BACKGROUND
Mobiles and laptops have dominated e-commerce sales. Fashion, lifestyle, home, and consumer electronics are the marketplace’s top-selling categories. The focus on sales of large appliances is comparatively less because it is particularly challenging to deliver these products quickly, consistently, and in a viable manner. For instance, getting a washing machine or a television delivered to a customer is far tougher than delivering a smartphone or a pair of denims. However, in the coming years, the large appliances category is predicted to be the one that drives revenue growth. The Company (customer) began operating in the heavy and bulk segment in the year 2015 for the Indian market. The heavy and bulk category caters to all large items such as white goods, furniture, TV, etc. With rising consumer expectations, logistics and an efficient supply chain act as an enabler to drive customer satisfaction and deliver exceptional customer experience. The Company realized the need to have a separate supply chain arm for the delivery of these units to the end consumer. Looking at the various complexities in the supply chain and keeping its promise of customer experience to the fore, the Company decided to work with a single partner for this segment across the nation. A partner who could be trained as per its processes and then deliver on agreed processes and SLA to achieve the targeted customer experience.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
- Delivering to the customer location at a specific time slot as desired by the customer
- Handling returns and reverse logistics
- Safety and compliance in the handling of material as desired by the customer
- Manage peak and festive delivery during the course of the year
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
The Company selected Mahindra Logistics as its partner for this initiative after intense scrutiny of our capabilities and our willingness to rise to the challenge. We realized that it was important to create a plan to overcome the challenge listed down by the Customer and increase efficiency in their Supply Chain Management. Sticking to the basics, we considered the 4 main aspects of an efficient supply chain to deliver excellence.
LOCATION
A key focus area for the Customer & Mahindra Logistics was to identify the right locations for distribution across the shortlisted cities and towns, to optimize transportation costs and SLA.
- Mahindra Logistics pan India reach played a major role in covering tier 1, 2 & 3 cities and then gradually connecting other smaller towns for complete coverage.
- The placement of facilities and fulfillment centers was the next step to create an effective supply chain. Strategically placed delivery centers were opened across the country to align the forward and reverse transport operations including payment collection and reconciliation.
TECHNOLOGY
At Mahindra Logistics, technology is an important driver to achieve success for all our customers. Through advanced technology, we ensure high visibility, efficiency, and responsiveness.
- 24/7 Helpdesk Support
- Enhanced visibility for decision making
- GPS/ Non-GPS tracking | Track vehicle movement and route performance
- Performance analysis | Close monitoring
Requisite IT infrastructure and software were set up to carry out the operations in a seamless manner.
Mahindra Logistics proprietary Control Tower was looped in to ensure full visibility of the shipments which was a critical aspect for operations. The Control Tower Operations (CTO) at Mahindra Logistics is the epicenter of everything we do. The tracking of all movements, goods, or passengers is taken care of, round the clock, by the CTO. Control tower operations ensure high visibility, efficiency, and responsiveness in operations facilitated by technologies and skilled representatives.
TRANSPORTATION
Vehicle selection and fleet management ensured optimum vehicle utilization, to ensure projected transaction volumes were fulfilled.
Various innovations with driver training and material management were undertaken, to ensure safety and compliance on the road.
IMPROVEMENT & CONTROL MEASURES:
- A monthly governance process was undertaken to ensure that the project was monitored and steered by senior team members of both the organizations, to drive continuous improvements.
- Material stacking standards were adopted to ensure optimal utilization and lower damage.
- Continuous improvement of processes to simplify and accommodate more checks and inspection points were implemented to achieve top-notch quality in service delivery.
- Last-mile safety measures such as usage of trolley strapping for the safety of goods were also implemented.
- Processes were set up and managed to enable slot-based delivery.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
Today Mahindra Logistics’ manages and works collaboratively with the entire heavy and bulk delivery category across various cities and towns. We demonstrated consistent improvements, flexibility, and stock accuracy matching the demand signals, thereby boosting the supply chain efficiency to ensure that the purchases are delivered to the customers in the allocated time and within promised delivery SLA.
- Optimum utilization of available resources – vehicle space, capacity, and manpower
- On-time delivery SLA of 98 %
- Technology-enabled visibility & control
- Cost optimization by vehicle space optimization
