Bridging the gap between Grindrod’s engineering data and business information

Background

Grindrod is South Africa’s largest freight logistics company. They provide customer solutions for efficient and cost effective cargo flow by road, rail, sea, and air for both importers and exporters. Grindrod engaged Keyrus to develop a sophisticated data automation solution.

Challenge

Grindrod was facing the traditional legacy problems of siloed teams and stand-alone, paper-based systems containing massive amounts of raw data and low levels of visibility to other key stakeholders. This constrained the flow of information to key decision-makers. The logistics giant needed accurate, real-time insight into its operations and had the foresight to invest in technology as a platform for strategic change and growth into the future.

Approach

- Implemented Ignition, a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, which draws data from the programmable logic controller (PLC) machines throughout Grindrod’s facilities. - Raw data is streamed in near real time directly to the cloud using Microsoft Azure Stream Analytics. - Complex matching logic is applied, combining the operational data with business information. - Microsoft Azure Data Lake is used for cost-effective storage, and a SQL Data Warehouse ensures the Azure Data Factory service can assess and execute various options to transform and match the Ignition data to consignment information. - Consolidated information is aggregated into an easy to use embedded Tableau dashboard, turning the data into meaningful business information.

Key results

Benefits

Apart from access to accurate, consolidated reporting of operational activities, Grindrod also now has best-in-class architecture, using new cloud-based technologies, to ensure a highly reliable, flexible, and scalable solution. “We built the architecture and framework so any other operational activity can feed into it," says Craig Andrew, Senior Consultant at Keyrus. “This will enable Grindrod to achieve even deeper integration in the future, for example, with vehicle telemetry systems.”

What our clients say

“Grindrod now has clear visibility throughout its terminal operations. Our management teams have access to relevant information, at the appropriate level of detail, and can act promptly"

Vishal Deeplaul, Chief Executive Officer, Grindrod Terminals

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