Problem description

Reliability is the main concern for Baxter in its worldwide healthcare business. The reasons are the strict deadlines and high-level requirements of the healthcare sector.
Uncertainties in transportation and delivery processes are not accepted, either by customers or by Baxter itself. One of the long-time problems has been the uncertainty in delivery times from the large ports in Europe such as Rotterdam and Antwerp due to variations in the availability of services at the port and congestion on the roads outside the port area. The port in Antwerp is 111 km from Baxter‘s European distribution center at Lessines close to Brussels, Belgium, and Rotterdam is 215 km away. There is a high risk of congestion on the relevant roads, especially close to the ports and around Brussels.

This situation makes it very difficult for the company to ensure reliable deliveries from the deep sea part of the ports to the distribution center in the hinterland. The variations in delivery time can be anywhere between 8 hours and 3 whole days. At the same time, congestion on the roads and around the ports makes it difficult to deliver export goods to the ports in time for the departing ships in the company‘s distribution system for products leaving the European distribution center in Belgium and heading for distribution centers in other areas of Europe and the world.

Baxter uses inland navigation to transport many of its medical and biotechnical products from the deep sea areas of the port of Rotterdam and Antwerp to their distribution center located in Lessines, Belgium, rather than traditional road transportation.
The inland navigation solution is also used for the transport of export products from the European distribution center to regional distribution centers around the world using the same containers, thereby increasing the utilization degree of the containers and decreasing empty runs.

The solution
Baxter‘s supply chain management system coordinates products from thousands of suppliers worldwide to the various Baxter manufacturing facilities around the world, developing manufacturing schedules to meet forecasted demand and inventory needs and distributing finished products to customers in more than 100 countries. Distribution reliability is very important for the company, and it relies on its supply chain to deliver the right products at the right time.
In the search for more reliable transportation solutions in Europe, Baxter looked at inland navigation alternatives in the Netherlands and Belgium region, where high volumes of goods need to be transported to and from its European distribution center (EDC) in Lessines near Brussels. The inland navigation alternative turned out to be feasible once business relations with established with suitable service providers in the area.
Baxter uses inland navigation to transport many of its medical and biotechnical products within Europe rather than relying on the traditional method of road transportation.