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Logistics for paper products

Cross-dock solution helps major paper manufacturer, Domtar, reduce inventory and speed order cycle times

• Daily trailer arrives at TSI's New Jersey warehouse from the paper mill at 3:00 p.m.  Pallets are re-worked and shipped the same day to various customers in the Northeast. 
• For export shipments, Domtar ships goods from multiple paper mills to TSI's warehouse close to the Port of NY/NJ, where they are trans-loaded into ocean containers.  These multiple inbound shipments go into a single container requiring a consolidated manifest, which TSI processes. 

The solution helps Domtar to reduce inventory and related carrying costs as product bypasses storage and moves quickly to the end customer.  The solution also has increased turns and reduced storage and warehouse labor costs.  Consolidating freight into lower-cost truckload shipments helped to reduce transportation costs. 

Northeast Distribution

Paper distributor relies on TSI to assist with rapid fulfillment in difficult Northeast region

• As fulfillment requirements got more demanding, this distributor sought a partner with expertise to support rapid fulfillment in one of the nation's most challenging logistics markets.  Specifically, the solution had to meet a requirement for same day delivery to printers seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.
• Transport Systems was chosen based on its knowledge of the paper industry and its network of warehouse and carrier partners to support rapid fulfillment.
• TSI is responsible for storing and managing inventory, processing orders, selecting and managing carriers and assuring on-time delivery.
• Distributor increased sales by providing their customer with more delivery options and near flawless execution.
• Decreased costs by paying for expertise and capacity only as needed
• Ability to dedicate the company's warehouse operations for routine order fulfillment

According to the company's vice president of sales "These logistics resources help us differentiate our product to customers through value-added services.  The outsourced solution allows us to focus on the customer and not on internal support challenges." 

Import Logistics

TSI helps Arauco, a maker of premium-quality wood molding products, manage transportation from the port to the customer, based on terms of purchase. 

• Goods originate in South America and are shipped via ocean containers. 
• TSI works with the CHB to determine container availability .   
• Once container is released, TSI arranges with drayage provider to pick up product in sequence of importance. This sequence is determined by:
  • whether there are orders against certain products
  • when free time is up on the container
• Goods are delivered to TSI warehouse, where goods are processed by purchase order and orders are delivered to customers.  The warehouse operation is almost totally cross-dock. 
• TSI manages outbound transportation to customer based on tight delivery window. 
• Goods are tracked by purchase order throughout the process. 
• For reverse logistics requirements, TSI receives orders from Arauco to pick up product from customer.  These goods are consolidated at a separate returns facility, where they are held in quarantine until freed for release or destroyed.

The solution has helped Arauco reduce order cycle time to its northeast region customers from 15 days to 5 days from the time the ocean containers are available at the pier.   There have been zero detention charges since the project began in 2004. 

Store-direct delivery

TSI received Georgia Pacific's Warehousing Partner in Excellence Award for its work on store-direct deliveries

• Regular support for retail promotion of paper products, which involved about 130 deliveries over 3 days, primarily to grocery store locations
• Complete outsourced warehousing and carrier management solution
• TSI contacted store locations to arrange specific delivery time and sourced and managed carriers to meet this window
• Flex space and labor solution to economically manage this volume spike.  Ramped up to over 100,000 sq ft of warehouse space and then drew down that space within 30 days
• Required strong IT capability to interface with GP's SAP system

The solution gave Georgia Pacific a reliable, turnkey solution for high-volume deliveries within a compressed timeframe.  Customers were happy and Georgia Pacific maximized promotion-related revenues by making sure goods were on the shelf. 

Manufacturing Support

Manufacturer of popular skin care products revamps inbound logistics strategy to increase flexibility and manufacturing output

E.T. Browne Drug Company, Inc. is a leader in treatment-oriented skin and hair care products.   Supporting significant sales growth required an expansion of the company's existing manufacturing operation and elimination of warehouse space and resources. TSI was chosen to implement a solution because of its ability to provide management expertise, flexible space, and a variable-rate, cost-effective agreement.  

The benefits of TSI's solution for E.T. Browne include:

• Refocusing of E.T. Browne resources on growth and manufacturing
• Greater return on assets by expanding manufacturing space and output
• Flexibility to expand and contract as needed with no capital investments

According to Jim Norton, E.T. Browne's Director of Distribution, "We were running out of room at our manufacturing facility to store components to support our expanded production line.  We evaluated several options and determined TSI was the best fit based on its focus in this market, ownership commitment, and the expertise to support the transition and ongoing requirements of our business." 

Fulfillment

Major Association uses Transport Systems as single-source solution for fulfillment of educational material to individuals

• For the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Transport Systems manages fulfillment of publications, videos & educational material.
• AICPA ships more than 100,000 orders per year to individual members and others in the accounting community. 
• Using 15,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space, TSI has designed an efficient process for picking items and moving them quickly to packing stations that feed the manifest station for UPS delivery. 
• TSI uses AICPA's Oracle system and TSI has an Oracle systems control and support expert on staff. 
• Transport Systems is AICPA's single-source solution for order processing, inventory management and track and trace

According to AICPA Distribution , Al DiMauro,  "TSI is very strong in operations and systems.  The company's systems resources were invaluable in helping us manage a transition from an AS400 to an Oracle-based system…TSI is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of professionalism of executive staff."

Selection and management of multiple logistics providers

TSI lead logistics solution for paper manufacturer increases flexibility, improves service, and reduces the manufacturer's cost and time spent managing multiple providers. 

It takes considerable time and effort to coordinate multiple warehousing and transportation partners.  More and more companies, like Fraser Paper, are choosing to outsource this coordination function to a lead logistics provider to reduce the management burden and centralize accountability for logistics performance. 

Fraser makes paper that is sold largely to printers.  To win in this fiercely competitive market, Fraser must respond to printers' demands for very short order-to-delivery cycle times while keeping logistics costs low.  Within the Northeast, Fraser's use of expedited shipments from outside the region was proving costly.  In a strategic shift, the company chose Transport Systems to design a complete Northeast region solution to receive inbound shipments, warehouse goods at strategic points to enable fast delivery, and manage a carrier base that could respond to the rapid service requirements of printers, who often want deliveries the same day. 
 
TSI sourced a warehouse with rail capability to provide the most economical mode to source and replenish inventory.  The facility layout accounts for FIFO, individual product code capture and storage consolidation/density.  Outbound distribution was sourced by TSI based on carrier capability, capacity and cost.  As an additional service, TSI offered after-hours emergency order service.  Fraser required all emergency orders ready for pickup within four hours of notification. 

An integrated TSI-managed regional distribution solution resulted in:

• 99.5% performance on same day delivery
• Reduction of inbound and outbound freight expense compared with expedited next-day delivery from outside the region
• Refocusing of Fraser resources to support strategic planning and manufacturing
• Greater customer satisfaction based on fast, predictable deliveries
• Greater inventory availability to support sales

According to National Accounts Manager, Kevin Albert , "TSI has provided warehousing and distribution flexibility, expertise and infrastructure in one of our most important sales regions. They manage it all on our behalf.  One call to TSI enables us to increase or reduce manpower and space to parallel demand.  Most importantly, TSI helps us meet key service and financial metrics in this highly competitive industry."

Pick and Pack

TSI overflow facility for Gloria Vanderbilt turns into full pick and pack facility to sort, repack and ship cartons of jeans based on customer preference

Clothing maker Gloria Vanderbilt operated a distribution facility in Edison, NJ to serve the U.S. market.  The facility had space limitations and TSI developed an overflow operation in Edison, less than one mile from GV's distribution center.  TSI's overflow facility quickly developed into a full pick/pack operation, shipping to retailers such as JCPenny, BJ's & Costco Club stores.

TSI provided flexible overflow space that was about 10,000 sq. ft. during G.V.'s slow season, and over 50,000 sq. ft. during G.V.'s seasonal surges.  TSI received the product, mostly in ocean containers, floor loaded.  Product was sorted onto pallets for storage by style, size and colors.  Outbound orders were LTL shipments picked by style, size or color.  There were many days when over 100 orders shipped.

TSI also provided pick/pack service.  Master pack cartons were opened and product was sorted and repacked by various customer requirements.  For example, a shipper carton had to include three dozen jeans which may have been different colors or different sizes, perhaps a dozen of each black, blue and beige, or a dozen of each small, medium and large.

Difficult, inner-city deliveries

TSI works with game maker Pokemon to develop a more automated approach to replenishment and to manage delivery to inner-city retail store

Pokemon had product stored in two locations: a loose case pick operation in Northern New Jersey and a bulk storage facility at Port Newark.  Pokemon operated a retail store at Rockefeller Center, NY and had continuing out-of-stock issues because of inventory control issues and inability to pull product from the bulk facility without first shipping full pallet quantities to the case pick operation in North Jersey.

TSI was able to relocate Pokemon's entire inventory into one facility located in Somerset, NJ -- about 50,000 sq. ft of space.  TSI provided the trucking to transfer the product, as well as the inbound receipt handling.  Without requiring Pokemon to pay that cost upfront, TSI was able to factor that cost over the first twelve months of operation.

Most of Pokemon's product did not have descriptions or item codes that were used by the retail store.  TSI worked with Pokemon to label every carton in inventory with Pokemon's retail item code, which allowed TSI to provide a pick/pack service to replenish the store inventory as needed, eliminating out of stock issues.  TSI also provided the delivery service to the store at Rockefeller Center, which required straight trucks with an underground delivery.  We also provided off-hour deliveries during busy seasons or special sales events, which sometimes required sidewalk delivery using lift gate service.

Contact Transport Systems for more information about warehouse services and freight transportation in the Northeast.