Lufthansa Cargo leverages Quintiq’s expertise to build smarter supply chain

June 28, 2018: European airline Lufthansa Cargo selects Quintiq, a Dassault Systèmes company and global leader in supply chain planning and optimisation (SCP&O), to improve its production planning at two of its most relevant hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

At the two hubs selected for this Quintiq implementation, cargo needs to be broken down and built up for delivery to its next destination, either by plane or truck. With the help of Quintiq, Lufthansa Cargo will be able to make smarter decisions with regards to schedules and workstation locations for these breakdown and build-up activities.

Additional stations will be included in the future in Lufthansa Cargo’s effort to set up a global supply chain system.

By providing the company with better visibility of inbound and outbound freight handling, the solution eliminates the need for long buffer time when reserving a workstation. The company can free up its workstation capacity, limit required space for storage and increase overall due date reliability for its customers.

“We at Lufthansa Cargo are constantly looking for new ways to simplify operations and increase efficiency. Digitisation is key. It adds to our competitive advantage and gives value to our partners. Our search for digitised processes led us to Quintiq,” said Soren Stark, chief operating officer at Lufthansa Cargo.

“The Quintiq team impressed us with their experience and ability to find simple solutions for our complex challenges. They were able to translate them into a powerful software solution that will improve our cargo handling operations and resource usage,” said Tim Heppenheimer, head of Supply Chain Management, Lufthansa Cargo.

The Quintiq solution is able to generate a production plan seven days in advance, based on forecasted orders. Closer to the day of operations, the solution will start to fill the plan with actual orders. Using rapid optimisation technology, it will manage even last-minute updates, as full information on orders may arrive just hours before the goods are scheduled for delivery. The solution will also seamlessly integrate with Lufthansa Cargo’s iCargo and Forecast systems. The three-way feedback loop between Forecast, Quintiq and iCargo drives more accurate plans on breakdown and build-up activities, and enables iCargo to monitor on-ground progress.

“Given its massive volume of production, the increased efficiency of breaking down and building up the cargo will make a great difference to its overall business performance,” said Rob van Egmond, CEO at Quintiq.

“Our presence in the aviation industry is further strengthened by our expansion into the air cargo sector.”