Since 2019, Transports Bergelin (Arc-Lès-Gray, 70) has been offering John Deere’s Arc-Lès-Gray plant logistics services for the storage of its materials and consolidated deliveries of its machinery and spare parts. . For this, a warehouse of 1,300 m2 is devoted to the manufacturer of agricultural machinery. This logistics service offer has maintained the carrier’s annual turnover at 5.2 million euros since 2020 despite the covid-19. But it obliges this SME of 50 employees to compensate by economies of scale for the rise in fuel prices and the delays in delivery caused by shortages of steel and aluminum..
Always provide additional trucks
Now representing 20% of Transports Bergelin’s activity, the flow management of the John Deere plant includes the reception and storage of materials arriving by truckload, then deliveries within 24 hours to the plant or to customers in Greater -East, Hauts-de-France and Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne. The whole represents at least six full trucks per day in both directions.
“We work in real time with the factory, always planning additional trucks to respond to urgent requests from shippers, reports Xavier Bergelin, president of the carrier. We have to achieve the closest possible loading rate to 100% and the lowest empty mileage because we are not paid for it. To stick to customer requests, we are constantly redoing our loads. This is why each employee is versatile in order to be able to perform the tasks of an absent colleague. To avoid empty truck returns or make up for a shortfall, two chartering employees are constantly looking for freight by using the B2PWeb freight exchange.
Optimization at all levels
Transport is provided by Bergelin’s 26 drivers. Thanks to internal training, they practice eco-driving to reduce fuel consumption and tire wear. Vehicles are chosen for their performance within three brands: Iveco for price, Renault Trucks for options and Mercedes Benz for productivity. With the current delivery times, Xavier Bergelin is postponing the renewal of the most reliable and high-performance vehicles to five years, instead of three previously. It has thus spread out its 2022 renewals from May to March 2023, taking advantage of the compromise between technical quality, financing and availability, which emerges from the calls for tenders of the FLO consortium of which it is a member.
Greening the fleet?
Xavier Bergelin would also like to green his fleet, but “the rise in the price of gas calls into question the relevance of its economic model if customers do not finance it,” he confides. And as the price of fuels will remain high, we are thinking of falling back on B100 biofuel. »
