Consumer goods manufacturers

Background

A, a manufacturer of fast-moving consumer goods doing business in ten countries throughout Asia, wanted to curtail its growing expenses and secure both speed and quality of distribution throughout the region. Another key issue was creating a system and infrastructure for ongoing refinements.

Proposals

Established global operations system

Our local subsidiary assisted in logistical management (area 3PL), as well as area management (global 3PL) in Japan. Our 3PL team manages and acts as a general point of inquiry for all 3PL-related concerns across our service areas, suggesting potential improvements to clients. This allows our clients to focus on their planning and strategy and the global aspects of their business, while leaving the shipping to us.

KPI management

Implementing this system allowed for members in each country to access the same data, doing away with any black box issues. KPIs were set for each work process in order to drive continuous improvements across the changing logistics ecosystem.

Information sharing

Regular meetings are held with the client, with information aggregated on KPIs and other performance metrics. Case studies on logistics improvements made at each site are then laterally applied to other sites.

Bid management

We employed a bidding system with multiple logistics companies in each country and region. We established a series of specific numerical evaluation guidelines used to select the optimal firms.

Maritime freight rates obtained

Maritime estimates polled in Japan, at site of lading, and site of discharge In addition, estimates are periodically polled for further cost reductions.

Outcome

• We achieved an initial 10% reduction in logistics fees. Additional 20% cost reduction in route-related logistics fees
• The marketing division was also in charge of managing distribution. By allocating them exclusively to this task and by ramping up logistics management functionality without hiring additional personnel, we were able to drill down to core competencies.
• We installed globally universal rules and use KPI and issue management to make ongoing suggestions for improvement to the client. We adopted issue lists in order to share issues and cut down on business process expenses by improving order intake units
• Shifted from packing method at departure point to new packing method taking into account the recycling needs of arrival point