A messy 2021 peak shipping season spelled disaster for Wineshipping , a third-party-logistics services provider (3PL) serving the U.S. wine industry. A series of management issues and changes in 2020 left the company vulnerable as 2021 peak season approached, coinciding with a pandemic-driven uptick in demand for its services. That season, just 68% of the company’s shipments went out on time, and outbound package costs increased by 26% despite an increase in volume and only a 9% labor increase—all of which led to cancelled contracts.
That’s when Wineshipping’s leaders turned to supply chain consulting firm Argon & Co., which used its expertise in warehousing and supply chain design to orchestrate a new beginning. Company leaders described the project in a case study presentation at the Warehousing Education and Research Council’s (WERC) 2024 Annual Conference in Dallas this week.
The project included an IT overhaul, installation of new material handling systems, and extensive employee training—across the company’s five warehouse facilities. The nine-month project had all facilities up and running by peak season 2022 with game-changing results: inventory accuracy improved from 55% to 99.2%; late orders fell by 95%; and cost-per-unit dropped by 20%. And those on-time shipments? That metric rose to 98%.
The 3PL is keeping those achievements in check with weekly performance metric guidelines that have set a new course for the company’s future, according to the presentation.
WERC 2024 is being held through Wednesday, June 5, at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
