Enhanced logistics programs help bottom line
By Larry Thomas and Gary James -- Furniture Today, July 27, 2009
HIGH POINT — Although logistics certainly isn't as glitzy as a new marketing or sales initiative, a well-run logistics program can have a similar impact on the bottom line for retailers and manufacturers.
And in the cases of Aspenhome, a resource for home office and home entertainment furniture, and American Signature, a Top 100 retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, the results have been strikingly similar: Logistics success has meant happier customers, which has meant a more robust bottom line.
Aspenhome's ASAP (Aspenhome Ships As Priority) land delivery program is designed to help large and small retailers keep a constant flow of Aspenhome furniture items on their sales floors. With no order minimums, retailers can order only what they need from more than a choice of 1,400 bedroom, dining room, occasional, home office, entertainment and upholstery items. The products are delivered coast-to-coast in 10 days or less.
This program “is ideal for the small retailer,” said Jed Ackerman, president and owner of Stage Door Furniture in Fishkill and Pawling, N.Y. “It enables us to keep a steady flow of goods on our sales floor and it helps our cash flow. Plus, with no minimum quantities, I can order just what my customers want without having to find other pieces to fill the order and investing large amounts of cash in excess inventory.”
One of the keys to success today is “to be able to anticipate what retailers and their customers will need before they need it,” said Dave Heard, executive vice president of sales for Aspenhome. “Our ASAP program has proven to be the 'right service at the right time' because in this challenging economy it allows our retailers to better control their inventory and cash flow.”
The ASAP program complements Aspenhome's Savings Express Container program, which delivers the company's products in four weeks to the West Coast and six weeks to the East Cast from its China warehouses.
At American Signature, which operates 130 stores in 19 eastern states, the recent adoption of Intergis' Visual Control Room (VCR) management information system for its fleet of 650 vehicles is paying big dividends. The Intergis system has enabled American Signature to increase the weekly number of deliveries and repairs by 15% and its delivered dollars-per-mile traveled by 25%. The retailer also has reduced its mileage costs by 15% to 20% using the route optimization system and overtime expense for the delivery teams by 12%.
In addition, the company has improved its cubes per delivery truck by 8%, enabling more cargo to fit on its vehicles. Customer satisfaction has improved as well, since delivery teams arrive on schedule for appointments more frequently.
Before rolling out VCR to its entire fleet, American Signature tested the system starting in April 2007 with a pilot program of six delivery trucks and two service vans.
The VCR system is designed to automate routing, scheduling and tracking, enabling retailers to collect real-time information from hubs installed in every vehicle. The system displays the pertinent information on a single screen, so dispatchers can see all the data as well as updates in real time.
For unscheduled calls, repairs and deliveries, VCR automatically determines the appropriate driver to dispatch and pinpoints the optimal route. Drivers receive text messages on the order via cell phone, laptop or personal digital assistant. Once the call is complete, they upload the work order status to the Intergis system, reporting if it was completed or put on hold.
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