SITUATION

One of the nation’s largest retailers was losing profits because of poor inbound and outbound shipment quality. Excessive resources were spent managing shipped inventory that failed to comply with the retailer’s shipping standards, and damaged goods further eroded margins. These issues also impacted the customer experience by reducing the retailer’s speed to shelf.

STRATEGY

We used our extensive benchmarks for measuring supplier performance against key metrics that directly impacted the flow of goods through the network. Inmar facilitated change management by providing supplier-based performance dashboards, improving transparency and instilling continuous improvement across all suppliers. In addition to providing data-driven insights, we validated each improvement area with actual photos. Other elements of the program included:

• Combination of random and risk-based audits of 50+ KPIs
• Continuous auditing of multiple loads simultaneously (all shifts)
• Alert system at dock to immediately focus on problem shipments
• Systemic data capture with portal access
• Flexible data platform enabling continuous improvement

RESULTS

Retailer saved $23.5MM with an ROI of 5.8x
In addition to capturing $23.5MM in profits, Inmar:

• Improved sales by reducing out of stocks and lowering safety stock through inventory flow improvements
• Eliminated multiple touchpoints, which cut costs and reduced errors
• Provided “readiness assessments” to the retailer’s vendor community
• Identified an additional $100MM+ in savings for 3PLs through improved shipment quality