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Case Studies > HON and Ruan: A Synergistic Partnership in Logistics and Transportation

HON and Ruan: A Synergistic Partnership in Logistics and Transportation

Technology Category
  • Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
  • Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
Applicable Functions
  • Business Operation
  • Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases
  • Fleet Management
  • Predictive Maintenance
  • Process Control & Optimization
  • Supply Chain Visibility
Services
  • System Integration
  • Testing & Certification
  • Training
The Challenge
HON, a leading office furniture manufacturer, faced challenges in maintaining its own shipping line and ensuring high customer satisfaction. The company needed a reliable transportation partner to handle logistics efficiently, reduce costs, and improve service quality. HON's unique relationship with Ruan Transportation Management Systems evolved over 30 years, leading to increased customer satisfaction, greater driver commitment, faster policy implementation, and lower overall costs.
About The Customer
HON is a prominent office furniture manufacturer headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa. Since its inception in 1947, HON has been a category leader in the office furniture industry, known for its durable and ergonomic products. The company's product line includes chairs, desks, tables, shelving, workstations, and storage units designed for maximum comfort, style, and adaptability. HON has built a reputation for innovation and quality, capturing the loyalty of businesses across America. The company has a long-standing relationship with Ruan Transportation Management Systems, which has played a crucial role in its logistics and distribution operations.
The Solution
HON invited Ruan to play an active role within its distribution and logistics departments, creating a seamless inter-corporate synergy. Ruan earned HON's trust by consistently delivering as promised and fulfilling small, unassigned areas of the contract relationship. Ruan's dedicated HON fleet made over 20,000 deliveries in 2010, maintaining an on-time delivery rate of 99.58%. Ruan drivers, who wear HON-branded clothing and drive HON-branded trucks, act as the frontline representatives of the HON brand. They offer superior consistency and reliability, ensuring back-up drivers and vehicles are always available. Ruan's high level of screening, training, and retention of its employees ensures that drivers are professionals in every sense of the word. The repeated interactions between Ruan drivers and HON customers illustrate the ongoing trust and mutual understanding between the two companies.
Operational Impact
  • Ruan drivers are the most visible element of the HON/Ruan synergy, but the synergy runs much deeper between the two companies.
  • HON relies on Ruan's vast transportation resources, such as flatbed and brokerage services, to leverage other areas of business for parent company HNI and to run logistical analyses of new business opportunities.
  • Ruan's analytics and engineering have helped HON's transportation department identify several areas for improvement and opportunity, decreasing empty miles by 20%, increasing third-party usage, and synchronizing inbound and outbound loads.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Ruan's dedicated HON fleet made over 20,000 deliveries in 2010.
  • Ruan maintained an on-time delivery rate of 99.58%.
  • Ruan's analytics and engineering helped decrease empty miles by 20%.

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