VLI: 5% more planning accuracy in logistics, with scenarios in about 2 minutes

+5%

planning accuracy

3.5 Mt

of grain simulated in scenarios per month

≈ 2 min

to simulate a complete scenario

5 + 8 + 5

ports, terminals, and corridors in a single plan, with more than 20 products

VLI needed to define how to serve each customer while getting the most productivity out of its assets. Planning covers 5 ports, 8 terminals, and 5 rail corridors, carrying more than 20 products, and every decision at one point affects the others:

• Port and rail coupled. Train arrivals must match the vessel queue, berth occupancy, and the stock in each warehouse.
• Variables out of control. Tides, rain, and maintenance change capacity from one day to the next.
• Many possible scenarios. Choosing the best way to serve customers requires generating and comparing several plans for the same month.

With Enacom’s Digital S&OP, built on a digital twin of the operation, VLI now plans the following month in a single model of ports, terminals, and rail:

1. Simulates the operation event by event

   with the vessel queue, berth occupancy, stock by warehouse, train circulation, and the effect of tides, rain, and maintenance.

2. Optimizes customer service and asset use

   with an hour-by-hour breakdown of berth, terminal, and corridor use in next month’s plan.

3. Generates and compares scenarios in about 2 minutes each

   with standardized, traceable data and online access for several teams at the same time.

With ports, terminals, and corridors in the same model, VLI’s planning gained 5% in accuracy. Every month, about 3.5 million tonnes of grain go through simulated scenarios before the operation begins.

Because each scenario runs in about 2 minutes, the team can test several service alternatives within the same planning cycle and reach the next month with asset use detailed hour by hour.

• A more reliable plan. More accuracy means a smaller gap between what is planned and what the operation delivers.
• Decisions that compare alternatives. Scenarios in minutes let you choose how to serve customers based on numbers, not a single spreadsheet.
• Port and rail in the same equation. Bottlenecks and idle capacity show up in the integration between modes, not just within each one.
• Traceable decisions, with standardized data and online access for every area involved.

• Your operation combines port, rail, terminals, or road, with several products and customers.
• Planning still depends on spreadsheets, takes a lot of time, and leaves little traceability of decisions.
• You need to compare service scenarios before committing asset capacity.

We start from your data: we customize the twin, validate the result in scenarios and a pilot, and only then scale. The results of this case reflect the conditions of VLI’s operation.