Page 36 - Case Study Annual 2015

LAA 2015 Gold
TwinSaver Group / Imperial Logistics
Eliminating complexity
Nampak Tissue’s multiple facilities were creating unnecessary duplication of
resources and incurring excessive costs. Imperial Logistics was commissioned
to conduct a consolidation project to identify the changes needed to increase
efficiencies, maximise synergies and improve control.
When this project commenced, Nampak
Tissue was the principal that Imperial
Logistics dealt with. Later the company
was acquired by the Ethos Group, trading network. Secondary distribution was being conducted
as the Twincare Group. A further change has since taken
place and the company is now known as the TwinSaver
Group. This entry will refer to the newly constituted
current operating company, TwinSaver Group.
In 2009 the company reviewed its supply chain and
established that it was extremely complex with multiple
opportunities to improve efficiencies. A change was
needed to increase efficiencies, maximise synergies and
improve control.
The company’s multiple facilities in KwaZulu-Natal
were creating unnecessary duplication of resources and
incurring excessive costs. They were also the cause of
product damage as a result of additional handling and
transportation.
Unable to find a solution internally, TwinSaver put
out an RFP, which Imperial Logistics was successful in
obtaining. This led to an immediate reduction in the
number of vendors as Imperial now became the single
service provider. This signified a unique solution for
TwinSaver in that it dramatically simplified the supply
chain and its management. TwinSaver’s partnership
with Imperial grew to become extensive and now
encompasses the complete supply chain.
An extensive analysis of TwinSaver’s business
revealed specific issues with inbound transport,
warehousing, primary distribution, freight forwarding
and clearing that needed to be addressed through this
innovative solution.
Inbound
On the inbound transport side, TwinSaver was
contending with insufficient storage space at the
Sancella factory in Klipriver. As a result, stock was
stored in several locations by a number of different
logistics service providers. The imported finished goods
were transported from the port of Durban to Prospecton
in 40-foot containers and destuffed at an Imperial
34 the logistics news case study annual 2015
operating company. Primary distribution was being
undertaken by different logistics service providers due
to the different role-players involved in the inbound
via two different channels.
Warehousing problems
Finished goods were being stored at a warehouse in
Durban for further secondary distribution, while raw
materials were being stored at different logistics service
providers in Durban. Products were also being received
from factories in Gauteng and Cape Town, as well as
imported finished goods.
Primary distribution
Imperial concluded that inbound and outbound
shipment planning was taking place in isolation,
resulting in insufficient integration between these two
functions.
Freight forwarding and clearing
Raw materials and finished goods are imported from
a number of locations in Europe, South East Asia and
the Middle East. Several different logistics service
providers were involved in the clearing of bonded and
non-bonded imported raw materials, as well as the
imported finished goods. Freight forwarding services
were provided by a logistics service provider external to
the TwinSaver Group.
Solution
Recognising the extreme complexities of the TwinSaver
Group operations, Imperial Logistics introduced the
role of a Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) to consolidate
the service offerings of companies within the Imperial
Group. This role fell to Resolve (an Imperial Logistics
Operating company), and resulted in a simplified
reporting process with Resolve being the single point
of contact. Besides improved efficiencies, greater
transparency resulted and improved communication
was the outcome.