Case Study
A construction materials company drives distribution productivity, demonstrating the power of network redesign
Solution
Customer
Customer profile
Strength, stability, and safety—these are the three pillars one of the nation’s leading construction materials companies is known for. They’re qualities that are critical when your product is items like braces and wall support brackets for residential, commercial and industrial projects. To maintain this reputation and its status as an industry leader, everything about the company’s operations embodies those qualities.
In 2020, however, factors like the tight freight market and supply disruptions began to challenge the brand’s operations—and threatened both customer satisfaction and ROI.
Its supply chain network was at risk: complexity and inefficiencies often left the company scrambling to meet demand. And with demand forecasted to grow 28% by 2026, the company realized its existing network footprint and distribution model couldn’t continue to scale. The company needed to bolster its supply chain and prepare for growth, while minimizing costs.
At a referral from a former customer, the company approached Uber Freight Consulting in 2021 for assistance with its network footprint and fulfillment challenges. After this initial engagement, the Consulting team helped redesign the distributor’s network from top to bottom, introducing unprecedented levels of efficiency and organization that helped the company deliver goods to customers with ease and speed.
Opportunity: National building materials manufacturer sees opportunity to drive productivity
Opportunity
To learn more about how Uber Freight Consulting can optimize your supply chain network, contact us today.
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Throughout the engagement, Uber Freight worked closely with the company’s internal teams, conducting collaborative sessions and providing comprehensive reports with maps, charts, and graphs. The Consulting team simplified the complexity of the company’s internal distribution workflows by aggregating product categories and SKU groups, better enabling informed decisions at scale.
As a result of the network design initiatives, the company is now applying the insights from those projects to warehouse design and deployment. In essence, that network improvement project helped the company improve all supply chain touchpoints. After the network redesign, the company worked with Uber Freight Consulting on warehouse design and deployment projects, continuing the engagement.
By rethinking the placement of distribution centers, manufacturing locations, and inventory management, Uber Freight helped the company enhance its supply chain efficiency, reduce costs, and effectively serve its customers. By harnessing strategic supply chain optimization, the Consulting team helped drive business growth, allowing the company to meet the demand for its building solutions.
In a final phase of transformational work, Uber Freight Consulting designed new facility strategies utilizing a right-fit strategy to assess a spectrum of automated solutions, from fully manual fulfillment to lights-out. Balancing the investment requirements against cost reduction potential, the team settled on a hybrid solution including AGVs, pallet and case flow-rails, and VLMs. Together, these changes achieved a reduced overall footprint, higher throughput, and a three-year payback on investments. This reduced the company’s dependency on the tight labor market, and created a framework that could be expanded through their full distribution footprint.
With new facilities launched and full facility deployment scheduled to happen within the next year, the organization is poised for future growth. Lower risk and improved efficiencies further set them apart from their competitors and help to achieve the stability, strength and safety objectives they envisioned from the onset.
Results: Newly optimized network accelerates operations—and informs warehouse design strategy
Results
This company’s network redesign work with Uber Freight Consulting unfolded across three stages, with the scope of work expanding at each turning point. Initially, the Consulting team conducted a network redesign for this company’s largely untapped northeast region, specifically focusing on the location of distribution centers.
Using powerful networking modeling tools and proven methodologies, Uber Freight Consulting analyzed supply, demand, and distribution costs. The team employed a center of gravity analysis to identify an ideal location to enter into a new local market, while minimizing cost. By analyzing customer demand and gathering information from salespeople, the company brought its supply chain network closer to a center of demand, enabling growth and reducing cost per unit.
Following the success of the first project, the organization engaged Uber Freight Consulting for a network design in the center of the country, exploring the possibility of relocating a distribution point to free up space for expanding manufacturing operations. Uber Freight analyzed the potential cost and space implications of different locations for a new distribution center, from Ohio to Texas to the West Coast. Using leading optimization tools and methodology, the team uploaded demand data, conducted a center of gravity analysis, and evaluated different scenarios for optimal distribution center placement. By considering factors such as cost reduction and efficient product delivery, the Consulting team made a proven recommendation for the new location. The new location offered a 3% improvement in same-day service level, plus a modeled cost reduction of over $17 million.
In 2022, the collaboration continued with a national project involving the modeling of the company's entire supply chain, greatly expanding from the initial project. This project focused on evaluating manufacturing locations and distribution points to optimize cost and efficiency. Uber Freight helped determine the most cost-effective manufacturing locations for various products based on a variety of factors. Some manufacturing was moved to regions in which particular products are most used. In one instance, the company moved the manufacturing of braces designed to mitigate earthquakes from a northeast plant to its California facility, much closer to the center of demand. The Consulting team also supported the company in identifying the optimal placement of distribution centers for its future expansion.
Solution: Rethinking network strategy and warehouse planning
“...BASF was able to gather and analyze data to better understand how its business compares to others within the chemical industry and throughout the entire Uber Freight network.“
Uber Freight Consulting designed new facility strategies utilizing a right-fit strategy to assess a spectrum of automated solutions, from fully manual fulfillment to lights-out.
Industry
Construction
Size
3,000 employees
Location
HQ in California
A construction materials manufacturer that provides solutions for multifamily and commercial residences.
Location
HQ in California
A construction materials manufacturer that provides solutions for multifamily and commercial residences.