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WERC 2024

Partnering for a total operational network transformation

Leaders from global consulting firm Argon & Co. explain how they helped a leading 3PL drastically improve inventory accuracy, reduce late orders, and trim costs, laying the groundwork for future success.

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Victoria Kickham
By Victoria KickhamJun 04, 2024
Victoria Kickham

Victoria Kickham started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for DC Velocity.

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A messy 2021 peak shipping season spelled disaster for Wineshipping , a third-party-logistics services provider (3PL) serving the U.S. wine industry. A series of management issues and changes in 2020 left the company vulnerable as 2021 peak season approached, coinciding with a pandemic-driven uptick in demand for its services. That season, just 68% of the company’s shipments went out on time, and outbound package costs increased by 26% despite an increase in volume and only a 9% labor increase—all of which led to cancelled contracts.

That’s when Wineshipping’s leaders turned to supply chain consulting firm Argon & Co., which used its expertise in warehousing and supply chain design to orchestrate a new beginning. Company leaders described the project in a case study presentation at the Warehousing Education and Research Council’s (WERC) 2024 Annual Conference in Dallas this week.

The project included an IT overhaul, installation of new material handling systems, and extensive employee training—across the company’s five warehouse facilities. The nine-month project had all facilities up and running by peak season 2022 with game-changing results: inventory accuracy improved from 55% to 99.2%; late orders fell by 95%; and cost-per-unit dropped by 20%. And those on-time shipments? That metric rose to 98%.

The 3PL is keeping those achievements in check with weekly performance metric guidelines that have set a new course for the company’s future, according to the presentation.

WERC 2024 is being held through Wednesday, June 5, at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.


ArticleEditorialWarehousing 3PLMaterial HandlingOther ServicesSC Services
werc
ArticleEditorialWarehousing 3PLMaterial HandlingOther ServicesSC Services
werc

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