Klaveness Digital provided a solution that helped Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. plan their shipments more efficiently, avoid clashes during berth and gave them live updates on ETAs
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) consistently ranks as one of the largest and most modern aluminium smelters in the world. Alba is based in The Kingdom of Bahrain situated in the Arabian Gulf and is a major contributor to the social, industrial and economic development of the Kingdom of Bahrain, currently employing over 3000 people and importing major raw material dry bulk of about 3 million metric tonnes annually.
The Challenge
Complex manual processes, data entry into spreadsheets and lack of transparency has made it challenging for industrial companies sourcing raw materials by sea to adapt to supply disruptions.
Three years ago, Klaveness Digital conducted a case study on Aluminium smelters in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf that revealed substantial savings can be made through improved collaboration, increased transparency and access to real-time data.
The case study showed that many companies in the aluminium industry – from miners to refineries and smelters – manage their shipping and inventory situation using spreadsheets, often in combination with complex ERP systems. Moreover, emails and phone calls are exchanged regularly between stakeholders to share operational information such as cargo and vessel nominations, or notices of vessels’ ETAs. As a result, stakeholders are often forced to undertake the time-consuming and error-prone task of piecing together information from various sources – that by the time completed, is often too late to take proactive measures to avoid costly events such as demurrage, costly spot shipments and low or high stock situations.
What started as an eye-opening case study, gradually developed into a vision of a digital logistics platform capable of changing the way stakeholders in the industry interact by replacing manual processes and spreadsheets with real-time collaboration and actionable insight.
The Solution
Alba was one of the first companies to adopt the CargoValue solution. After testing the concept with Alba and other clients in the Aluminium industry, Klaveness established a dedicated technology company to spearhead the development of the logistics platform. The company set out to build a platform that would allow Alba and other industrial receivers to efficiently plan and manage their shipping schedule and inventory across terminals and commodities in one unified solution.
With valuable feedback and insight from Alba during the development, Klaveness Digital successfully launched CargoValue in the spring of 2017. Today, Alba has managed to replace manual processes and spreadsheets with the CargoValue solution, streamlining their processes and improving the overall efficiency of their supply chain.
The Result
Ali Al Baqali, Chief Executive Officer at Alba, said that they were looking for a product that would help them stay abreast of the live status of their inbound major raw material vessels for better inventory planning and reducing/avoiding demurrage.
Ali Al Bagali, CEO of Alba
“We now have a real-time satellite tracking system on the performing vessels right from the start of voyage until arrival in Bahrain port, helping us with inventory planning, avoiding clashes during berth, live updates on ETAs and more”
“…information such as cargo value based on exact quantity loaded, vessel speed, course of voyage, etc. are also available. We stay alerted to vessel anchorage and any deviations in course real time.”
Mr. Ali Al Baqali
Chief Executive Officer, Auminium Bahrain
The team at Klaveness Digital is proud to have provided a solution that helps Alba more efficiently plan its shipments and inventory and values our strong partnership for the future.
We look forward to extending our partnership with Alba and other industrial companies on their digital transformation journey towards global end to end supply chain visibility.