A story of how our flexible end-to-end supply chain solutions helped a retailer go all the way
The customer
Our customer is a leading e-commerce retailer of furniture and home-goods in the United States. A mix of over 15,000 employees, technology, and innovation allows the company to offer an easy online shopping experience to their customers who can choose from over 14 million items.
The challenge
Fast growing online business, global manufacturing and sourcing strategies, and over 12 million square feet warehouse space increased the need for optimal supply chain configurations that could increase cost efficiency and product availability.
The establishment of a fulfillment network in the U.S. and Europe led to further operational difficulties in terms of visibility and control of their suppliers’ inbound flow for both domestically and internationally sourced shipments.
The Maersk solution
Maersk organised a cross-functional workshop which included the participation of both organisations’ CEOs to explore new ways to deal with the challenges the customer was facing. During the workshop three workstreams have been identified by subject matter experts
- Origin management including carrier booking agent, export customs clearance, and transportation from the suppliers’ factory, either to the port of export or to one of Maersk’s container freight stations (CSF) where consolidation and loading were organised.
- A seasonal ocean allocation product with a 15% built-in Flex above and below the weekly forecast was launched.
- Implementation of digital solutions to increase control through end-to-end visibility and data integration.
We made a lot of progress and clarified a lot of questions. Maersk’s team was perfect, and we could not have asked for more
The result
We offered a uniquely designed end-to-end supply chain solution including origin management, carrier booking support, trucking and drayage, export customs clearance, and a flexible ocean allocation product combined with a scalable IT platform to optimise data integration. This resulted in
- Optimised product positioning across networks to meet the end-customer demand and ensure product availability.
- The expansion of the warehousing and distribution network in the U.S. and Europe to be placed in a position for continued growth.
- Automated IT platform that resulted in both control and visibility through data integration that was designed as a simple plug and play model to enable business expansion across the globe.
Flexibility to shape your retail supply chain
The integration of ocean and logistics services provides us with a unique advantage - the flexibility to tailor solutions according to your needs for both single products and product bundles. This includes finding different ways of transportation and alternative routes to handle supply chain disruptions if needed.
To determine which option will be the most effective for your business, contact us.
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