This case history about National Retail Consolidators comes courtesy of Dematic. It has been selected and edited by the MHM editorial staff for clarity, content and style.
National Retail Consolidators (NRC) is a third-party logistics provider that offers distribution outsourcing. Dematic implemented an automated distribution center which delivers on NRC’s pledge of "more cost effective and efficient distributions services than your own operation can provide."
The challenge: providing one stop shopping for retailers
National Retail Consolidators provides the expertise, equipment and facilities to handle distribution more effectively than a retailer could do internally.
Howard Schmitter, Senior Vice President of Consolidation says, "As a consolidator, we have the ability to receive freight directly from vendors, label the cartons, crossdock them and then deliver to their facilities on our trucks. On the deconsolidation side, we can bring in product from the customer’s DC and break it down for them, sending it to another DC or their stores. We really are one stop shopping for retailers. We can be a full extension of anybody’s operations."
As a successful logistics provider, NRC is constantly reviewing their operations to determine how they can provide services more efficiently – as well as more cost effectively. Upon examination, NRC decided to modify their material handling system.
The solution: effectively automate materials handling
National Retail Consolidators chose Dematic as their material handling system supplier. The system supports some 500 retail stores and is designed with a great amount of flexibility built in so that multiple customers can be serviced at the same time. Items move from the in-bound dock to outbound trailers in minutes.
In addition, a team of Dematic service technicians visit NRC four times a year. During these visits, the team provides all the preventive maintenance and parts on the material handling system. The result has been exceptional reliability, reduced part expenditures and a program that ensures maximum up-time and system life.
The results are in
The system has been so successful that it has allowed NRC to close three of the company’s manual consolidation facilities. Schmitter says that the new facility has run very well since startup, considering the complexity of the system and its ability to perform multi-task operations. It has been a huge asset to NRC operations. "We are right where we want to be," he added. "We actually came on line faster than we anticipated."
"We are doing much more in the new facility than the three older facilities, at half the cost and with much greater throughput."
– Howard Schmitter, Vice President of Consolidation, National Retail Consolidators
MHMonline.com welcomes relevant, exclusive case histories that explain in specific detail the business benefits that new software and material-handling equipment has provided to specific users. Send submissions to Clyde Witt([email protected]), MHM Editor-in-Cheif. All submissions will be edited for clarity, content and style.
