Published March 16, 2017
A coffee company with high store growth was introducing several new products and categories. In order to improve service and savings, the company needed to lower its incidence of less-than-truckload (LTL) freight.
Company |
A coffee company passionate about all the elements that go into a full and rewarding coffeehouse experience. With a wide variety of products, the company strives to be the ultimate neighborhood gathering place and a part of its customer’s daily routine.
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Challenge |
The company was experiencing significant store growth and an introduction to new products and product categories. It recognized the possibility for improved service and significant savings if it could lower the incidence of costly less-than-truckload (LTL) freight.
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Tompkins International’s Role |
The project was a directional assessment of LTL rationalization opportunities. Several key areas were addressed directly and/or indirectly in the assessment:
- Order and shipment planning
- Utilization of transportation management system
- Improved utilization of last mile fleets at local distribution centers (DCs)
- Meshing company-managed delivery operations with channel partners’ operations and untapped capabilities
- Aligning regional DC order fulfillment/pick processes with those of local DCs
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The Results |
- Tompkins evaluated the transportation network from an LTL perspective, created baseline primary processes related to order and shipment planning, and gathered data and information on LTL and relevant truckload (TL) utilization across the network.
- Collaborated with client to select one of five regional DCs to perform in-depth LTL transportation modeling, including implications of current inbound and outbound TL volumes and flows.
- Quantified available LTL improvement opportunities, including LTL incidence reductions of up to 20%.
- Developed pilot solution implementation plan that covered three specific courses of action to achieve additional savings, including piloting and implementing transportation planning and execution solutions related to LTL and TL optimization.
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