Linde boosts customer service levels in global roll-out of Paragon routing software within its cylinder business

Advanced logistics software from Paragon Software Systems is enabling The Linde Group to optimise routing and scheduling of thousands of gas deliveries across the world. The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2008 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.7 billion.
 
Linde has standardised on using the Paragon solution for daily dynamic routing and transport planning for a wide range of industrial and therapeutic gas customers in its global operations. The software has improved customer service levels particularly with critical deliveries and has enabled operational savings.
 
Linde uses Paragon to expedite the planning of daily deliveries in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, with customers placing orders right up to 5pm each afternoon for next day delivery.  The system is also currently being implemented in the Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, and the company will roll out the system to the USA and Canada soon. Eventually, Linde will use Paragon worldwide for managing deliveries globally and optimising its use of a combined worldwide fleet of 4,500 vehicles. 
 
Paragon replaces several disparate PC-based and manual systems used by individual country operations. Paragon has already removed Lindes reliance on local schedulers and it now operates country-wide planning by one or two experts for each country who are able to take a big picture view of operations with the added benefit of balancing the workflow. The system is installed centrally and accessed via Citrix by schedulers in each country, integrating seamlessly with Lindes SAP enterprise system.
 
Martyn Stretch, Global Transport Manager for Linde's cylinder business reports that the Paragon system was chosen following an extensive Six Sigma-based selection process that scored available products on ability, reliability and quality of the supplier. 
 
I have a good knowledge of Paragon following my work with Gist, a logistics division within The Linde Group. For Gist, Paragon had already proven its ability to rapidly plan food deliveries to Marks & Spencer stores and allow the organisation to provide excellent customer service levels. Our gas businesses require a similar quick turnaround of orders into deliveries within a tight timeline. In many cases it is critical that we get urgent supplies to customers. For example, a patient sent home from hospital may require oxygen and equipment that day and we have to deliver what they require when they need it," says Martyn Stretch. "Paragon enables us to work to these tight constraints and ensures that we keep our customer service promises. In addition, Paragon Software Systems has proven to be a reliable, knowledgeable and responsive company, qualities in line with our own customer focus."