HA Logistics began working with a small specialty retailer in 1998 as the company
was expanding its presence on a national level. The challenge, similar to that of
many growing companies, was to develop a cost effective distribution network for
goods to store locations with significant space and labor constraints. Key
requirements of the program where:
- Early
morning delivery, no later than 9:00 AM
- Variable pricing
structure for storage and transportation
- Creation of a
local buffer storage component for safety stock
- Management of
Safety stock inventory
- Two-man,
inside delivery and stocking
- Design
of a pool delivery network
- Single source contact for all transportation and distribution
information
With these requirements
in mind, HA Logistics developed the network and infrastructure to manage this
process for the customer. Through a process of discussions and site visits, HA
developed an operating process that met the primary requirements and created a
distribution network to support the customer’s expansion nationwide and into
Canada. Our solution was centered around HA’s Customer Management Center, national
carrier base, national pool-point network and a designated Logistics Coordinator. Today the company has over 165
stores nationwide and continues to expand over 20% annually.
Over the past three years, HA Logistics has constantly improved performance and
reduced the costs for every aspect of the outbound supply chain:
- 98.9% on-time delivery
- 99.9% inventory accuracy
- 9.6% decrease
in line-haul cost per pallet
- 8% decrease in
local shipment costs from pool points
