Resolving Social Issues through Our Business Nichirei Logistics Group
Long working hours have become the norm for truck drivers due to business practices that require them to both drive long distances and help with incidental tasks such as loading and unloading at logistics facilities . The “2024 Problem” is a general term for the various issues that the shipping and logistics industries must now address as a result of the Work Style Reform Act of April 1, 2024, with the aim of improving working conditions by limiting driver overtime to 960 hours per year. On this occasion, we have visualized, or converted into monetary value, the impact of social value created by the business activities of SULS on truck drivers and shippers.
●Annual Working Hours for Truck Drivers
SULS is an acronym for S&U Logistics System. The “S” stands for speedy, sustainable, and solutions, and the “U” stands for utility, usability, and user experience. By synergizing the advantages of Nichirei Logistics Group, we will generate speedy, sustainable logistics solutions and provide utility, usability and superior user experience to our customers and society.
SULS is an acronym for S&U Logistics System. The “S” stands for speedy, sustainable, and solutions, and the “U” stands for utility, usability, and user experience. By synergizing the advantages of Nichirei Logistics Group, we will generate speedy, sustainable logistics solutions and provide utility, usability and superior user experience to our customers and society.
The start of operation of Atsugi Gateway in April 2022 improved load factor by consolidating west-bound cargo. With the benefits of SULS switch centers and gateways, it is now possible to transport cargo between the Kanto and Kansai regions using one-day return trips.
SULS dramatically reduces driver operation time including dwell time, loading time, and unloading time, making transportation more efficient than with conventional logistics.
In evaluating the social impact of SULS, we sorted out and defined the social and environmental impacts originating from and brought by SULS operations as business activities. Based on this, we selected impacts on stakeholders, including truck drivers, shippers, and natural capital, which are directly connected to social issues, and converted the impacts into monetary amounts using a calculation logic.
We confirmed quantitatively and qualitatively that SULS operation has created a positive social impact.
Now we have opened a new line of SULS from Kanto to Tohoku, and completed the development of the trunk-line transportation from Kyushu to Tohoku. Going forward, in order to flexibly respond to a wide range of customer needs, we plan to offer services that combine SULS and shipping services. In addition, we will double the number of detachable trailers in the current Medium-term Business Plan (accumulated total number of trailers of approximately 100), and use them to expand the service area and volume of cargo handled, thereby further developing our transportation and delivery network. This social impact assessment was conducted targeting the Tokyo Nagoya-Osaka route, which is the main route of SULS. Based on the results, it has been confirmed that SULS, which was introduced by the Nichirei Logistics Group in 2022 as a countermeasure to the logistics industry’s 2024 Problem, has created the intended social value, such as reducing economic losses caused by transportation capacity shortages and contributing to improvement in well-being by correcting long working hours of truck drivers.
It is estimated that the social impact created by expanding the number of routes and services of SULS will also increase synergistically. As a countermeasure to climate change, we will also focus on further creation of environmental value that will mitigate our environmental impact.
SULS is positioned as one of the measures to respond to consumer demand for frozen foods in Japan. We view the SULS business from the perspectives of both economic and social values, and will strengthen the efforts to build our business foundation for the next generation.
