linfox reached a target of 15% reduction by 2012 set in 2008.

“Most of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from our trucks,” Aidan explains (Linfox owns all its own trucks, and has minimal utilisation of ownerdrivers), “so we’re focusing on eliminating poor driver behaviour through our Eco-Drive campaign.” Eco-Drive is a training programme that teaches ten key driving techniques, including driving in the lane of least resistance, using the appropriate gear, and avoiding heavy braking and cornering too quickly. “It’s all about training our drivers to drive optimally,” Aidan says. “It makes them smarter, safer drivers.”

Linfox use a GPS system called I-Bright which is a product developed by a New Zealand company, International Telematics Ltd (ITL). Linfox and ITL have worked on producing a monitoring and reporting system that tracks the drivers throughout their daily trips.

At the completion of each shift, a summary debrief report is generated outlining significant events during that trip and fuel economy. This provides long-term monitoring of driver behaviour.

Drivers receive a ‘safety score card’ that allocates points for different driving aspects, and drivers have been avid adopters of the initiative. “They’re quite competitive about it,” Aidan explains.

Other transport-related projects are currently underway or being researched within the Linfox Group, including the potential of truck-and-trailer aerodynamics and improved tyre technology, and optimisation of supply routes. Non-transport-related emissionreduction strategies include improved business practices, environmentally friendly technologies, and changing the behaviour of people at work. “It can be as simple as turning off the lights when you leave the office,” Aidan says.

Make no mistake. Linfox may have started from humble beginnings, but today the company is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to transport and logistics across the Asia-Pacific region. “All these strategies, all these programmes, all these efforts are about raising the bar for the transport and logistics industry overall,” Aidan concludes. “It’s our point of difference.”

For further information, visit www.linfox.com