V Icil 'Logistics Excellence' awards

The Foundation Icil held on 18 June the fifth edition of its annual awards to the Logistics Excellence at the Gran Hotel Princesa Sofia in Barcelona, in a ceremony that was attended with the assistance of 125 people in the world of business and politics. The winners of the 2009 have been: airport of Barcelona, Salvat logistics, Asti, Cares Foundation, Desigual, Egamaster and Privalia. The Icil 'Press Logistics' 2009 prize was for the foreign trade magazine and as finalists were publications Got cargo and Interempresas, by its article ' logistics enters the era of responsibility'.

Félix Tobalina, President of the Catalan Institute for logistics, was commissioned to explain the grounds for the granting of the award to each award-winning initiative.

By order of delivery, the first company to receive the award was Salvat logistics, company born in Barcelona as a Customs Agency in the 1960s and which in 1980 became a limited liability company, offering the services of freight forwarder, international transportwarehousing and nationwide distribution offers transport services. The jury valued his business career "spectacular and silent".
It should be noted the purchase, in 2002, Cave, and in 2003 of transport Bilbao, creating a new brand of distribution company, logistics CBL in 2004, which constitutes one of the most important at the national level. Also in 2006 he made a 'joint venture' with the Group Kerrry Logistics Network, expanding its area of influence to the Asian market, and in 2008 integrated all its activities in the Salvat logistics S.A., in its range of services including the implementation of integrated logistics. "It is as well a leading company in the sector with a 100% Spanish capital, reaching a turnover of EUR 200 million".

"Capacity for innovation"

In the words of Lluís e. Domènech, President of the Executive Committee of the Icil Foundation, "we want that 'Logistics Excellence' Awards is the feast of all those who are in the world of logistics." "A concept easy to define, because it is give to the customer or recipient the product or service that you want, when you want and where you want to, to the lowest possible overall cost, but much more difficult to launch, because everyone expects from us an absolute perfection".

For its part, Manel Nadal, Secretary of mobility of the Ministry of Territorial Planning and Obres Públiques of the Generalitat of Catalonia, closed the event emphasise on the "ability of innovation, excellence and risk" that exemplify these companies.

Secondly, Asti, automations and internal transport systems, received the award Icil-the 'excellence Logistics 2009' for his work in storage systems, especially for the automotive industry. The jury, in this case, stressed that "as a manufacturer of technological equipment for warehouses, particularly vehicle AGV, transportation systems and flow control systems, focuses on offering products completely adapted to the needs of each client"", in many cases of vehicles and facilities already exist in the enterprise and providing them with the necessary automation and controls, representing a cost and an operational versatility economy because the machine retains its original mobility." Located in Burgos, his history was founded more than 25 years ago, with the momentum and creativity of its founder in the development of vehicles autoguiados for warehouses. Its success and its continued growth are based on a continuous innovation directly caused by satisfying all the demands of its customers. And "for having maintained a line of equipment adapted to each client and have made innovation its 'Core Business', it received such a distinction."

The Cares Foundation celebrates its anniversary with the prize Icil X

The Cares Foundation was Icil award to the excellence Logistics 2009 with this argument: "A centre of high performance which curiously has nothing to do with sport is not linked to the village of Sant Cugat (...)." "It is a foundation that has served 10 years and whose objective has always been of incorporation into the work labour and specifically in the area of logistics activities to decreased physical and psychic who in recent years has added other social groups of difficult reintegration as addicts". Created for the development of the area of logistics activities - Zal - of the port of Barcelona in 1998, has reached in 2008 a turnover exceeding EUR 7 million and, more importantly, employs a group of more than 180 people. "Throughout its history it has succeeded in not only its social purpose, but also needs wishes and urgencies of customers in a satisfactory manner and what is more difficult while avoiding being seen as a figure of labor intrusion."

On the other hand, Desigual was awarded Icil by "a singular project" in the logistics in the textile industry, which allowed them to optimize the distribution and placed first at the time of entering your material stores. The conditions of the award-winning project were the classics of all leading distribution: get the first and react quickly. But these conditions was added a third: a reception and location in easy store by its clients. The company was aware of this third factor caused a considerable extracoste in the outlet store, but was also aware that this objective was that its product was the first to be sold in stores that it was the easiest place to receive the clothes sorted by the appropriate order of sex, model, color and size. The solution adopted was extracting clothing store in that order and pour them into a 'sorter' of classification which distributes it in successive batches between all the recipients. Completed each consignment merchandise aimed at each store, in an incomplete box, leads automatically to a 'miniload' where he remained until the next batch, moment in which returns automatically to the 'sorter' to receive more ordered goods.
It should be noted that Desigual sells to over 4,500 customers, most of which are linked to the company, distributed in 65 countries, and that reach a total turnover of close to 150 million euros.
Thus, the jury reached the verdict "by the vision that is not to focus the problem of a project in the warehouse of departure only and contemplate all flow in an operational implementation of a global supply chain".

Another award-winning companies was ega master, who won the prize Icil "Have made the introduction throughout its supply chain of an exemplary management by processes and become a European reference in the form of management". Manufacturer of hand tools of high quality, selected by the European Union as example in different international forums, its logistical scheme is based on clear guidance to the client and keeping such as design, marketing activities, the final customization, storage and distribution externalizing the majority of the production processes with a clear organization by processes allowing you to duplicate and to instantly triple its production capacity and making all operations with an exemplary horizontal integration. This management model enables you to significantly shorten the delivery time and optimize each process, simultaneously to all enabling you, for example, customize a unique tool to a cost quite similar to other more generic customization.

Privalia was also one of the companies received awards in the day, in this case by "the dynamism that has managed to instill in logistics, with an application example of a tense flow (...)" "As a company that has made the logistics one of its pillars, with products with very little solo commercial life 3 days and working annually with more than 300 suppliers and more than 100,000 references." Company young, Privalia used as the basis of their Internet marketing, with selling retail products with excess stock of prestigious brands. The company operates under the formula of 'Stock reserve', so just buy what already it is sold and that manages to receive, store, prepare orders and deliver to the client in 3 days on average, that requires you to completely reconfigure the store every week. Something that assessed very positively the jury.

The airport of Barcelona, award-winning "by its exceptional start up"

The Airport of Barcelona received the Icil Award for Logistics Excellence 2009 by: "an institution which carries out logistical activities and which has become reality one of the most anticipated by the Catalan civil society challenges, creating a support which we hope will act as a boost for business." However, and although it has earned high recognition for this reason, we not reward it so. For trying the release launched their new facilities has involved for more than 20 days 6,000 extras with evidence of baggage that culminated in a process of 17,000 bags for 5 hours of which 9,000 rolled continuously. "For his exceptional test implementation, based on concepts applied in the industries of continuous flow, incorporating new trends such as Lean Management".