Mitsubishi Warehouse uses AWS to understand its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and optimize routes with digital forwarding

Mitsubishi Warehouse is developing comprehensive global logistics services, such as port transportation business and international transportation business, centered on the warehousing business. To meet the increasingly diverse logistics needs, the company's International Transportation Division leverages the company's global network and various modes of transportation to help strengthen customers' global supply chains by suggesting optimal routes around the world. As part of this effort, the division considered updating its internally developed shipping system, which it had been using for over 10 years, to quickly respond to the trends/changes in the global supply chain. As technology rapidly evolves, Mr. Yosuke Abe who is the manager of the International Transportation Division, he felt it was necessary to break away from conventional methods to provide services that differentiate them from other companies, and sought support from AWS Professional Services. He explains about the purpose of it as follows

“We wanted to help because we saw that Amazon is not just focused on e-commerce. There are many companies that handle the business consulting, but it is difficult to get the practical knowledge unless they are a logistics expert. So at this time, we went beyond the framework of using the cloud services and looked forward to the knowledge of AWS Professional Services, it included development and consulting for the entire international logistics business."

Mitsubishi Warehouse and AWS have begun to share the medium- and long-term vision for the renewal of the forwarding system since around May 2021. Then, we decided to focus on supporting AWS Professional Services in the entire process from the examining implementation methods, gathering optimal ideas, and also the implementing the system. Mitsubishi Warehouse approved AWS's proposals and a plan was solidified that included "online estimation/booking," "emissions monitoring (visualization of greenhouse gas emissions)," "customer confirmation of cargo transportation status," "digital customer service," and "internal sales analysis.

"When getting internal approval for this project, there were points that could not be explained well with the words or sentences alone, so we gave a presentation with a mockup (system demonstration video) created by AWS. It was a challenge that went beyond our common sense up until now, but the mock-up was also excellent, and the company was also surprised.” (Mr. Abe)

The renewal of Mitsubishi Warehouse's forwarding system began with the development of the emission monitoring, where demand was growing. Responding to climate change and protecting the environment has become a global issue, and there is a huge need to reduce GHG emissions in the supply chain. Therefore, the company wanted to go beyond the simply visualizing GHG emissions and build a system based on more realistic transportation routes. This was because the conventional GHG emission calculation service did not match the actual transportation distance or number of days, such as the route from the departure point to the destination was a straight line distance, and there were other aspects that did not match reality. In addition, under the policy of rapidly advancing practical use, human resources with experience in customer negotiations and transportation route planning took center stage, and shared data and images with AWS from a more practical perspective to create a system.

Mr. Tamura Seito from the International Transportation Division Planning/Development Team, who has sales experience in international transportation, said, “We aimed for a system that proposes multiple optimal and realistic routes that did not exist until now. All the information, such as rail data and timetables from different countries, was manually integrated, and large amounts of data were created, sometimes with thousands to tens of thousands of lines. There were a lots of tricky parts and we faced a lot of barriers, but we thought about what kind of data and logic were needed, and we solved them one by one.”

Furthermore, we collaborated with specialized teams of the AWS, such as data science and AI/machine learning from AWS Professional Services, to support architectures and build computational algorithms that function properly.

Furthermore, development was done in an agile manner, progressing while addressing perceived gaps through regular meetings. Ms. Riho Iwata from the International Transportation Division Planning and Development Team recalls, "We had set the milestones and the development was done on a weekly basis, so it was easy to visualize and understand the progress.

Then, the emission monitoring service was completed in August 2023. When we set the luggage weight and origin and destination point on the dashboard, it has displayed the multiple routes list, and then it allowed us to quickly realize about the GHG emissions of each route. Customers can set annual emissions targets, see how they are doing against their targets, and get advice on how to reduce their GHG emissions.

"It was my first experience participating in this kind of system development, and it seems to me that the way AWS works is very smart. When our members talked about specialized logistics and transportation, they verbalized the content for system development and embodied the image they were looking for. Also, I felt that Amazon Location Service, which provides the location information functions, it has complementary functions when entering destinations, etc., and works smoothly compared to other services, so it is easy to use compared to other services,” said Mr. Kotaro Nonaka, acting manager of the International Transportation Division Planning and Development Team.

Mitsubishi Warehouses' emissions monitoring system was implemented quickly with the help of four people supported by AWS Professional Services. In particular, the function of suggesting optimal transport routes will be the key point of the various services that will make up the new digital logistics platform that the company will build in the future. With support from AWS Professional Services, route accuracy was achieved with a level of perfection beyond the mock-up image that was well received by the company.

There is also said to be a high level of interest from customers who are struggling to set or meet GHG emission reduction targets. “By using the emission monitoring, we are able to respond quickly to customer inquiries, which is useful for improving satisfaction and business. Also, since it can show all the possibilities in terms of the transportation routes, I think it will be useful for training inexperienced human resources". (Mr. Tamura)

Mr. Abe says that the most important thing about the AWS-supported forwarding system building project is that they were able to show visible results right away. “From the beginning, we thought that the implementation of the transport route proposal function would be a touchstone test. This result is proof of trust in AWS Professional Services, and our team has gained the significant trust within the company. Going forward, I want to continue to leverage the technology and knowledge of AWS to create a logistics platform like no other.

Mitsubishi Warehouse is still continuing to develop various services. Mitsubishi Warehouse's revolutionary service that combines digital and logistics will bring a new perspective to the logistics industry.