This direct-store-delivery (DSD), 24/7 terminal operation provides retailers in four states with premium, field-fresh produce products. Success required strong supply chain planning and flawless transportation execution.
There's an old adage in the produce business: "Sell it or smell it."
Time and rough handling are the enemies of fresh produce. Premium produce products, those of the highest quality and maximum freshness, need a supply chain that protects them and gets them to a grocer's shelf within a narrow freshness window.
W. Newell Company is a firm of rare distinction. They have a sterling reputation for providng premium quality, field-fresh produce directly to grocers' shelves. Now they needed to make a major expansion into a new market, service an expanding client base, and hit a difficult set of customer service and landed-cost KPIs.
With a new DC under construction in central Illinois, W. Newell went shopping for the optimal transportation partner. They needed premium, field-fresh produce delivered directly to stores; they needed to hit extremely tight time frames to a wide range of geographies; and they set exacting standards for both product quality and customer service.
TLC Develops and Executes the PLAN
Our market analysis revealed that a mix 60/40 ratio of company drivers and owner operators would provide the optimum blend of cost / service to W. Newell's clients. Further analysis also showed that 73% of the fleet should be based near the DC with the remaining 27% at the ends of the network.
Next Step, Build the TEAM
How do you find 100+ qualified drivers in a hot market, in a transportation shortage, in less than two months, without blowing the budget? With Planning and Creative Thinking. TLC hosted a series of Expos in the core market, augmented them with special events, blitz advertising and lots of hands-on interviews. The result was an abundance of highly qualified owner / operators and new TLC company drivers. We now had our team.
The Start-Up
Going from zero to a fleet of 100+ drivers in a few weeks requires serious coordination. With a detailed TLC action plan covering every aspect of training, implementation and operations, the start-up was underway. TLC's solid front-end engineering and rigerous planning paid off. The W. Newell start-up was on-time, on-budget and met all critical client KPIs throughout the start-up phase and into full operation.
The Learnings
Why was this start-up successful? The reasons are many but a few things do stand out. Working out thousands of details up front with the client paid huge dividends later. Performing thorough network analysis will save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the project. Defining success as a pre-agreed set of KPIs gave us a common language. Working with the client as a team, rather than a vendor gave both of us ownership of the entire solution.
Epilog: The W. Newell transportation project, started in 2005, continues to outperform the KPIs and exceed expectations. With the start-up behind us, the next step is process improvement. TLC continuous improvement programs are already working on ways to boost customer service levels and lower the landed cost of product for our client.