Application of technology to management and operation of logistics activities of smartlog supply chain solutions corporation

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS -*** MID-COURSE INTERSHIP REPORT Major: International Business Economics APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES OF SMARTLOG SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS CORPORATION Student: Nguyễn Thị Minh Hà Student ID: 1911155026 Class: K58CLC4 Intake: 58 Supervisor: PhD Lê Giang Nam Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 SUPERVISOR ‘S COMMENTS Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this is my own research work The data and results stated in this midterm internship report are honest and have never been published in any other authors’ research work Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 Nguyễn Thị Minh Hà ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the internship period at the Solution and Implementation Department of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation, the author has received the enthusiastic support and guidance of the employees in the company That helps the author to understand more about the logistics industry in particular and the supply chain in general, as well as the practical experience in the young and dynamic start-up company environment, and accumulate many valuable lessons related to future work In order to complete this topic, first of all, the author would like to thank the Board of Directors and the Solution and Implementation Department of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation for creating favorable conditions for the author to intern at the company In particular, the author would like to thank Pham Gia Dat, Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh and Vo Tan Phat for devotedly guiding and sharing valuable opinions as well as experience during the author's internship at the company The author would also like to express deep gratitude to the supervisors at Foreign Trade University, Ho Chi Minh City campus, especially PhD Lê Giang Nam for enthusiastically guiding the author from choosing the topic, developing the outline to solving difficulties and problems during the internship for the author to successfully complete this internship report Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 Nguyễn Thị Minh Hà PREFACE TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ABOUT SMARTLOG SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS CORPORATION General information about Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation 1.1 Formation and development process 1.2 Field of activities 1.2.1 Warehouse management 1.2.2 Transportation management 1.2.3 Transportation Exchange System 1.2.4 Container Optimization 1.2.5 Consultation on transportation and warehouse management for businesses .7 1.3 Organization structure 1.3.1 Human resources management .7 1.3.2 Duties and functions of departments 1.3.3 Business performance during the period of years from 2020 to 2021 .9 Summary of the internship 10 2.1 Introduction of intern department structure 10 2.2 Intern position and duties .10 Sub-conclusion 11 CHAPTER 2: THE PROCESS OF APPLYING TMS AND WMS SOFTWARE TO MANAGE AND OPERATE LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES FOR CUSTOMERS 12 Transportation Management System (TMS) .12 1.1 Order management 13 1.2 Coordination operation 14 1.3 Monitor operation 15 1.4 Billing management .16 1.5 Reports 17 Warehouse Management System (WMS) 18 2.1 Inbound process .19 2.1.1 Create PO/ ASN 19 2.1.2 Putaway process 20 2.1.3 Printing Pallet label 21 2.2 Outbound process 22 2.2.1 Create Shipment Order (SO) 22 2.2.2 Picking process 22 2.2.3 Shipping .23 2.3 Inventory management 23 CHAPTER 3: COMMENTS ON THE INTERNSHIP PERIOD AT SMARTLOG SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS CORPORATION .24 3.1 Profession expertise 24 3.2 Soft-skills .24 3.3 Suggestions for internship company 24 CONCLUSION 25 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF FIGURES PREFACE The globalization of the economy, and the promotion of trade between countries and regions worldwide, is the unavoidable trend of the times In that context, the foreign trade sector in general and the import-export sector in particular have reinforced and reaffirmed their roles as the drivers that accelerate the economy's growth in a positive direction In order to meet these needs, the logistics sector must continually innovate and develop to fulfil the management of transportation, warehouse operations, and ancillary services In response to attempts to increase the logistics sector's level of competitiveness and the rapid development of electronic logistics, or the use of digitalization in logistics management and operation to minimize paper and document cost as much as possible, companies should concentrate on enhancing the logistics infrastructure associated with digital technology, merging logistics and e-commerce in accordance with the current development trend in the world, and implementing digital supply chain management models in the business and production processes in order to reduce costs related to both the flow of goods and the use of human resources The first step that each organization should take to adapt is the implementation of logistics activities based on information technology Realizing this, the author applied for an internship at Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation following a period of studying professional courses and at the university's request for the mid-term internship The author would like to choose the topic "Application of technology to management and operation of logistics activities of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation" using the knowledge gained in class and valuable information gathered during the internship,  to learn more about and put into practice how the management and operation of logistics activities based on digital technology occured in one of the top consulting firms in Vietnam offering information technology-based logistics solutions 12 Each job takes time to practice and requires a high degree of initiative to learn because despite that the jobs are in the same field of Solution and Deployment, the scope of work is not the same Besides, through the process of doing the work, the author knows more about logistics operations, operating processes for each different type of needs as well as designing solutions tactics for customers CHAPTER 2: THE PROCESS OF APPLYING TMS AND WMS SOFTWARE TO MANAGE AND OPERATE LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES FOR CUSTOMERS Transportation Management System (TMS) After the Covid-19 epidemic, the transportation sector is being required to provide higher-quality services, including precise identification, on-time delivery, and flexible operation for value-added services In order to maximize corporate performance and connect information flows with partners and clients, firms must adapt their structure equipped information technology application process With an awareness of these challenges, Smartlog Transportation Management System (TMS) was created with the goal of addressing and implementing the needs of Vietnamese firms TMS assists in managing financial flows, forecasting overall conversion performance, and monitoring logistics activities in order to give Vietnamese enterprises with cost-effective business growth strategies Figure Operating procedure of TMS system 13 TMS system will be in charge of main parts: Order management, Coordination operation, Monitor operation, Billing management and Reports 1.1 Order management First step of transportation procedure is to create orders TMS currently allows order creation in two ways: - Create orders manually: Customers can create orders directly on the system with one order for each turn  Order information: customer's name, type of transportation, shipping service, delivery point, receiving point, delivery date, empty return due date  Container information: type of container, number of containers, receiving point, empty return point  List of products: sku group, type of goods, volume, number of tons,… Figure Create orders manually - Create orders by Upload Excel method: Customers will record the information of all orders into an Excel file followed available template and upload to the system Instead of manage orders by paper traditionally, the system will support users to store and track the status of orders with real-time transaction, avoiding confusion, errors or drifting customer orders 14 1.2 Coordination operation Then, TMS assign a trip to the driver to carry out the transportation through main tactics:  Planning the route by showing the expected route, status, location of the vehicles (tractors, trailers, )  Support to send contractors, vendors (3PL companies)  Support to assign trips to drivers, reduce the need to communicate by calling Thus, coordinators only need to operate on the system for route plan This function helps business to coordinate intuitively, easily coordinate complex operations such as Container clamping or Warehouse transfer, with the effective support of map, tractors, and trailers but it cannot make multiple orders at once Figure Assigning a trip to the driver via TMS 15 Figure Drivers receive trip information on Mobile App 1.3 Monitor operation In fact, it is difficult for user to monitor the status of the shipment in real-time, record continuously changing container operations and calculate the cost for each shipment Thus, TMS monitoring system significantly supports businesses to solve the above difficulties - Real-time status tracking: With the integration of the tractor's GPS system into Smartlog's map, customers can track shipment status right on the system 16 - With the support of Mobile App, customers can know the time it takes to get the empty container as well as the time to load the goods onto the container - Container businesses also can monitor container operations from normal export/import trips to combination trips such as container clamping, container swap, container lifting/lowering, romooc cutting, … Figure 10 Transporation monitor and arising management System monitors trip status and trip information: - Trip status: cancelled, not running, running or completed, - Trip information: customer, ETD, ETA, cut-off time, pick-up point, delivery point, empty payment date, etc 1.4 Billing management After completing the trip, the driver takes a photo of the delivery documents and uploads it to the Mobile App Information will synchronize with the system, and the document department will recognize and lock the documents to keep record 17 Figure 11 Smartlog ‘s billing display on system Then data users proceed to: - Select payment for the trip - Attach the contract to the trip, add additional costs to calculate profit and complete the trip TMS will give some additional supports for businesses including approval of delivery documents, incurred costs as well as station costs entered by each trip Also, it helps: - Calculate trip costs and transportation costs monthly on the system without having to export data - Allow users flexibility in changing pricing methods, changing price lists, entering variable costs, etc 1.5 Reports The reporting system is one of the strongest points in TMS system, which includes a diverse system of reports based on businesses’ demand: - Types of financial statements (profit, revenue, expenses, ) - Reporting by customer, by partner, - Report on the operation of the transport system (vehicle fleet, output, number of trips) 18 - Report on assets (effective use of fleet, ) - And some other types of reports - Shipping report: Order report, container plan, profit, trip cost The system will record the costs of each trip: unit price, incurred, … - Vehicle fleet report: Report driver salary, profit, cost Moreover, TMS allows to use Data analysis capabilities (BI) with Pivot feature equipped to the system to be able to analyze and exploit efficient transportation TMS system also allows customizing templates that will be used to output reports in accordance with each customer's requirements Warehouse Management System (WMS) Figure 12 Six primary warehouse processes This is the main process that actually operates in warehouses Goods entering the warehouse go through main modules: Inbound - Inventory - Outbound In which, each module includes many large functions inside, thereby forming the corresponding SWM system with flexibility in customizing for each customer ‘s warehouse layout as well as operation tactic But overall, there are modules in every warehousing activities: Inbound - Inventory – Outbound  Import module: Create import orders, specify automatic import locations, report incoming goods  Inventory module: Check inventory, move goods, change batch and status of goods, adjust inventory, track transaction history  Export module: Create export orders, specify automatic export goods, report goods out of stock 19 Similar to TMS system, WMS also helps businesses to keep strict control of the inbound-outbound process, manage the inventory more easily, and reduce human resources by automatically update many transactions and warehouse management status on the system 2.1 Inbound process 2.1.1 Create PO/ ASN To create a new ASN/Receipt, access the inbound module, choosing ASN/ Receipt view: - Create PO/ ASN manually by click on and fill necessary information on the system for each ASN by each turn - Upload excel files using available template of the system to create many PO/ ASN at one time Figure 13 Receipt view on WMS system Information needs to be filled according to each business:  Warehouse owner, Receipt type, Customer PO, Item Code  Expected Quantity, Manufacturing date, Expiry date, Batch/ lot no Currently, to optimize process of some businesses which use SAP system for enterprise resource planning or create both PO and ASN in their inbound process, the system has added new button which can integrate signal to generate ASN from PO 20 After creating successfully ASN, users will receive the signal on Mobile App and accept to receive, which is much more convenient for them on their way to load and unload pallets or cases inside warehouse Figure 14 Receipt view on Mobile App 2.1.2 Putaway process After receiving goods, orders will automatically exist on Putaway view for users to putaway goods in the right location in warehouse 21 Figure 15 Putaway view on Mobile App Note: The system will allocate an empty location in the zone that has been set up in the putaway strategy for that item code in the item code settings, if there is no space left, the system will default to location STAGE, a virtual location in warehouse When warehouse has space, users will move goods back to the new location 2.1.3 Printing Pallet label WMS has available pallet label designs on the system to choose or customize depending on the businesses, and allows users to print both Pallet label and Pallet ID for warehouse operations 22 Figure 16 Pallet label printing on WMS system 2.2 Outbound process 2.2.1 Create Shipment Order (SO) To create a new SO, access the outbound module, choosing Shipment Order view: - Create SO manually by click on and fill necessary information on the system for each ASN by each turn - Upload excel files using available template of the system to create many SOs at one time 2.2.2 Picking process - Print Picking List from system - Accept the Picking request on handheld 23 Figure 16 Picking view on Mobile App 2.2.3 Shipping When the goods have been prepared and shipped, the user proceeds to export goods on the system: Action: At the screen “Pick Detail”, select the line to confirm and select “Ship” After clicking "Ship", the system will change the status of the order to "Shipped" Note: Because there is no unship function button, once shipped is confirmed, it is not possible to change the status of the export order anymore 2.3 Inventory management The inventory management module is one of the most important modules of the WMS system Here users can control the amount of inventory available in the warehouse through the Inventory List function In addition, when there is a deviation between the actual and the system, the user can use the Adjustment function to adjust the data on the system In addition, the inventory management module also has a Transaction function to look up the user's operation history on WMS 24 CHAPTER 3: COMMENTS ON THE INTERNSHIP PERIOD AT SMARTLOG SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS CORPORATION 3.1 Profession expertise Internship at Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation as a Solution and Implementation intern of the Solution and Implementation Department has given the author a more intuitive view of the logistics process in particular and digital technology application in logistics activities, and how TMS and WMS system support businesses in logistics management Through the internship process as well as the dedicated guidance and instruction of Deputy manager and Team leader, the author has improved the logistics knowledge and, participated into solutions and deployment for customers, encounter difficulties from customer requirements as well as learn ways to deal with pop-up situations 3.2 Soft-skills The internship period at the company also helps the author to practice and develop the necessary soft skills in a professional working environment The first is the ability to self-manage and assign work to yourself The author has improved this skill, especially pressure management due to the job requirement to balance many fields and many jobs at the same time, so sometimes the quality of work is not high Gradually, the author has found a way to balance work as well as be more proactive in the assigned work Besides, the ability to communicate and improvise flexibly when having problems is also significantly improved because the nature of the work requires the author to communicate with customers a lot as well as answer questions throughout the project implementation 3.3 Suggestions for internship company The company needed to strategize and enter new markets to build a business plan with quality customer service, offering a reasonable price as well as organize the implementation of plans to advertise the company's services to customers Most importantly, the company should develop a complete human resource strategy in the company to serve the company's requirements well In addition, the company needs to 25 improve and improve the recruitment process to meet the requirements of the human resource management strategy CONCLUSION After more than weeks of internship at Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation, the author has realized the importance of applying digital technology to logistics management in the present time The processes and analysis in the report show that Smartlog has built a relatively complete and complete application process for appropriate use for each customer The report "Application of technology to management and operation of logistics activities of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation" analyzed the strengths, weaknesses and proposed solutions based on actual process analysis at the company Besides the strengths, the company also has many weaknesses that need to be overcome Therefore, the company should have long-term solutions and orientations to improve the weaknesses and develop beyond the strengths With highly specialized human resources and talented leaders, we firmly believe that in the near future, the company will gradually improve with the modern trend, catch up with international trends to help the company develop further 26 REFERENCE ... each customer The report "Application of technology to management and operation of logistics activities of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions Corporation" analyzed the strengths, weaknesses and proposed... related to future work In order to complete this topic, first of all, the author would like to thank the Board of Directors and the Solution and Implementation Department of Smartlog Supply Chain Solutions. .. into practice how the management and operation of logistics activities based on digital technology occured in one of the top consulting firms in Vietnam offering information technology- based logistics