Logistics

Description: Operational logistics cover all the physical and control operations that are required to efficiently ship products from the production site to the end customer, or between production sites. They are strategically important to the company and often represent the last link in the supply chain to the customer. They are also an important economic lever in terms of service and optimization of costs, or even stocks.

Consequently, the designing of logistics network, the re-engineering and automation of warehouses and outsourcing, the optimization of transportation and distribution, cost benchmarking, the reworking of processes and the alignment of information systems (WMS and TMS) are at the very heart of the issues facing logistics systems.

Our experience has demonstrated that the decisions taken when defining the configuration of logistics (service policy, distribution networks) determine their cost structure, potential flexibility and stock levels to a considerable extent.

Productivity in the warehouses is determined by four key factors: procedures, people, resources and, in automated warehouses, control of bottlenecks. Therefore, it is necessary to combine several approaches in order to cover all the possible areas of improvement on a logistics site. Argon Consulting has developed a unique methodology, based on the time taken to complete procedures, that allows us to analyze in depth the operational processes in the warehouse and to assess the efficiency of the value chain by measuring time spent with no added value. This approach identifies the causes of inefficiency and can be used to draw up scenarios to improve the processes.

Transportation can also constitute an important lever. It is necessary to calculate the cost price per shipment batch, and according to the source and the destination, in order to benchmark and challenge the transport operators. The teams at Argon Consulting have developed unique skills and know-how in this field by building cost price models and cost benchmarking bases. We usually focus on five levers that can be applied to transportation: improvement of the load factor, reduction of total distances covered to the strict minimum, optimal use of resources and drivers, an efficient transport purchasing policy and thorough tracking and control of operations.

We are convinced that any changes in a company can be justified by the challenges that projects face, or the case for change. In the realm of logistics, this method of analysis of the issues involves modeling the activities (networks, warehouses, transport) that can be used to benchmark performance as close to the field as possible. We use both proprietary tools to calculate costs, stock levels and standard productivity, and optimization tools capable of optimizing complex networks with the application of constraints.

Bringing about change in organizations is at the heart of our business. This process presupposes a broad consensus on the diagnosis and the solutions and guides our action throughout the project, which is executed in close cooperation with our customers’ teams, from the field to management.

Finally, the durable achievement of the goals also requires that information systems and target processes are aligned. Feedback has confirmed our idea that business expertise was a crucial factor in the success of this type of project (WMS, TMS).
Team: Yvan Salamon – President

The founder and President of Argon Group, Yvan has managed and been directly involved in many assignments to improve operations (costs, cash flow) as well as industrial and logistics strategy assignments in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Before creating Argon Group, Yvan Salamon was a member of the European Board of Hays Logistics Group (Kuehne & Nagel), where he was in charge of production methods and organization. Prior to that, Yvan Salamon spent four years as the Production Plants Manager with CGC, and five years with the strategy consultancy bureau, Mars & Co. Yvan is a graduate of the Ponts & Chaussées engineering school.

Marc Peigné – Associate Director

Marc Peigné is one of France’s leading specialists in logistics. Marc has worked on numerous projects involving logistics master plans, operational re-engineering, outsourcing and change management. Before joining Argon Consulting, he worked for Hays Logistics (Kuehne & Nagel), where he was the Director of Production Engineering and Logistics Engineering for France, and a Divisional Director. Prior to that, Marc was in charge of procurement at Alcatel.

Nicolas Gelle – Associate Director

Nicolas Gellé has 16 years of experience in consulting, in particular in the fields of service strategy, manufacturing or logistics master plans, the reconfiguration of supply chain processes and organizational changes, and in restructuring and working hours reorganization projects, performance, outsourcing and activity transfer plans and the design of warehouses and industrial sites. Before joining Argon Consulting, Nicolas was in charge of the manufacturing entity at Valtech Axelboss, of which he was one of the founders. He was also Supply Chain Director at Moulinex. Nicolas started his career with Ouroumoff and CSC Peat Marwick. Nicolas is a graduate of the Ecole Centrale Lille.

Laurent de Bourmont – Associate Director

Before joining Argon Consulting, Laurent de Bourmont was a partner at Bearing Point, in the retail and consumer goods group. He has 15 years of experience in the optimization of the supply chain in manufacturing (luxury goods, consumer goods) and distribution (retailing, specialist distribution and e-commerce). Laurent is a graduate of HEC and Science Po Paris.

Fabrice Corbière – Associate Director

Fabrice Corbière has more than 20 years of experience in supply chain consulting. He has worked on more than 20 projects to change the supply chain and define strategies, right up to implementation support, issues of adapting the logistics service offer, reconfiguring the distribution network, outsourcing logistics and overhauling upstream logistics and supplier relations. He possesses expert knowledge in the pharmaceutical, textile, automotive equipment supplier and constructor and passenger transportation sectors, and in particular in the field of spare parts in a range of sectors. Before joining Argon Consulting, Fabrice was an Associate Director with PEA Consulting, then with Cap Gemini Consulting, where he was in charge of the supply chain practice. Fabrice is a graduate of Centrale Paris.

Eric T. – Director

Eric T. joined Argon Consulting after 10 years with BearingPoint, where he worked on logistics strategy projects, and on logistics and manufacturing performance. Before that, he worked for Productive Edge Associates. Eric has developed several logistics master plans and supported their implementation (management of the action plan, consultation of logistics service providers, etc.). He has also managed plans to optimize transportation (overhaul of transportation plans, calls for tender, etc.). Eric is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Ponts et Chaussées.

Mathieu de N. – Director

Mathieu de N. is a Director in the supply chain and manufacturing practice. Over the last few years, Mathieu has acquired outstanding expertise in the issues of logistics strategy, logistics and supply chain performance and industrial planning. He has managed some 20 logistics master plan projects and has worked for groups including Valeo, Schneider Electric and Saint Louis Sucre on the improvement of their logistics operations. Mathieu is a graduate of Mines Paris.

Isabelle H. – Senior Manager

Isabelle H. is a Senior Manager in the supply chain and manufacturing practice, with more than 10 years of experience in consulting. Her various assignments involved auditing and improving the performance of more than 100 logistics warehouses in a number of countries and sectors (Michelin, DCNS, Fret SNCF, Hutchinson, Valeo, Système U, Carrefour, Monoprix, Merck Serono, Sogiphar, Mapa Spontex, Rexel, Heppner, etc.). She is also perfectly familiar with transportation issues, from pricing benchmarks and the optimization of distribution resources, to the management of calls for tender (service providers and tools). Finally, she has also organized and delivered a range of training courses and seminars designed to increase the awareness of logistics issues amongst operational employees. Before joining Argon Consulting, Isabelle worked in the planning department for Hays Logistics (Kuehne and Nagel) and for Sylea (Valeo), in the field of industrial planning. Isabelle is a graduate of the Arts & Métiers school.

Carmela V. – Senior Manager

Carmela V. is a Senior Manager specialized in logistics. Carmela has worked on numerous logistics performance projects (warehouses, transport, network, systems), managing assignments to diagnose and optimize organizations and processes (Galeries Lafayette, ID Logistics, Yves Rocher, Sidel, Samada), to draw up master plans (Monoprix, Galeries Lafayette), to manage calls for tender for warehouses, equipment and transport (Samada, Compass, RTE) and to support the transfer of activities between sites (Sara Lee, Sperian, RTE). Before joining Argon Consulting, Carmela worked for Hays Logistics (Kuehne & Nagel), where she occupied a number of positions, ranging from logistics consultant to IT project manager and operations.

Donatien M. – Senior Manager

Donatien M. is specialized in supply chain. He has worked with both manufacturers and distributors on issues of logistics strategy and industrial planning and scheduling and operational improvement programs. He has managed operational projects to improve the performance of transportation (road, sea, air) and warehousing (fresh, dry and frozen goods, non-food goods). Donatien is a graduate of Centrale Paris in industrial engineering, production management and logistics.

Emmanuel S. - Manager

Emmanuel S. is a Manager specialized in Distribution and Logistics. He has worked on Supply Chain organization and process optimization (warehousing audit and optimization, transportation) and on IT implementation for the Supply Chain (blue print, validation of solutions, change management), for Retailers (Department Store Le Printemps, Nespresso) and for Industrial Distributors (Yves Rocher, PSA, Gefco, EDF). Emmanuel is a graduate of Centrale Lyon in industrial engineering, production management and logistics.

Danielle P. - Manager

Danielle P. has worked on numerous projects to improve operational logistics performances. Her assignments have led her to accompany her customers in France as well as internationally in various sectors (retail, transportation, food industry, heavy equipment goods, spare parts...) from the strategy definition to the operational implementation. She masters complex logistic networks optimization, tender management, warehousing process optimization, inbound logistics and transportation plans optimization, logistic outsourcing. Danielle is a graduate of Mines Paris.

Florian S. - Manager

Florian S. has worked on several projects of warehouse optimization. Through these assignments, he has worked in various industries (textile, pharmaceutical, retail, ...) in order to realize the layout of new warehouses and choose mechanization technologies (mini-load, high speed sorting,...). Florian is a graduate of Ponts et Chaussées.

Eric P. - Manager

Eric P. has worked on many performance improvement assignments (logistics and supply chain) as well as transformation assignments, in particular optimization of logistic costs (warehouse and transportation calls for tender, transportation benchmark, distribution optimization, warehouse performance improvement). He also worked on issues of logistic blueprint definition, in France or on a European scale. He worked in particular for Carrefour and Buffalo Grill. Eric is a graduate of Centrale Paris and of Technical University of Munich (TUM) in production management.