For 30+ years Metro Supply Chain has partnered with a leading Office Equipment Company to provide an ever-evolving array of 3PL service offerings. As technology changed and their business needs expanded, Metro Supply Chain was able to offer this client end-to-end technology lifecycle solutions that saved their business time and money and streamlined their supply chain.
Transportation management
This partnership initially began with Metro Supply Chain’s transportation management services. Metro Supply Chain’s white-glove team would pick up orders from various distribution centers and deliver their products to destinations throughout Southern Ontario. By using Metro Supply Chain for this service, the Office Equipment Company was able to save money by eliminating the fixed costs of a dedicated fleet. This also reduced delivery times with a larger fleet, and increased customer satisfaction.
Metro Supply Chain now delivers products across Canada for this client, including Western regions, Quebec, and the Maritimes. What began as a few hundred activities for the client has grown to over 6000 activities per month coast-to-coast.
Configuration and field services
Since Metro Supply Chain was already delivering complex technology to its destination, the next technology lifecycle solution added was to offer staging and configuring services, which could be done prior to arriving at the customer’s location.
Metro Supply Chain’s teams learn the technology knowledge they need for staging and configuring, and then provide basic user training to the Office Equipment Company’s customers at the time of delivery. Units are also often pre-loaded with customer specific information, which reduces the need to dispatch company technicians to finish the installation. It also allows delivery and removal to happen at the same time. Plus, products can be activated on the day of delivery, getting up and running right-away and minimizing down-time.
Warehouse management
Metro Supply Chain warehouses equipment nationally for this client. By leveraging Metro Supply Chain’s existing coast-to-coast network, the company can warehouse products closer to customers, further streamlining the logistics supply chain. This reduces hand off and inbound product lead time. Inbound product is received from the OEM’s manufacturing sites where it is warehoused, configured, and delivered by one operations team. This model uses all the advantages of shared operations and management across the country. The Office Equipment Company is able to redeploy its Operational and IT investments into their core business and concentrate on client interactions while leaving fulfillment and required infrastructure to the experts at Metro Supply Chain. Moving inventory closer to customers shortens lead times, creating higher availability, and reducing transportation costs.
Spare & critical parts management
The Office Equipment Company had previously used an insourced model for their parts and supplies and wanted to shift this business to a 3PL provider, with the goal of re-aligning the operations/cost model. By outsourcing the warehousing and distribution to Metro Supply Chain, many dedicated operations were eliminated. This allowed for immediate savings through operational closures and the use of shared resources.
Once Metro Supply Chain started managing this business, they assessed volumes and redistributed product to three key locations across Canada. This reduced the locations from 10 and shortened fulfillment timelines while improving customer satisfaction. Metro Supply Chain was able to optimize outbound distribution through its network to exceed former shipping times while significantly reducing overhead.
Metro Supply Chain optimized picking productivity and the related outbound distribution of both parts and supplies. With over 150,000 items being processed every month, Metro Supply Chain consistently exceeds service level agreements (SLA’s) with 99.99% order accuracy, turnaround time, and on time distribution.
Reverse logistics optimization
As part of their end-to-end technology lifecycle solutions, Metro Supply Chain also manages the return of used parts and supplies for the Office Equipment Company. Metro Supply Chain triages products locally for re-use, recycling, or return for remanufacturing. Through this program Metro Supply Chain uses two facilities to consolidate products and make decisions to eliminate unnecessary shipping of products. Over 1,000,000 pieces are processed every year, so optimization and consolidation of this operation is of the utmost importance. Enhanced reporting also assists in the client’s goals of reducing the impact on the environment.
Numerous sorting locations were eliminated, and local waste diversion has been a key element of this program for the client. Metro Supply Chain’s partnership with couriers also increased savings through consolidation and reduction in distance shipped.
Extending technology lifecycles with refurbishment and parts retrieval
The office equipment business often involves refurbishment of returned equipment that still has significant life left. The Office Equipment Company was managing a complex reverse logistics program whereby returns would be sent to numerous locations in Canada and the US for processing, incurring unnecessary shipping costs. Metro Supply Chain brought this service in house and enhanced the operation by keeping the initial processing in Canada. Only products that are required to go to the US are sent across the border which results in significant shipping and handling savings.
Metro Supply Chain has the OEM certification needed to process the refurbishing of the equipment. Metro Supply Chain triages units and determines the disposition: repair, recycle, or salvage. Metro Supply Chain’s solution shortened OEM processing times for the client, and local management of stock enabled quicker turnaround on orders. Over 2000 complex repairs/refurbishments are processed every year in this department.
Items identified for salvage are sent to a separate in-house department where parts that have not reached their end of life are harvested for re-use. This reduces service costs and the impact on the environment. Two locations across Canada are used today to optimize local processing and reduce shipping lanes. With over 30,000 pieces being harvested every year, expedited same day shipping and technician calls for pickup services have also been implemented. This enhanced the speed of this high demand, and high service level requirement offering from the company.
From regional delivery to a national network of warehousing, spare parts, and reverse logistics, Metro Supply Chain has built a comprehensive end-to-end technology lifecycle solution for this Office Equipment Company. By partnering with Metro Supply Chain, the client can concentrate on their core technology and business competencies, while Metro Supply Chain, the 3PL experts, provide a worry-free streamlined supply chain solution.
