The Logistics of Secure Package Delivery

One of G4S’s customers is an international freight and logistics company based in Kenya. They plan, implement and operate large and complex supply chain solutions. Their logistics services operate on a regional, national and global scale, on behalf of various major international companies in Kenya.

Their largest customer is a mobile phone service provider. This customer has very strict service level agreements and their expectations for how the product is to be delivered are very high. This customer will charge the logistics company penalties on any loss or damage to their products.

The customer wanted to reduce instances of theft and damage to goods while in distribution, in order to protect against any losses and penalties. Before they worked with G4S they were using sealed containers, but this was not enough to mitigate the key risks. Continuous losses and damages were still occurring.

The distributor was denying any ownership of losses or damages, because the packages arrived sealed. It seemed almost impossible for the company to prove liability or determine responsibility for any losses or damage in this situation.

The customer needed a complete overhaul of their shipping process, so that security and monitoring measures could be implemented throughout the product journey.

THE GOALS

The primary goal in this case was for G4S to make the necessary changes to ensure that products could be transported to their final destination without tampering, theft or damage. It was essential to monitor these products throughout their entire journey, since it wasn’t clear where or how these damages and thefts were happening.

We realised that the most efficient way to do this was to take over the entire warehousing and logistics process for the company and their client. By implementing measures to detect theft and damage, we could monitor each package every step of the way and make sure it arrived in good condition.

 

THE SOLUTION

We looked at the entire journey of the packages delivered by this logistics firm and came up with a unique plan to enhance security at every step of the process. Here are some of the security measures we put into place:

• We created a dedicated warehouse implant when the packaging was done at the company offices. This technology makes it possible to detect and deter theft.
• We made sure that all products transported by this logistics company were sealed in G4S tamper-evident packaging.
• We created a web portal with an online tracking widget that allowed customers and clients to track their shipment by entering their waybill/tracking number online.
• Also, we introduced a weight measuring system at the courier hub. The packages are measured when they are packaged and when they are delivered, to make sure they are exactly the same. Once we installed these precautions, G4S became liable the moment packaging was done. We ensured that each package made it to its final destination undamaged.

THE RESULTS

With the new system, a G4S staff member is involved throughout the entire packaging, transportation and distribution process. There is real-time monitoring on every step of the journey for every package the company handles.

As a result of the security standards implemented, this logistics company experienced approximately 95% reduction in theft and breakages. They also experienced an overall reduction in losses, after adding additional security measures.

Thanks to the reduced number of claims, the customer enjoyed significant cost savings. They now have much more control over the actual packaging and what has been delivered, and can offer a higher level of service to their clients.

Download the full case study as a PDF here.