SCDigest
Editorial Staff
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While all three knew that there would be good total freight savings, a key argument for the change in strategy for all three companies was the ability to reduce risk and achieve greater efficiency in manufacturing.
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Retailers have for many years taken the lead in gaining control of inbound freight, first in terms of published routing guides (and penalties for non-compliance) and increasingly with dynamic routing for each shipment, as companies such as The Bon-Ton Stores, JC Penney, Dillard’s, Stage Stores, and many others have implemented (see SCDigest Videocast on the Bon-Ton inbound TMS case study).
Industrial companies have been comparatively late to the party. But, perhaps as some of their customers take control of the shipper’s outbound freight, and also to reduce transportation costs and achieve better overall supply chain performance, an increasing number of manufacturers are also making the move.
That was the story from three manufacturers at the recent CSCMP 2008 conference in Denver: equipment maker John Deere, gaming system manufacturer WMS, and consumer baking products company Continental Mills. Each is in the early to mid-stages of taking control of inbound freight.
The catalysts were somewhat different in each case.
Keith Conway, director of logistics and traffic for WMS, said for his company that the key was the hiring of a new VP of Procurement who “shared the same thoughts about the opportunities for taking control of inbound,” that he did, versus the control procurement traditionally had at the company in terms of buying components and commodities with bundled freight from suppliers.
While all three knew that there would be good total freight savings, a key argument for the change in strategy for all three companies was the ability to reduce risk and achieve greater efficiency in manufacturing.
For example, Jonathon Peebles, Manager of North American Logistics for John Deere, said his company had little visibility into inbound freight arrival from its 3300 suppliers, a theme the other two panelists also echoed.
(Transportation Management Article - Continued Below)
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