Page 49 - Case Study Annual 2015
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deliveries, access to PODs and service levels. Imperial’s to out of stocks or vehicle availability. Load smoothing,
in-house IT department developed a fully customised based on warehouse and transport capacities, assisted
portal, capable of providing full visibility to brandhouse in alleviating some pressure from the year-end peak.
management and staff, Imperial’s warehouse operations Forward planning, information sharing and visibility,
and own management with accurate operational which were previously non-existent, resulted in
information for improved decision making. The essence one of the best executed December peaks in recent
of a good supply chain network is ensuring the correct years.
stock is sent to the right location, at the required time
and anticipated price, by upholding an industry leading Utilising the network and flexibility of co-packers
service level. For the first time the partners were able and strategic business partners such as Namibia
to correctly measure and impact the total network Breweries, further relieved the throughput pressure on
performance, enabling improved decision making and local warehouses, resulting in better stock availability,
timeous intervention to effect overall service levels. focus on more direct shipments from alternative
sources and financial opportunities. brandhouse and
Further changes included a dedicated fleet for local Imperial Managed Logistics executed more direct loads
and certain mid and long distance routes. This was to customers from Namibia in the last six months,
implemented to ensure minimal service disruption compared to the preceding twelve months.
due to seasonal demand. Change management was
one of the largest contributors to the success of the The team has achieved a 44% improvement in
new ways of working. Driving network performance brandhouse’s OTIF (On Time, In Full) performance
through identified key performance indicators allowed measurement with depot replenishment planning and
management of both teams to drive processes and a consistent delivery performance to direct customers
procedures to effect the necessary changes. It changed at service levels in excess of 90%, coming off a base of
the way both partners operate, communicate and below 60%.
collaborate and created a new base for trust within the
partnership. Sustainability – brandhouse and Imperial have built
a mutually beneficial relationship that is founded on
Results commitment to employees, the environment and all
stakeholders. We incorporated rail transport as a means
What is the outcome? to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce congestion
The partnership gained improved network visibility, on our already congested road transportation network.
successful operational execution at all levels and The first phase included returns from Cape Town to
trust. Visibility has been enhanced and all parties are Johannesburg, with the finished goods project currently
now able to view the progress of picking, loading and in its final testing phase.
dispatch, with real-time visibility of vehicle positions
and progress of each delivery. The improvements Going forward?
allowed for 48 hours’ forward planning, visibility and
information sharing by both parties, improved decision With the new base created through the stabilisation of
making and load execution. operations and achieving the required service levels,
the partnership is now able to focus on continuous
This also allowed for an increase in operational improvement and cost saving initiatives that will
control by reviewing and establishing planning benefit all stakeholders. We have moved away from
parameters, not only reducing lead times, but also the silo mentality and are looking at innovative ways of
increasing warehouse throughput capacity. Shared improving our supply chain. We are no longer forcing
load information allows for the identification of risk our functional achievement of goals onto the various
periods/areas and mitigating possible loss of sales due channel partners, but rather collaborating to achieve our
companies’ goals. •
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