Case Study #3
Distribution Centre Success

Ensure successful delivery of inventory to a newly-won national retailer

Our client, a fabric bag manufacturer out of Australia, was entering the Canadian market. After selling direct-to-consumer and in small boutiques for about five years, they signed an agreement with a national bricks-and-mortar retailer. 

As with every major North American retailer, the order needed to follow the instructions outlined in the 200+ page vendor guide or risk facing penalties such as fines if mis-packed or refusal to accept inventory. These penalties could lead to lost profit margin, lost time on the retailer’s store shelves, missed promotions and damage to the distributor’s relationship with the retailer. 

The Australian client received the vendor manual but trusted us to ensure the directions were all met.

Our Project Manager owned the pathway to ensure compliance with retail handbook

Our Project Manager took the responsibility of directing all of the teams involved: picking/packing, warehousing, shipping and couriers and handled all communications.

Adhering to packaging instructions included these tasks:

1. Applying the retailer-supplied hang-tag to each unit
2. Orders that were picked and packed for each store location
3. 100% quality confirmation of packed orders (UPC scan)
4. Electronic submission of order and notification of substitutions or omissions
5. Shipping cartons clearly labeled with: 
• Store Number
• Shipping address
• Carton contents
• Vendor name and ID number (per Retailer’s system)
• Carton number and the number of cartons (ie “Box 4 of 6”)
6. Consolidating all cartons on CHEP pallets and electronic transfer of CHEPs
7. Skid tags indicating boxes and stores contained on that skid

Adhering to Shipping instructions included these tasks:

1. Electronic request for a delivery appointment
2. Transportation with retailer-prefered courier to retailer’s Distribution Centre (DC)

Client solidified new retail relationship and boosted sales by $150,000

The shipment went off without a hitch. Our client was happy that they didn’t have to read the whole manual or manage the details – they could concentrate on product development and sales from their Australian office. More importantly, they secured an additional $150,000 in sales annually from this change in retail distribution strategy. 

Note: This case is based on Five & Counting’s owner’s experience within another company