APPLICATIONS
A look at how DCs are using equipment andservices to rev up their operations
Digital platform takes the guess-
work out of grocery deliveries
New Hampshire grocery supplier streamlines customer communications with FourKites’ supplychain visibility tools.
C&S WHOLESALE GROCERS INC. IS LITERALLY INthe business of keeping the nation fed, supplying more than7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, militarybases, and institutions with over 140,000 different foodand nonfood products. To deliver the goods, the Keene,N.H.-based firm relies on a fleet of about 2,000 trucks and
8,000 trailers across a combi-
nation of private, dedicated,
and third-party transporta-
tion service partners.
Ensuring prompt deliveries is imperative to avoiding spoilage and meetingcustomers’ exacting requirements, so the company hastraditionally devoted considerable time and resources toalerting clients to potentialdelays or missed deliveries. Inthe past, that effort requiredits transportation team toprovide delivery updates tothe customer-service teamthrough a customer relationship management (CRM) software platform, sending updates whenever a shipment wasat risk of missing a delivery window.
Although effective, that system of manually enteringupdates and making phone calls was also resource-inten-sive. In hopes of finding a more efficient solution, C&Srecently turned to FourKites, a technology company thatspecializes in supply chain visibility.
AUTOMATIC UPDATES
As a result of their collaboration, C&S is now using
FourKites’ predictive supply chain visibility platform to
automatically send its customers “C&S Delivery Alerts,”
logic-based messages with updated tracking information—
including when a truck has left the warehouse, when it is
approximately one hour away, and when it has arrived.
The messages, which are sent via text and email, provide
C&S customers with unprecedented visibility into delivery
status, according to the two
companies.
In addition to improving
the customer experience, the
solution has delivered the
efficiencies C&S was seeking.
To date, the C&S DeliveryAlerts system has resulted in a 65% time savingsin communication processes that has reduced internalproductivity loss, the company says. Among other benefits, the system drasticallyreduces calls from retailers,eliminates the need for a dispatcher to monitor and enterupdates into the CRM software, avoids the need for extensive outbound calling, and significantly reduces calls madeby customer service to dispatch teams in search of information, according to C&S.
“It’s all about transforming the customer experience andproviding superior service from orders to delivery. C&SDelivery Alerts give our customers all the information theyneed to plan—from employee schedules to shopper promotions,” C&S Chief Commercial Officer Joe Cavaliere saidin a release. “When customers know when to expect theirdeliveries, they can make operational choices that reducecosts and drive their revenue.” n
