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Efficiencies and Revenues Skyrocket For Distributor with Digital Order And Logistics Management
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Fleet Management
- Supply Chain Visibility
- Track & Trace of Assets
- Warehouse Automation
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Managing a highly complex supply chain network is no easy feat. When one of Europe’s largest distributors of agricultural spare parts decided to transition to a digital supply chain, they enlisted MPO to the task. At the time, the company ran 11 distribution centers (DCs) serving more than 40,000 customers in multiple countries, where quick and reliable deliveries were critical. While experiencing high growth levels, with increasing order volumes and more than 150,000 order lines per day, the distributor was also integrating a new acquisition into their core business. They needed a smarter and more efficient way to gain order visibility, manage data exchanges between their 40-carrier network, control costs, and fulfill their mounting orders at high speed and with pinpoint accuracy.
About The Customer
The customer is one of Europe’s largest distributors of agricultural spare parts. They operate 11 distribution centers (DCs) and serve more than 40,000 customers across multiple countries. The company is experiencing high growth levels, with increasing order volumes and more than 150,000 order lines per day. They are also in the process of integrating a new acquisition into their core business. The company needed a smarter and more efficient way to gain order visibility, manage data exchanges between their 40-carrier network, control costs, and fulfill their mounting orders at high speed and with pinpoint accuracy.
The Solution
Leveraging MPO’s cloud platform for order and logistics management, the distributor was able to seamlessly connect their ERP and WMS systems. This allowed them to instantaneously receive orders on a single platform and thereby plan and execute orders with greater agility and precision. MPO’s platform also helped streamline fulfillment. By analyzing factors such as routes, carriers, capacities, rates, and service level agreements, the platform could consistently optimize shipping costs and efficiently consolidate orders from their 11 DCs to a local hub for last-mile delivery. Moreover, because the MPO platform calculates transport costs per item, per shipment, and per customer, it allowed the distributor to not only reduce internal costs, but also keep shipping costs competitively low for their customers. By standardizing carrier communications and data formats, MPO was also able to help the distributor better leverage their multi-carrier network and obtain full order visibility for their customer orders. The order and logistics management platform provided carrier-specific labeling that could essentially be generated in real time to meet the distributor’s high-speed requirements. Once affixed to the appropriate boxes, these labels would be scanned on pallets and trucks, allowing customer service representatives to easily track them.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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