New Zealand Publisher Transforms Distribution from Cost Containment to Revenue Generation

• Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
• Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms

• Business Operation
• Logistics & Transportation

• Fleet Management

• Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
• System Integration

Like most news organizations, NZME faces the challenges of managing printing and distribution costs while also working to maintain circulation levels. To distribute all of its publications, the company relies on 47 delivery contractors and thousands of drivers across New Zealand. In the previous business model, the contractors provided NZME with the number of hours required and the distance traveled, which was then used to determine the cents per copy delivery rates. Prior to RouteSmart, NZME conducted an audit process to verify the accuracy of contractor submissions. However, the small sample sets were never entirely comprehensive enough to reassure NZME that the routes were the most economically designed and that the submissions were verified by the contractor. They really had no way to be sure.

New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) comprises seven daily newspaper publications, including New Zealand’s number one daily newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, as well as The Herald on Sunday and 23 community titles throughout the country. NZME maintains 2,000 delivery routes with news content reaching 2.2 million New Zealanders every month and sports and entertainment content reaching 1.1 million and 2.7 million, respectively. The company relies on 47 delivery contractors and thousands of drivers across New Zealand to distribute its publications. NZME faces the challenges of managing printing and distribution costs while also working to maintain circulation levels.

After examining the available solutions, NZME chose RouteSmart for its route optimization needs because of the company’s expertise in the newspaper publishing industry. Initially, NZME implemented RouteSmart for ArcGIS, the industry-leading, global solution that leverages the latest geographic technologies to produce highly accurate, efficient delivery routes. NZME began by using the solution for route planning and restructuring across all 47 contractors. Two years later, NZME began a second phase to streamline its operations: a two-year project to centralize distribution and optimize routing across their seven daily publications. Following that phase, NZME implemented RouteSmart Online, a cloud-based solution that enabled them to incorporate route information on third-party publications and provide it to NZME’s delivery contractors. Finally, after two successful phases, NZME extended its third-party distribution service to include two additional daily newspapers.

• By resequencing their routes with RouteSmart for ArcGIS, NZME reduced overall route distance by 15%.
• The company continues to refine route sequencing on an ongoing basis, ensuring transparency and contractor acceptance.
• By centralizing distribution of all seven daily publications, NZME further reduced overall costs in this area.

• 15% reduction in distance traveled.
• 17% reduction in delivery hours.