Gaining a warehousing advantage
In today’s retail environment, companies need to be flexible enough to adjust to changing market conditions and customer demands. For retailers, it is about providing the right product, at the right place, and at the right time to take advantage of full price selling.
Working with a major U.S. toy retailer, Ryder was called on to create a solution to enhance the company’s warehousing and distribution operation with the goal of improving inventory utilization and reducing costs. Prior to signing on with Ryder, the retailer was using multiple warehouses for its businesses—pulling from separate inventories for its retail and e-commerce businesses. This model prohibited the retailer from quickly adjusting to market conditions and reallocating inventory as required by the market.
Smart and strategic consolidation
Ryder created a warehousing and distribution center providing the major retailer with the ability to consolidate all its inventories into one, which allowed them to leverage multiple distribution channels from a single place. This was achieved through Ryder's innovative Warehouse Management System (WMS). Ryder and the retailer utilized this technology to support the operational flow and demand of the merchandise—significantly reducing the variable labor to control two inventories.
Ryder also helped the retailer reduce costs by improving its process for picking orders using the WMS technology. This proprietary software allowed Ryder to “batch” orders, “slot” inventory, prioritize picking, and streamline variable labor costs.
30 percent greater productivity—and a lot more fun
In less than 3 years, these effective solutions planned and implemented by Ryder, allowed the retailer to improve productivity by 30 percent, decreased through-put time, and increased customer satisfaction.
In addition, with the consolidated warehouse solution, Ryder allowed creative, value-add services for the special building of products for customized online orders—allowing customers to choose specific products and accessories and have the customized orders shipped directly from Ryder’s facilities to the retailer’s customers.
