MVT

Award-winning MVT moves up to the next level

Jul 16, 2020 | ,

MVT, Metro’s cloud-based, hyper secure, operations and supply chain management system is moving up to version 4.0

Multi award-winning MVT connects shippers to their entire supply chain, providing real-time visibility, milestone event management, control and intelligence, in a secure cloud based environment. This is down to Purchase Order and SKU levels.

For twenty years Metro has been investing in technology,  software developers, systems analysts and data scientists to conceive, design, create and support four generations of "My Visibility Tool”.

Built in Angular and .NET frameworks, the ‘all-new’ and refreshed Version 4.0 will offer a much friendlier and interactive user experience (UX), incorporating single-sign-on authentication (SSO) to further enhance the security of the platform.

Despite working from home, during crucial build stages, the MVT development team has maintained a tightly-knit disciplined approach to keep production on schedule, with the first customer Dashboard shipped last month and several more in the pipeline, to be released over the next three months.

The team are incrementally migrating legacy applications to the new platform, with other applications in the pipeline for an upgrade including core products such as Track and Trace.

Already looking to Version 5.0 and beyond, Metro’s technology team is currently supporting two Blockchain projects and exploring the opportunities in Industry 4.0, where Metro is using data from sensors, geo-fencing and GPS to track client assets and monitor environmental conditions with pinpoint global accuracy.

MVT is not just a track and trace platform. It is a business enhancement tool, that streamlines global trading and ensures every aspect of the supply chain is transparent and measurable.

With Brexit creating a much larger new requirement for international trade, Metro are at the forefront of digitalisation of the European structural changes to come within trading with our Continental partners.

For further information please call your account manager for a health check of your current logistics model.

containers in water

The reality of marine risk

Jul 15, 2020 | ,

In the last few months EMEA freight thefts alone amounted to more than £16 million, but there are many more supply chain threats than criminals.

At any given point in time, more than 6,000 vessels carrying containers are sailing the world’s seas and while fires and capsizes make international headlines, container losses overboard rarely do.

The numbers are relatively low. An average of 1,382 containers were lost at sea each year between 2008 and 2019.

From 2008 through 2010, container losses averaged 675 per year, then quadrupled to an average of 2,683 per year from 2011 through 2013.

There has been a downward trend in the most recent three-year period, from 2017 through 2019, when the annual loss fell to 779 containers.

The issue for shippers is that, even with proper packing of cargo, correct container weight declaration, and proper stowage and securing aboard ship, containers continue to be lost at sea, because of severe weather, structural failures or collision. 

Metro recommends All Risk marine insurance to protect you against all loss of cargo which includes piracy and theft. While you may have no control over what happens to your goods when they are in transit, you can protect yourself against a variety of negative events at sea, on the land and in the air

Major ship losses continued to decline last year, but smaller incidents are on the rise, alongside increased safety risks resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Asia was worst hit, with 14 large ship losses, which is put down to high levels of trade, busy shipping lanes, older fleets and typhoon exposure, while there were almost 200 reported fires on vessels over the past year, a 13% increase.

A spate of containership fires prompted renewed focus on verified gross mass (VGM) declarations recently, with carriers implementing new and higher surcharges for misdeclared cargo weights.

The carriers steps to increase fines may help, but if this persists, it could result in mandatory manual inspections or similar moves to protect against these types of issues, which could lead to unwelcome additional costs.

And concerns are growing about the potential safety risks from the crew change crisis, following the global coronavirus pandemic, as the impact on the welfare of sailors could lead to an increase in human error onboard vessels.

For further information on your marine insurance cover, to ensure that you have full liability, please contact your usual account manager.

Metro, and our partner carriers, have a limited liability cover, as per various T&C’s across the supply chain, but these invariably will not cover the value of product.

Let us reassure you with a quick discussion to ensure that you have full cover to minimise transit risk.

The Metro team talk Chris Williams

The Metro team talk: Chris Williams

Jul 13, 2020 | ,

Trade and Customs Compliance Manager, Chris Williams, joined Metro in 2019, bringing with him over 30 years of international trade compliance and customs experience, gained with multi-national and national businesses at global and local levels.

Chris’ detailed knowledge of global import and export procedures, legislation and prohibitions, provides the foundation for the development, implementation and maintenance of Metro’s compliant trade policies and strategies.

Chris has also overseen the design and implementation of customs control processes to obtain AEO accreditation in the UK three times, including the implementation of automated programmes for the completion and retention of Customs declarations. This is particularly relevant to impending Brexit requirements.

The focal point for Metro’s interaction with UK, EU and global customs authorities, Chris provides fiscal and compliance guidance and training, to internal and external stakeholders.

His experience in automating declarations and strategic HMRC engagement has made Chris an invaluable member of Metro’s Brexit Task Team, leading the development of the ‘Brexit-Proof’ platform, ensuring regulatory compliance and delivering maximum value to Metro’s customers.

Pivotal to the successful creation of Metro’s ‘Brexit-Proof’ platform has been Chris’ ability to re-engineer complex supply chains and mitigate risk, while designing compliance processes that utilise available customs simplifications.

Chris designed the simple ‘Brexit-Proof’ compliance assessments, audits and due diligence reviews that form the basis of individual client solutions.

Working with historic client data on European imports and exports, Chris and the Brexit Task Team cover risk, regulatory, compliance and security issues in their supply chain health check, to ensure that import and export processing is in line with business needs and objectives.

In releasing public-domain trading data and completing a short questionnaire Metro clients get their own bespoke ‘Brexit-Proof’ solution providing:

  • Secure, cloud-based solutions
  • Complete peace of mind on 1st January 2021
  • UK and EU Customs compliance to avoid delays
  • The right HMRC regime(s) for your needs
  • Real-time visibility, control and intelligence
  • Fiscal forecasting and reporting to aid cashflow management
Inspiring the next generation of forwarders

Inspiring the next generation (of forwarders)

Jul 9, 2020 | ,

BIFA’s Young Forwarder Network, is probably one of the most important - and unique - developments for young people in our industry. We explore Metro’s Colin Smith’s role in the YFN story.

Colin Smith is Metro’s Training & Career Development Manager and has been developing our young people with the skills and attitudes needed in the world of work for many years.

Beyond filling skills gaps, businesses need to constantly innovate and change to retain a competitive edge in the forwarding market and young people are uniquely placed to address both issues.

The business case for engaging with young people is clear and prompted Colin to join industry association BIFA’s steering group, in developing the original Freight Forwarding Apprenticeship.

Ensuing workshops facilitated by Colin and BIFA colleagues compared what managers and owners of companies wanted, with the need to harness the ambitions and skills of their young forwarders, to future-proof their businesses.

Evolving from the apprenticeship scheme and these workshops the Young Forwarder Network (YFN) is committed to supporting career development, improving young people’s industry knowledge and shaping the future, with regional networking groups. To meet and learn from industry professionals and boost their continuous professional development.

Colin is a governor of the Midlands Group, providing guidance and support to the Chair and Vice Chair and, with Metro’s support, sponsoring events, including the inaugural event “Insights into what customer often really want”.

Despite COVID-19 the midlands YFN group is maintaining a schedule of virtual events, in line with its mission, to boost knowledge, share skills, advice and experience from industry professionals.

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