BAT is a leading multi-category consumer goods business with a purpose to build A Better Tomorrow™ by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products for adult consumers.
4flow supported BAT to implement the Kinaxis Transportation Load Optimizer by 4flow (Kinaxis TLO). The app is embedded in Kinaxis RapidResponse, the concurrent supply chain planning platform from 4flow’s technology partner Kinaxis. The Kinaxis TLO optimizes material call-offs to create efficient shipments and minimize costs while adhering to constraints in both transportation and material planning.
Ayse Gul, ultimate control tower integration manager at BAT, spoke to 4flow about the implementation and the benefits the Kinaxis TLO brings to BAT.
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4flow: What is the extent of BAT’s network?
Ayse: BAT has a global footprint. We’ve been around for more than 100 years and have £26 billion (ca. €30 billion/$33 billion) revenue with more than 55,000 employees. In terms of supply chain and logistics complexity, we have around 50 factories in house and close to 800 warehouses. So, optimizing transportation is crucial to us.
What was BAT doing from a transportation planning perspective before the Kinaxis TLO and what were some of the challenges you were facing?
Ayse: Before implementing the Kinaxis TLO, BAT depended on a combination of localized/non-standard Excel and SAP APO TLB (Advanced Planning and Optimization Transport Load Builder) for transportation planning.
Another significant challenge was that TLB planners and supply planners were using different tools/platforms, leading to some data inconsistencies and process inefficiencies.
The above challenges have led BAT to adjust and optimize load planning capabilities.
These challenges led to BAT implementing the Kinaxis TLO in the United States as a first step. Can you provide some details on that project?
Ayse: The United States is an important area of logistics activity for BAT with two central distribution centers (DCs) and more than 20 regional DCs.
As a pilot, BAT rolled out the Kinaxis TLO and RapidResponse in the United States for outbound transportation, from central DCs to regional DCs. 4flow’s experience in transportation and network optimization as well as supply chain software made it an ideal partner for supporting the roll-out and implementing the Kinaxis TLO.
To support this process, 4flow worked closely with the main users of Kinaxis TLO at BAT – by discussing their needs from the early stages of implementation, 4flow could ensure the roll-out plan considered their needs and boost user acceptance.
![[Translate to US – English:] BAT data showed that close to 90% of stock transport orders (STOs) are now generated by a trigger from the Kinaxis TLO](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/e/csm_4flow_tlo_eb994226f8.png "[Translate to US – English:] BAT data showed that close to 90% of stock transport orders (STOs) are now generated by a trigger from the Kinaxis TLO")
And now that you’ve had some time to settle into the new system and processes, how has the experience been?
Ayse: After implementation, the planning team in the US has a tool for automatic transportation optimization – and user acceptance is high. BAT data showed that close to 90% of stock transport orders (STOs) are now generated by a trigger from the Kinaxis TLO.
Now, transportation planners and supply network planners use the same platform and the same data for planning.
The Kinaxis TLO also enables the BAT team to look beyond a planning horizon of a few days – even up to 3 months. And because the Kinaxis TLO is embedded in RapidResponse, users have the same intuitive interface and the same functions – like what-if scenarios – as everywhere else on the platform, without having to switch between windows. As a result, BAT gained efficiency in its transportation planning and execution. Planners can create more reliable transportation schedules faster, and truck utilization is automatically optimized by the software.
BAT doesn't operate solely in the US. Any plans in the short term to roll out the Kinaxis TLO to any other regions?
Ayse: We’ve already started. Shortly after go-live in the United States, BAT went live with the Kinaxis TLO in Brazil. The Brazilian network includes one large factory and over 35 DCs. In the short-term future, BAT plans go-lives in five additional markets. In the United States and Brazil, the focus was on domestic networks because significant volume in those countries stays in the domestic market. In the upcoming markets, BAT will implement the Kinaxis TLO for export networks, not just domestic transportation.
You already spoke a bit about it, but what was your design and deployment approach? Do you customize the Kinaxis TLO for each market, or do you have one global standard?
Ayse: When designing the concept for the United States, BAT and 4flow had global operations in mind and wanted to design processes that would work as a template for other markets. To accommodate regional complexities and different business requirements, BAT decided on a global template, while considering different supply chain archetypes in the global network. Based on agreed-upon archetypes, BAT have determined the necessary configuration or customization of the Kinaxis TLO.
Thanks, Ayse, for sharing your insights with us.
This interview is based on a panel discussion between Ayse Gul and Grant Newsome, senior software consultant at 4flow, at Kinexions 23, the Supply Chain Innovators’ Conference, in Nashville, Tennessee.
