“EVOX is our preferred choice because it is a true cloud system. That means it is free of long-term maintenance concerns and it works with PCs.”
by H. M. Huang, ALP VP IT Dpt.
ALP leads the logistics revolution by breaking with past practices
Even though Taiwan is a technology island, logistics company operations were backwards and the facilities they used were often illegally built. Storage facilities are required to be built on industrial land, but they must compete with factories for space. Since storage is less valuable, structures are frequently built on illegal land out of low-cost sheet metal that does not meet international standards.
For Charlie Chang, founder of ALP, the storage facility problem opened a market window. He studied real estate development at Stanford and architecture at Harvard to become an expert on industrial storage operation. He also visited GLP, a global logistics real estate company, to learn about smart storage and logistics real estate. His plan was to bring these business concepts and technology back to Taiwan and disrupt the industry.
Charlie Chang was determined to disrupt the logistics industry（Image Source： ALP）
When Mr. Chang was planning his new company, people at LF logistics in Hong Kong told him, “If you build it right, the demand will come.”
And in 2014, when ALP developed the first world-class large scale logistics park, LF Logistics joined as our first member customer.
A logistics eco system built on a high standard automation system
To realize a revolution in logistics, we worked with institutional investors to build 5 large logistics parks with 14 warehouses. The buildings were all very modern in design, with the logistics republic at Rui Fang in Taipei designed to look like an art museum. The industrial style employee dining room completely overturned expectations for a logistics warehouse facility.
Army of robot pickers automates the warehouse from top to bottom（Image Source： ALP）
In addition to the external improvements, the inside operations are highly automated with picking robots and AGV (Automatically Guided Vehicles) to reduce human labor and mistakes. Measurements and all processes from picking to delivery are standardized. We also provide manufacturers with custom solutions to address different warehousing needs such as temperature control for businesses like premium red wine importers.
We plan to expand our service overseas to satisfy the logistics needs of cross-border customers. The goal is to export the knowledge we have gained in Taiwan to Southeast Asia and create a new generation of smart warehouse facilities and a multi-national ecosystem.
An open office configuration makes clear the importance of a Cloud PBX
“We allow every team member to pick the office of their choice, since all team members and even supervisors don't have a permanent desk. This work configuration made Cloud PBX a requirement.”
ALP selected an open office configuration（Image Source： ALP）
We found this open office concept enabled a collaborative work environment that led to more mutual understanding and team spirit. After evaluating Cloud PBX vendors, we selected EVOX. With its 100% cloud-based phone system, it is maintenance free and not susceptible to natural or man-made disasters.
With no hardware equipment or on-premise wiring, EVOX unshackled our team members from their desks. Employees were not tied to a physical location or office, but could simply download a Mobile extension or PC app and make or receive calls from anywhere.
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Call where you want, how you wantSmart multi-location management for multiple smart warehouses
“Before onboarding, EVOX provided tutorials so it only took us one week to complete our first migration. The impact on employees was minimal with team members quickly learning the system.”
With our many office and warehouse locations, a legacy PBX system would have been expensive and time-consuming to professionally wire. With EVOX, the web admin system allowed us to quickly activate and configure our locations. We can easily manage all of our sites when we need to change extensions or alter company greetings.
Easily manage multiple locations using the administration web site（Image Source： EVOX）
To improve communication within our entire logistics ecosystem, we set up partners such as Ally Transport as an EVOX branch. Calling between multiple locations and headquarters is toll free. This also allows us to quickly find team members in separate locations. And, with the EVOX mobile app, they can take their office phone with them so they never miss a call.
