Case Study
Uber Freight Control Tower helps BlueTriton mitigate hurricane impact
Results
Solution
Overview
Customer
BlueTriton is a global manufacturer and distributor of bottled waters for healthy hydration, including Ozarka® Brand Natural Spring Water, BlueTriton® Pure Life®, Perrier® and S. Pellegrino®. The company operates 30 factories, 65 home and office delivery branches and four offices throughout the United States and Canada.
Customer Profile
To effectively mitigate the impact of a hurricane, BlueTriton used the Uber Freight Control Tower as its central hub for monitoring its supply chain. As a result, BlueTriton was able to proactively pull capacity from other regions to avoid paying high premiums and ensure shipments were delivered to customers on time.
Overview
Having previously leaned on Uber Freight’s Control Tower to effectively manage its transportation network during holiday demand surges, BlueTriton recognized that this solution would give them the visibility it needed in order to identify potential disruptions and proactively make adjustments throughout the life of the storm.
According to BlueTriton’ National Transportation Director, “BlueTriton’s transportation managers would spend 45 to 90 minutes creating reports. However, a lot can change over the course of an hour during a hurricane, so even reports that were only 60 minutes old often excluded a large number of orders that had gone into the system. We needed a solution that gave us real-time visibility and allowed us to create timely, accurate reports to support our decision making.”
The Uber Freight Control Tower provided a comprehensive, graphical view of all shipments along with customized dashboards that allow Uber Freight and BlueTriton to collaboratively monitor the entire network – both in real time along with a five-day snapshot. Using the Control Tower as its information hub, the two companies held daily calls to examine the status of BlueTriton’s supply chain and make necessary adjustments.
BlueTriton added, “Because the Control Tower is tied to the Uber Freight TMS, all of our transportation information goes into the system quickly and gives a snapshot of our entire network every 15 minutes. We can see orders within minutes of being made and if those loads have been appointed, tendered, tender accepted and more. This helps us focus our attention on shipments or regions where there are issues.”
Each order is classified as one of four categories: past due, at risk, tracking on-time, or delivered. This then allows BlueTriton and Uber Freight to rapidly identify problem areas, such where they would be unable to secure necessary capacity (or be forced to pay high premiums).
“The ability to quickly view the status of every shipment, along with our entire network, in one place enables us to more effectively move around capacity to meet our changing needs,” said BlueTriton. “By knowing almost immediately if an order was not tendered, we can determine if capacity is available in another region of our network before having to pay higher rates in the spot market. This takes strain off of BlueTriton’s procurement operations while helping us meet the financial guidelines we have in place.”
Solution
Communication was also enhanced by allowing authorized personnel from BlueTriton, Uber Freight, the end customer and other supply chain partners to view consistent, up-to-date shipment information, and be able to communicate within the system. Questions can be inserted directly into the system, which Uber Freight can answer quickly based on real-time data in the Control Tower, while maintaining a history of all communications.
BlueTriton added, “The Control Tower enhanced BlueTriton’s interaction with its customers, which previously consisted of emails, phone calls or inserting updates in shared documents online. The Control Tower is easy to use, and key personnel from both BlueTriton and our customers can use it within minutes of training. Now everyone is operating on the same page with consistent, accurate information using an instant communication tool.”
Results
"BlueTriton added, “The Control Tower enhanced BlueTriton’s interaction with its customers, which previously consisted of emails, phone calls or inserting updates in shared documents online. The Control Tower is easy to use, and key personnel from both BlueTriton and our customers can use it within minutes of training. Now everyone is operating on the same page with consistent, accurate information using an instant communication tool.”
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, can significantly disrupt BlueTriton supply chain. Reliance on manual processes left BlueTriton’s transportation managers scrambling to gather information and create reports, which were often no longer accurate by the time they were completed. As a result, BlueTriton lacked timely insight into its network, causing them to be reactive versus proactive in managing supply chain disruptions, and forcing them to pay high premiums in order to secure necessary capacity.
Opportunity
"BlueTriton added, “During a hurricane, minutes matter. Having standardized reports with timely, accurate information is critical to us being able to quickly make data-driven decisions. We can immediately examine the status of our network and develop a strategy based on the data available in the Control Tower, then take action.”
Operational excellence
Real-time supply chain visibility
Uber Freight’s Control Tower allowed Uber Freight and BlueTriton to collaboratively monitor the entire network in real time and quickly examine the status of shipments and regions.
Viewing a five-day snapshot of BlueTriton’s network enabled them to determine where they would be unable to secure necessary capacity and when they needed to source from a different region – ensuring shipments were picked up and delivered to customers on time.
Data-driven forecasting
Allowing BlueTriton’s customers to also view shipment details and ask questions in the Control Tower helps ensure they are up-to-date on the status of all shipments.
End-customer visibility and communication
By using the Control Tower, Uber Freight and BlueTriton no longer have to spend valuable time pulling data and creating reports, and can focus on more critical activities.
Time saved for key personnel
Proactively identifying areas where they would be forced to pay premiums for capacity enabled BlueTriton to make decisions to source from a different region versus using the spot market – helping keep transportation costs down and meet its financial guidelines.
Financial performance
Avoid paying high premiums for capacity
Using the Control Tower as the central hub for all hurricane planning and supply chain monitoring ensured all BlueTriton, Uber Freight and customer personnel were working off of correct, consistent and real-time information.
Confidence & peace of mind
Correct, consistent, real-time information to make decisions
Opportunity