Transplace has been providing supply chain and logistics management services for Sunny Delight Beverages Co. since December 2004.
T
he Sunny Delight Beverages Co. is a leading producer of juice-based drinks in North America and Western Europe. With U.S. headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and European headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, the company produces and markets such brands as SunnyD® Original, SunnyD Intense Sport™ and SunnyD Baja™. Though Sunny Delight (or “SunnyD”) launched in Florida in 1965, the Sunny Delight Beverages Co. was formed in 2004 from brands acquired from Procter & Gamble by J.W. Childs, a Bostonbased private equity firm. At the time of purchase, SunnyD had annual sales in excess of $550 million, and conducted business in eight countries across North America and Europe.
After the sale, SunnyD was charged with developing a new technology and business infrastructure, which included its transportation and shipment systems. When considering a logistics and supply chain solution, the beverage company faced the standard challenges of any company taking control of its transportation network for the first time, plus the additional opportunities that come with the need for specialized refrigerated inbound and outbound cartage at its production facilities. In addition, SunnyD has four U.S. plants, and ships 100 percent of its product directly to customers. Before turning to Transplace, P&G had recommended SunnyD outsource its freight network management to Transplace because of its first-hand experience with the company’s 3PL offering. Transplace’s technology and 3PL expertise proved to be an excellent pairing with the unique needs of SunnyD’s transportation network. As part of the agreement, P&G would provide systems support and transportation management to SunnyD’s operation for a 12-month period, which meant that each of SunnyD’s plants needed shipment consolidation, load planning, carrier management, freight payment & auditing, cost and service reporting, carrier scheduling, a trailer pool, dock scheduling, management of their less than truckload shipments, automated routing guide and engineering services in a very short amount of time. SunnyD chose Transplace after a thorough search based on its reputation for technical expertise and helping clients streamline operations while cutting costs. When SunnyD came to Transplace, it did not
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have private or dedicated fleet to service its North American customer base. Existing carrier contracts were expiring, which meant capacity had not been secured for the ensuing months, which could have been disastrous due to refrigerated capacity constraints. Transplace’s first step was to perform a carrier bid to lock in rates and establish committed carrier capacity for an estimated 30,000 annual refrigerated loads. More than 80 percent of the carriers invited responded to the bid, and Transplace contacted each carrier personally to confirm capacity commitment on individual lanes. A routing guide was also developed for SunnyD that provided reputable, dependable carriers at all locations nationwide. In addition, Transplace managed carrier contracts and provided the services and technology required to arrange loading appointments for customer pickups at each plant. A joint decision was made to implement the outbound portion of freight in two phases. Phase one began in February 2005 to bring SunnyD on-line with only three percent of transactions processed manually. Phase two took place in April 2005 as SunnyD moved to a new ERP system, allowing the company to cut logistical ties with P&G four full months ahead of schedule. This change gave SunnyD 100 percent transaction automation. In the summer of 2005 SunnyD added a new shelf stable product to its mix, but had no dry van carriers because all of its product previously needed refrigeration. Transplace again met the challenge of developing a new carrier base for SunnyD based on very rough estimates, ensuring that the new shelf stable juices were stocked and ready for the product launch. Dedicated delivery trucks were introduced to the SunnyD network in July 2005. By November, the dedicated trucks had moved an average of 1.7 loads per day. SunnyD now enjoys a savings of $160 per load by utilizing the dedicated truck scenario, which equates to an estimated savings of $65,000 annually through use of one dedicated resource. In addition to the cost savings the dedicated trucks helped a capacity issue in that area. Customer service improved by having the same driver making
deliveries to the same customers on a routine basis. SunnyD and Transplace are already planning the addition of two more dedicated resources to secure additional savings. Soon after the initial implementation, SunnyD was anxious to further reap the benefits of cost savings through optimization, and had requested that Transplace perform an analysis of its distribution model. Transplace engineers utilized SunnyD’s most recent sales volume data to identify optimal sourcing for their current customer network. Each customer was assigned to hubs, which represent dense pockets of freight. Each hub was then assigned to a SunnyD plant based on distance and cost. Results of the analysis ensure that SunnyD could now make
Dedicated delivery trucks were introduced to the SunnyD network in July 2005. SunnyD now enjoys a savings of $160 per load by utilizing this scenario, which equates to an estimated savings of $65,000 annually through use of one dedicated resource. intelligent decisions efficiently and timely regarding customer freight sourcing. Whereas P&G previously provided a central staff that developed systems, negotiated rates and performed various tasks, Transplace has enabled SunnyD’s delivery cost to remain comparable to what it was under P&G. An additional luxury of this relationship is that based on changing market and company dynamics, SunnyD can adjust how much, or how little, managed services and technology solutions Transplace provides to achieve the appropriate balance for a successful supply chain. For SunnyD’s customers, the transition from a P&G managed logistics operation to a Transplacerun system has gone virtually unnoticed due to careful planning and Transplace’s ability to rapidly create a logistics infrastructure from scratch—truly a delight for both companies.
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