Logistics

Enhancing your profitability through logistics solutions

McLane Advanced Technologies (MAT) takes a strategic approach to solving your logistics and supply chain issues. The methodologies and processes MAT has created are based on over 100 years of commercial and defense logistics experience. This expertise and knowledge is the driving force behind the solutions and services we provide.

MAT's logistics solutions will improve your efficiency and lower your operating costs. We help leverage the best logistics processes and latest technology to optimize your supply chain and maintain a competitive edge.

Your business runs on efficiency. Whether it’s the layout of your warehouse or the management of your inventory, all of your functions must be running on all cylinders for you to maximize your profitability. Our logistics solutions and services focus on helping improve operational performance.

• Increase sales, gross margins and profitability
• Reduce inventory and investment
• Improve fill rates and customer service
• Increase labor productivity and shipment accuracy
• Reduce transportation costs

McLane Advanced Technologies: Warehouse Management System Pioneer

McLane Advanced Technologies grew from a rich knowledge in distribution and supply chain operations. From the enterprise platform created with the McLane Company distribution model to the modernization of the United States Army's maintenance systems (SAMS-E) and the partnership with Microsoft for an embedded Warehouse Management System (WMS), MAT has a solution to improve your logistics and supply chain operations.

Warehouse Management Past Performance

Case Study: MDS Enterprise Supports Web-Based Grocery Company

Case Study: MDS Enterprise Enhances Wholesaler’s Distribution System

CASE STUDIES

PEAPOD

Supporting online supply and delivery requirements for web-based grocery company

Peapod operated under a centralized distribution model with two formats: warehouses and warerooms. Peapod required a scalable warehousing system that would accommodate the company’s growth. MDS worked with Peapod’s existing centralized distribution model and allowed Peapod to design a warehouse that supported efficiency and accuracy in order fulfillment.

Peapod required multiple shop features, including: weekly specials, visibility of new items, tracking of item by brand name, product type, and discounted items. MDS provided an expanded application to support daily activities which included: purchasing, receiving, warehouse management, invoicing, customer pricing, and delivery. Peapod ultimately retained more control over inventory and logistics under this model. MDS also allowed Peapod’s customers to place orders up to seven days a week for delivery as soon as next-day, or up to two weeks in advance. MDS capabilities enabled Peapod customers to choose the day of delivery and specify time of delivery within a two hour window.

Peapod sought to leverage buying information to make higher volume, lower priced purchases. MDS provided costing data that allow Peapod buyers to define and track each of the components that make up an item’s true cost. In the end, this provides a more clear and detailed picture of profitability.

To provide consistent 24 hour/7 day/365days of the year distribution operation, MAT provided Help Desk support. As customer issues arose, appropriate Help Desk personnel were assigned to diagnose and correct errors. MAT provided Peapod with workable solutions to problems quickly. When an issue was not resolved MAT provided workaround solutions until a final resolution was reached. To perform these tasks MAT used the most widely accepted IT service management system, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®). ITIL® is the only consistent and comprehensive best practices documentation for IT Service Management focusing on people, processes, and technology issues that IT organizations face.

MDS provides Peapod with the ability to provide fast next-day delivery, in to 1500 zip codes and 225,000 customers in several major metropolitan areas, and enables them to handle a high volume of individual smaller orders for home delivery. MAT has accommodated Peapod’s 25% year-over-year sales growth. MAT supported Peapod’s two 75,000-square-foot warehouses, and multiple "warerooms" located adjacent to partner stores, for 24x7 operations. Each warehouse is stocked with 8,000-plus products and has over 40 personnel with 661 rows.

Since its inception, Peapod has delivered more than 10 million orders. MDS enables Peapod to successfully process and deliver groceries to 12,700,000 individual households while accommodating a 25% annual growth rate.

PINE STATE TRADING COMPANY

Enhancing wholesaler’s distribution system to interface with forecasting software

To support the distribution needs at Pine State Trading Company, one of the top 25 leading convenience store wholesalers in the country, McLane Advanced Technologies (MAT) provided the McLane Distribution Systems (MDS) Enterprise software.

Pine State Trading utilizes the MDS application to distribute products to convenience stores throughout New England. The 550 employees at Pine State Trading use MDS to serve and support more than 4,000 customers with this robust and scalable total end-to-end operating system. The company handles more than 19,000 products through five distribution centers.

To evaluate Pine State’s current infrastructure footprint, MAT conducted a gap analysis to determine how to align Pine State Trading Company’s productivity enhancement needs with MDS to achieve the efficiency and cost savings benefits incorporated into the MDS system. The analysis included the identification, review, and evaluation of current processes and work flow. Because warehouse configuration and setup for MDS is user-defined, MAT mapped Pine State’s infrastructure processes to the business rules in MDS. This map enabled the customer to prioritize recommendations for better use of MDS’s automated solutions.

As a result of this review, Pine State chose to use forecasting software not already integrated into MDS. Pine State requested MAT customize their existing forecasting software that tracked inventory and labor performance management by creating an interface from this forecasting software to MDS. MAT successfully inserted this external system and was able to provide a cost effective implementation due to flexibility incorporated into MDS. In this instance, MDS was agile, flexible, and expandable enough to minimize implementation and lifecycle support costs.

Throughout implementation, MAT Program Managers and Engineers conducted tests to validate the functionality and make an assessment of missing components. MAT followed the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) process improvement model to develop the specific products and services Pine State needed. MAT also used documentation standards specified by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Together, these standards provide a common frame of reference which MAT used to consistently produce complete, coherent development and testing.

MAT provided classroom and one-on-one training, as well as training material and hands on exercises. Training was developed to directly reflect Pine State’s existing work practices.

In 2007, Pine State achieved an estimated $155.3 Million in annual sales. MDS allows Pine State to offer their customers custom retail pricing, custom retail interfaces, and multiple reports. All of this functionality helps to produce maximum profits for their customers with minimum customer preparation, downtime, and maintenance. Pine State is able to offer customers, 24 hour/7 days a week customer support backed by MAT’s help desk support.