Pipeline™ Warehouse Management and Mobile Distribution Technology Delivers Operational Improvements PLUS Significant ROI in First 12 Months

A large North American periodical and book wholesaler was seeking a customized order assembly and mobile delivery solution that would improve efficiencies, reduce costs and improve cash flow by enabling the client to transparently track and audit each order throughout entire delivery and return cycle.

The company appointed Urban Dispatch Logistics to tailor and implement its Pipeline™ Warehouse Management and Mobile Distribution Solution to meet its specific needs.

Challenge

The client processes and delivers approximately 100 million individual pieces of product each year across four Canadian provinces. The operational headquarters and main distribution center assembles, packages and ships the orders via FTL to 10 sub-region where the client operates and staffs a sub-distribution center.  Here orders are broken down into routes and assigned to drivers for final delivery in each sub-region. At each delivery destination the driver is also required to collect “returns” i.e. unsold product from the prior week’s delivery, which are consolidated at the sub-distribution centre then line-hauled back to the main distribution centre for manual processing and reconciliation.

Because of the “consignment” nature of the wholesale periodical and book industry, retail customers are only required to pay for the units of product that they received and did not return the following week.  The wholesaler therefore must have Proof of Delivery and Proof of Return information for every customer at its disposal in order to ensure prompt payment.  The entire assembly, line-haul and delivery/return process is managed and tracked using a paper-based manifest and invoice system.  All Proof of Delivery and Proof of Return counts are captured manually on multiple paper manifests and forms that the driver is required to organize, manage and submit daily. Administrative staff at headquarters is then required to review, collate, scan and store on average 16,000 unique pieces of paper each week.

Urban Dispatch's Solution

Members of the Urban Dispatch technical design, operations and logistics teams commenced the project by closely observing the client's current operations at its distribution centre, its sub-distribution centres, and on driver routes. Urban Dispatch then worked closely with the client's senior operations personnel to develop and approve the unique product specifications to ensure the client's satisfaction. Urban Dispatch's technical development team then commenced tailoring the Pipeline™ Warehouse and Mobile Distribution Solution to meet the project specifications.

Included in the final solution was the mobile solution developed to meet the specific periodical and book industry requirements, allowing the client to track driver performance, enhance customer service, speed up the reconciliation process, and tie field operations to their accounting and AR systems.

Results

Since implementation, Urban Dispatch's solution has successfully managed the assembly and delivery of more than 150 Million units of delivered product and over 85 Million units of returned product.

In a 12 month period, the client realized savings in excess of 15% over their historical distribution costs for a similar period, while accelerating invoice settlement time, reducing administrative labour cost by 85%, reducing paper count by almost 10,000 pieces per week, and achieving 100% Proof of Delivery.