Getting a Small Company into Big Boxes The people at Intermatic found themselves with an interesting problem. Headquartered in the Midwest, they were shifting production to the Far East, while their products were getting major sales distribution on the West Coast. They found no other solution but to transport freight from China to eastern U.S. warehouses and back to the West Coast ¬ - until they talked to Greatwide™ Distribution Logistics. Greatwide™ helped them meet the high demands of their major retailers (Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart) without investing capital in fixed assets. They contracted with Greatwide™ Distribution Logistics to handle the majority of the daily fulfillment of their West Coast orders. Greatwide's Las Vegas location became their West Coast distribution point. From there, Greatwide™ provided direct-to-store order delivery and transit facility replenishment for 400 Home Depot locations, as well as these added-value services: - RF technologies for all receipt and shipping transactions
- Full range of EDI transactions
- Electronic pallet map information to meet retail vendor requirements
- Container devanning and product palletization for all inbound West
- Coast overseas containers
- Conformity to stringent palletization requirements
- Repackaging for compromised cartons
- Quality-control sampling and reporting
- Scaling and determining certified weights for all outbound pallets
- Same-day receipt, pick and shipment of merchandise to maximize fill rates
As a result, the company's costs were reduced due to leveraging transportation, space, labor and more, and spreading the cost among other building users in shared warehousing. They increased supply-chain visibility and secured nationwide coverage with a single-source provider. The improved warehousing and transportation efficiencies optimized their transportation network, reduced inventory levels and increased cycle times. Greatwide™ provided them comprehensive reporting and measurement while increasing service levels. The company gained more flexibility to meet fluctuating market demands, and the Nevada location helped them avoid California inventory tax. When demands are big, think Greatwide™.
|
