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Fastener Product Manufacturer
Consumer Products Distributor
Packaging Products Manufacturer
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Steel Service Centers

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Steel Service Centers
Services: Cost Reduction and Supply Change Process Improvement
Focus: Logistics Strategy Development

Business Challenge:
Following its acquisition by a private equity sponsor and during a period of significant organizational restructuring, our client needed a new Logistics Strategic Plan focused heavily on cost reduction, continuous improvement and organizational alignment. The company was being reorganized into five regional business units, requiring that each develop an attainable logistics strategy with cost savings goals.

Horizon Performance Solution:

• Worked closely in collaboration with a cross-functional team of client personnel; jointly developing ideas, evaluating opportunities and validating various approaches
• Provided dedicated team of resources to complete Logistics Analysis and supported new regional management through development logistics strategies
• Established transportation cost baseline; accumulated and analyzed transportation data from multiple disparate systems across five independent regions
• Completed analysis of current fleet and provided recommendations for improvement, including evaluation of 3PL services vs. operating a private fleet
• Provided recommendations for improving the logistics functions of routing / scheduling, fleet management and network optimization
• Evaluated current data management practices and recommended improvements.
• Revised current performance indicators and management processes to establish more precise tools for measurement and reporting

Results:

• Established a corporate logistics forum for regional stakeholders to exchange “Best Practices”, addressed process and data issues, invited logistics experts to share input on trends, and created an internal portal dedicated to continuous improvement
• Identified opportunities to reduce fixed cost component of dedicated carrier's current cost structure, moving from an average of 45% to less than 20%
• Identified opportunities to minimize shipments from out-of-region service centers that result in a higher cost/ton incurred
• Identified opportunities to consolidate shipments in 3-5 day order window
• Identified over 20 cost reduction and continuous improvement opportunities within the logistics function, including routing/scheduling, network optimization, fleet management and performance management