Zeelo, Savills, Curb Cargo and Evri were among the winners at the 28th annual Supply Chain Excellence Awards, held last night [28 October 2024], at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London.
Some 27 winners were announced and the trophies were presented during a glittering gala dinner ceremony attended by nearly 800 logistics, supply-chain and transportation professionals, and hosted by renowned Irish stand-up comedian and presenter Ed Byrne.
This year’s Smart Mobility Award, which recognised projects that leveraged technology to manage multiple forms of transport in more efficient, resilient and sustainable ways, was presented to Zeelo, a smart bus platform for organisations, providing flexible turn-key and plug-in transportation programs for commuting and school runs.
Used by organisations such as Tesco and Ocado, the system designs routes using RINA (routing intelligent navigation algorithm), a proprietary AI-powered software and customer-centric methodology to provide a service that surpasses the convenience of driving a car.
Zeelo’s route optimisation software has led to reductions in CO2, improved time efficiencies and cost savings – all of which helped pull the entry over the line during the judicial process.
Open to companies that ensure continuous mobility-related services run smoothly despite disruptive incidents and encouraging the take-up of greener options in the process, the Smart Mobility Award shortlist completed by Greenplan & EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group).
Next up, the Urban Logistics Award was won by Savills and Curb Cargo for their loading bay system at the Leadenhall Building skyscraper in central London.
Designed to improve delivery efficiency and reduce loading times in-and-out of the building, the data driven Software-as-a-Service platform provided access to a unique data set of urban freight movements to inform policy and support business cases for interventions.
Judges said the clear evidence of particulates reduction around the site, delivered through developing freight consolidation centres, demonstrated a complex collaborative project with major benefits for its occupants.
The category, which rewarded projects or changes to business processes that have adapted to the needs of urban logistics, delivering operational, environmental and/or safety improvements across the business and the wider community, also saw Arla Foods and XPO Logistics shortlisted.
The final transport-based category – the Clean Transport Award, went to parcel delivery company Evri for its net zero efforts to reducing carbon emissions, improving its internal management, clients and suppliers sustainability, as well as its own ESG rating by 18%.
Open to vehicle manufacturers, end-user brands and technology provide, this category recognised projects that had implemented environmental policies and technology focused on sustainable business practices.
In the case of the winner, Evri was awarded a 2024 EcoVadis Silver Medal accreditation for ESG improvements, in addition to converting 100% of its purchased electricity to REGO-backed (renewable energy guarantee of origin) UK renewable.
Judges were particularly impressed with the extent of Evri’s CO2 savings, with the company boasting a reduction of 84% compared to an equivalent diesel vehicle – representing a reduction of 150 tonnes of CO2 per vehicle and 24,000+ tonnes of CO2 across Evri’s entire Bio-CNG fleet annually.
Overall, the judges said they were inspired by Evri’s dedication to reducing carbon emissions throughout every level of the company, with each step of parcel delivery involved in its journey.
Other entries shortlisted in this hotly contested category included Maersk, Mobilityways with Prologis, Zeelo and Stagecoach, RailX, Sunswap, Nicholls Transport, John Lewis Partnership, Iceland with GXO and Datasparq, and DPD.
To learn more about the Supply Chain Excellence Awards and to see the full list of this year’s winners, as well as those shortlisted, please visit supplychainexcellenceawards.com
