Responsibility and trust: These are the main tasks of the Sapio Group. The company, which has been in existence since 1922, produces and supplies medical gases and is also an established name in homecare and integrated home care. Patients at home depend on the continuity of this care - and trust Sapio as a reliable partner.
Logistics as the number one cost driver
In the homecare sector, the Sapio Group's main task is to supply oxygen to patients with the relevant medical conditions. However, the associated planning effort is high: "As the logistics department, we are the number one cost generator. Our aim is to supply our patients with the greatest possible reliability within the shortest possible time. However, we must not lose sight of economic efficiency," explains Christopher Sauer, Supply Chain Manager at the Sapio Group.
Merger of two companies
But that was not all. In addition to the "usual" logistics planning requirements, GTI and Sapio were faced with another mammoth task: merging and optimising two independent supply networks, as both companies belong to the same parent company: "We have a strong supply network in Germany, which needed to be used more efficiently."
Sapio Life and GTI medicare's supplies were to be combined across 20 locations and optimised through a new location allocation. Both companies were already using TransIT for route planning and optimisation.
Challenges in the homecare sector
TransIT should not only provide operational support, but also strategic route planning. Route planning in the oxygen sector poses a number of challenges: for example, customers only have certain time windows in which they can be supplied with oxygen. In the event of a new supply, pre-planned tours are sometimes interrupted so that customers can be discharged from hospital and supplied with oxygen at home. In addition, oxygen consumption changes depending on the state of health, which means that quantities are constantly changing. The customer's availability can also change, for example if they are travelling or taking a cure.
Solution with TransIT
With the help of the TransIT route planning software, Sapio was able to optimise the delivery networks of both companies by utilising the full potential of existing locations. In addition to planning the routes with all their special features, it was also possible to optimise them: An additional reduction of 10 to 15% in delivery costs thanks to the holistic view across all locations can be seen.
Christopher Sauer summarises the collaboration so far: "By working with gts, we can meet the requirements of our patients in terms of delivery accuracy. At the same time, we avoid wasting resources through more efficient routes and thus reduce costs within the company."
Further information on route planning for the healthcare sector can be found here: https://gts-systems.com/branchen/gesundheit/
