Page 48 - Case Study Annual 2015

LAA 2015 Silver

brandhouse / Imperial Managed Logistics

Beverages on time, every time

South Africa’s leading total beverage alcohol company, brandhouse, has a

portfolio of premium brands across the spirit, beer and RTD (Ready-to-Drink)

categories. Imperial Managed Logistics is the contracting service provider for

all primary freight movement. But the partnership was initially a disconnected

relationship both at an outsourced level and a functional level.

Established in 2004, brandhouse is a South
African joint venture that combines three alcohol
beverage companies: Diageo (the world’s largest
premium alcohol beverage company), Heineken
International (the third largest brewer in the world)
and Namibia Breweries Limited (one of the leading
beverage manufacturing companies in Southern Africa).
The brandhouse national network plans and executes
approximately 35 000 full truck loads per annum,
including 43 unique delivery lanes and over 1 000 direct
customers delivery points in SA. This high risk product
requires full time risk management and expediting
through a 24-hour, seven days a week dedicated
network. Imperial Managed Logistics is the contracting
service provider for all primary freight movement for
brandhouse.

What was the problem? Solution

Imperial Managed Logistics’ partnership with brandhouse What was the solution? Working together, brandhouse
was, initially, a disconnected and transactional and Imperial Managed Logistics developed a real
relationship as a result of various reasons including collaborative partnership within the outsourced primary
management changes and disconnect between the freight environment responsible for DRP and direct
organisations to improve the situation. It was important customer deliveries. Both partners realised that a step
for both parties to regain trust, improve service change was required to rectify the current situation.
levels and reduce wastage caused by poor inventory Changes implemented included the relocation of the
management and delivery execution. Information brandhouse operations to Imperial Managed Logistics’
sharing was limited to a published load execution centrally located command centre in Stellenbosch,
plan, impacted by continuous changes from functional where trained operators have been serving large FMCG
teams, not realising the impact caused to achieve contracts successfully for the past 15 years.This transition,
successful operational execution. Replenishment and together with the introduction of brandhouse’s new
direct customer delivery planning was conducted in high performance DRP team and a dedicated Imperial
isolation, which put immense pressure on the national Managed Logistics key account manager and operations
network’s capability (warehousing and transport), to team, was an instant success.
service customers. Planned loads exceeded inbound
and outbound warehouse handling capacities, creating Imperial developed innovative ways of providing
bottlenecks resulting in excessive turn-around-times both brandhouse and customers with visibility through
and service failures, while insufficient lead times were an internet based platform; a gateway to provide live
allocated to deliveries, and data integrity on load access to operational information, load status, completed
schedules resulted in failed delivery execution and
plummeting customer service levels.

46 the logistics news case study annual 2015