Implementing tools such as Visual Daily Management boards and A3 problem solving has helped empower team members, reduce costs, and improve performance for the leading electronics manufacturer. Quantified value provided: 30-day transition without service disruption; Team members trained & certified in Lean; 80% reduction in cost of damaged goods; 10% reduction in overtime and10% reduction in shipping supply costs.
Successfully Transitioning Multiple Warehouse Operations
The Background
In 2019 Sunland Logistics Solutions helped a leading electronics manufacturer to successfully transition two operations within their warehouse network under an expedited timeline in order to be ready for the peak season without causing service disruptions to their customers.
The first opportunity awarded to Sunland was transitioning two existing operations to a 200,000 SF warehouse in Aurora, IL. This operation is responsible for inbound and outbound management of finished goods for multiple value streams and provides a wide scope of specialized value-added services including configuring electronic kiosks for McDonald’s, tablet configuration for Ford, and flash testing for cameras, and RAM inserts for laptops.
A few months later the Fortune 100 company leading in integrated technology solutions for business and consumer electronics selected Sunland Logistics to manage its 100,000 SF eCommerce fulfillment operation in Savannah, GA to team manage finished goods, returns, and shipments to customers (including Amazon) through a Vendor Direct Fulfillment program.
The Problem
Why would a large company with such a well-established supply chain decide to transition its fulfillment and distribution center to Sunland Logistics Solutions when it already had multiple third-party logistics providers in its network?
Despite attempts to help their previous third-party logistics providers to improve performance, both of Panasonic’s existing 3PL providers were failing to meet service expectations and lacked a culture of continuous improvement. With multiple business divisions in a dynamic and quickly growing market, the manufacturer needed a strategic partner to become an extension of their team who could help drive innovations and efficiencies in their supply chain.
The Solution
Sunland’s team agreed to execute an expedited timeline in order to support the manufacturer’s need to be prepared for peak season with a collaborative, performance-driven provider in place. The Aurora transition into a new building was completed in 30 days. Savannah’s transition was done in two phases. The first phase was taking over the existing facility which was also completed in only 30 days. The second phase entailed moving the operation to a new facility located in the Georgia International Trade Center and this was completed in 9 days. Sunland’s cross-functional Transition Team created a detailed project plan that incorporated both a timeline and owners for critical to success factors including (but not limited to): staffing, solutions design & facility preparation, and systems.
The Results
Sunland successfully executed both the Aurora and Savannah warehouse operation transitions with an expedited timeline on time and on budget.
To ensure ongoing success, Sunland established its relationship management process with an account owner structure to create multiple points of organizational alignment. As Panasonic’s new strategic 3PL partner, Sunland has invested in Lean training and focused leadership for both operations teams to begin instilling a culture of continuous improvement. Implementing tools such as Visual Daily Management boards and A3 problem solving has helped empower team members, reduce costs, and improve performance for the leading electronics manufacturer.
- 30-day transition without service disruption
- Team members trained & certified in Lean
- 80% reduction in cost of damaged goods
- 10% reduction in overtime
- 10% reduction in shipping supply costs
”"As Sunland continues to focus on continuous improvement, they challenge both themselves and [our team]. “They’ve been highly engaged, from top leaders to analysts. With a key strategic relationship, we can rely on them to make us better."
Vice President, Global Logistics
