Category Archives: Case Studies

How a Moving Project Runs Smoothly and Inexpensively

PGL is, and continues to be, an outstanding partner for Flowserve. They are not just a transportation company, but are problem solvers and offer excellent solutions. They go above and beyond to add value where it is needed which is a unique quality in today’s market place.

Rob Lewin
Director of Global Logistics

In April 2017, Flowserve decided to close one of its factories in Boston, Massachusetts and move it holdings to a suburb of Mexico City. The Boston holdings included over 18 tons of equipment that Flowserve needed to relocate across the border.

THE OPPORTUNITY
The global economy has created an environment where hard decisions have to be made to keep a company profitable and competitive. These decisions require turn-key solutions that move at the speed of an executive decision. Such was the case in April 2017, when Flowserve decided to close one of its factories in Boston, MA and move its holdings to a suburb of Mexico City. As part of the move, large and heavy CNC machines required transport, which naturally necessitated a high degree of planning sophistication, and the ability to execute flawlessly.

THE EXECUTION

Flowserve budgeted approximately $125,000 for the transport of their equipment, which also eliminating the need for a significant outlay of cash for a new CNC machine. The location transfer was a complex arrangement. PGL located engineers who could dismantle these valuable CNC machines in their original Boston location. The machinery was broken down, rigged for loading via crane, braced on multiple trucks, and housed in a facility with a wide-enough doorway to accommodate its size. PGL simultaneously found a trusted vendor to manufacture the professional protective wrapping needed for transport, which protected the machine from the elements throughout the haul. To ensure seamless crossing at the border, PGL sent a truckload division manager to the Laredo border crossing. Once the trucks were cleared to cross, PGL flew the engineers to Mexico to ensure that the very same team, which had disassembled the equipment, was on-site to reassemble it in the new location.

THE OUTCOME

Over nine-weeks went into the planning, delivery and assembly process, and the machines arrived fully functional. The entire trucking and reassembly project only took two-and-a-half weeks, guaranteeing that the Flowserve manufacturing equipment was off-line for as short a period of time as possible. Considering a transport job of this complexity, distance and difficulty, few organizations would be willing to burden themselves with full liability. PGL accepted all liability and worked closely with 6 different parties to ensure the move was completed with 100% success and satisfaction.

How Outsourced Logistics Yielded Substantial Returns

Through our partnership with PGL, we found efficiency we could not have managed ourselves, maintained record margins with minimum retailer penalties, and I could watch it all happen with the convenience of the Connect App.

Jason Mooneyham
Sr Director of Operations, Incipio

Complex problems require custom solutions. After trying multiple shipping and logistics providers, the right partner makes all the difference. PGL Connect Technology coupled with decades of experience lead Incipio merchandise to be on time and became more profitable.

THE PROBLEM
Incipio had engaged with other outsourced Logistics Departments before, each failing to maximize the opportunity, leading to use of the wrong mode of transportation and lost profit due to penalties. Providing a valued product is only part of the equation. Keeping retailers supplied is crucial, and PGL knows how to get this done.

THE SOLUTION
Beginning in 2017, PGL was able to augment Incipio infrastructure as well as find new efficiencies. Investigation into their processes revealed that their internal warehousing in Corona California was more a hindrance than help, and the move to use the PGL facility allowed both added capacity as needed, and faster Cross Dock Labeling, an important factor when dealing with retailers. Additionally, this allowed PGL to provide additional value and savings with an Duty
Draw Back program.

PGL SERVICES UTILIZED:

• West Coast Distribution domestically
• Daily stop for all domestic freight out of California
• Weekly Big Box Retailers DC Shipments
• 1 stop shop solution for the customer
• Imported product from Hong Kong via Air Freight

SHIPMENT MODES:

• Air Freight
• Ocean Freight
• Cross Dock while Labeling
• Raw box labeling for each SKU and PO

THE BENEFIT
Incipio was able to realize tangible benefit by reducing penalties from retailers, delivering on time according to their schedules with complete product inventory (On Time In Full) with a monthly savings of $20,000 per month. Making sure that Incipio was in-store on time for their peak season was the highest priority, leading to an astounding 96.5% improvement in OTIF from 28%.

VISIBILITY:

• Created specific custom labels for each retailers specs
• Created the delivery appointments to the retailers

PEAK SEASON:

• 20k Kilos of air freight with 97% on-time
• 1000+ sku’s
• Shipment Counts:
  • 120 Shipments a week
  • 42 pallets out every week
• End Customers delivered to:
  • 30-40 Clients delivered to on a weekly basis
  • Verizon, CVS, Walmart, Best Buy,
  • Telsa, Apple, Voice Com

The Difference Makers:
What factors made the biggest impact for Incipio?

• PGL Connect app and Control Tower: Full visibility of everything they needed to know in one place
• Level of service: Dedicated PGL team with single point of contact
• Industry Expertise: Having intimate knowledge of retailer scheduling and requirements

Supply Chain Visibility and Optimization

The PGL solution provides a complete picture of NEO Tech’s end-to-end supply chain in real-time, including all purchase order (PO) and vendors management.

PGL Company Profile
PGL provides intelligent supply chain solutions that go beyond 3PL. With deep industry experience in the consumer electronics industry, our proposed key differentiators are:

• Control Tower Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Robust Carrier Screening
• KPI Measurements and Reporting
• Project 44 Implementation
  • Real-Time Tracking
  • Predictive Arrival Times
  • Push Notifications
  • Event Management
  • Time-Based Geo-Fencing

Current Technology Customers:
TracFone, NEO Tech, Insight, AVID, and several undisclosed large F500 companies

THE OPPORTUNITY
Over the course of PGL’s eight year relationship with NEO Tech, this high-tech company has successfully optimized their “lowest total cost” model, which is one of their most important initiatives.

NEO Tech first approached PGL to address a number of key issues in their supply chain, including visibility and on-time delivery. Punctual delivery in an economic fashion was Paramount. In order to remain very competitive, NEO Tech focused on its supply chain. With extremely efficient processes, PGL clearly became their first choice and pr eferred logistics partner in getting the job done on time, every time.

THE EXECUTION
PGL developed a system that was able to connect with NEO Tech’s purchase order system and simultaneously, we were able to evaluate lead times. With PGL Connect, Neo Tech management was able to review all orders and decide how to effectively transport each item, with a clear focus on consolidating shipments in their China hubs, at the lowest cost possible. In addition to centralized freight from their over two dozen vendors overseas, they also reduced documentation and customs fees with this unified procedure resulting in reduced number of custom entries.

Additionally, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains, PGL was able to leverage its operational flexibility and Global Enterprise relationship with DHL Express. A shift from traditional airfreight (that was experiencing unprecedented cost increases and space shortages) to small pack services, ultimately led to decreased delivery time, increased on-time performance, and reduced overall expense on Air Cargo.

THE OUTCOME
PGL was able to increase visibility of NEO Tech’s supply chain and purchase ordering system, while giving real-time updates of the status of each PO. PGL’s proactive problem solving style coupled with flexibility, allowed NEO Tech to save costs by consolidating shipments, documentation and custom clearance entries.

How Outsourced Logistics Yielded Substantial Returns

It has been a truly phenomenal experience to work with PGL as our preferred logistics provider from the very beginning. They have been able to signicantly reduce cost, cut numerous ineciencies out of our processes and raise the quality of our supply chain performance at the same time

A net savings of over $20,000 in the last 25 weeks of implementation. Average trans-load freight costs have been cut in half with PGL’s facility. PGL has moved over 27,000 CBMs year-to-date for Pier 1.

THE OPPORTUNITY
With their shipping costs expected to rise within the next year, retail home furnishings giant Pier 1 imports reached out to PGL to start a dialogue about creating a cost-containment strategy for both short and mid-term fluctuations in the market. Pier 1 identified financial advantages to outsourcing the bulk of the supply chain responsibilities to a logistics service provider and confirmed the efficiencies a strategic logistics partnership could create.

In the modern world of retail, efficiencies are everything. Flubbed product releases can create a lack of trust between store locations and the corporate office. Furthermore, without the staff and software to coordinate arrivals and breakdowns at their distribution centers, local freight carriers continued to fall behind, creating long wait times and additional container storage charges. Pier 1 imports needed a dedicated transportation specialist to alleviate the confusion and get their products to the shelves — on time, and in one piece.

THE EXECUTION
To gain a better picture of Pier 1’s transportation and logistics needs, PGL implemented a software and reporting protocol to survey the effectiveness of their current operations. What PGL found was that Pier 1 had been using a number of LTL (less than truckload) carriers as a preferred method of transportation. While this method works for individual pallets, it is often cost-prohibitive when moving large quantities of goods.

In the spirit of the partnership, PGL placed a highly experienced employee on-site at Pier 1, who understood their needs and could simultaneously match those needs with the core competencies of PGL. PGL saw the need for their own distribution center to aid Pier 1 in overflow issues within their DC network. To relieve inventory congestion, a 90,000 sq ft. warehouse was added under PGL to support the expanded footprint. Finally, all warehouse management and billing were consolidated under PGL’s supervision for greater transparency and more consistent Oversight.

THE OUTCOME
The fully integrated software led to substantial ease-of-use when planning Pier 1’s future inventory needs. Face-to-face interaction with PGL’s in-house logistics expert contributed to more immediate problem-solving. The separation of 27,000 CBMs from Pier 1 to a PGL distribution center relaxed that troublesome backup that accounted for late product releases in their previous mode of operation. The disconnect accounted for a significant number of detention charges. PGL created efficiencies for Pier 1’s operational network while also cutting their average transload freight costs in half!

PGL reduced Pier 1’s spend drastically in year 1 and has significantly improved in this performance since. Pier 1’s objective of reducing the bottleneck at their distribution facilities and creating overall efficiencies, while reducing spend, was achieved. The partnership between Pier 1 and PGL created a synergy where PGL has become part of Pier 1’s DNA and is viewed as Pier 1’s go-to for all their logistics needs.

A Partnership Aimed at Consolidated Services

PGL custom-built a proprietary app that mirrors the departures and arrival boards seen at airports, but this app tracks parts shipments for status and location.

The PGL solution provides a complete picture of Spirit’s end-to-end supply chain, in real-time, including where parts and the personnel tasked with repairing them are at any given time.

THE OPPORTUNITY
Over the course of PGL’s five-year relationship with Spirit Airlines, this high-profile company has taken its “lowest total cost” model very seriously. When Spirit approached PGL to resolve a number of key issues in their repair and refurbishment processes, they knew on-time delivery was paramount. Equally, important was ensuring delivery in an economical fashion. Warehousing aircraft parts are notoriously expensive, and requires storage in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. The entire airline industry is highly regulated, where specific protocols must be met to satisfy federal agency requirements.

Warehousing isn’t the only major cost burden to airlines. An inoperable aircraft could cost Spirit upwards of $100,000 an hour. With potential significant losses at stake, Spirit knew that in order to remain competitive, their supply chain provider had to have extremely high responsiveness. They also required 24-hour operations and a team of knowledgeable and dedicated experts. PGL was their first choice to get the job done. Spirit Airlines used an internal inventory department, as well as multiple vendors, who had trouble coordinating with each other. Lack of visibility created oversight problems and Slow-downs.

PGL’s goal was to consolidate vendors, streamline communication and reduce Spirit’s overall spend.

THE EXECUTION
The cost of warehousing needed to be reduced. Operating in tandem, Spirit Airlines, and PGL created facilities in Miami to house new parts. Warehousing older parts would be handled by PGL in Los Angeles (LAX) to ensure our geographical footprint matched the needs of Spirit’s business model. Additional locations in Detroit and San Juan, PR were established by PGL to match the reach of Spirit’s network.

PGL took on all storage transfers, unifying the operations of receiving, warehousing, pick-and-pack, shipping, and billing. To coordinate all of these new operational elements, PGL custom-built a proprietary tracking application that tracks parts shipments for status and location. The custom solution allows for tremendous ease-of-use, providing Spirit with visibility into the location of parts and the personnel tasked with repairing them at any given time.

THE OUTCOME
PGL continues to serve as Spirit Airline’s premier provider for high-value, time-sensitive maintenance and repair operations. PGL handles approximately 90% of Spirit’s global supply chain. PGL’s 24/7 desk communicates with Airbus in Germany to place orders locally with a 3 am close time. The desk creates a turnaround time of next day or up to 48 hours later. From an administrative standpoint, invoices are now handled by a single point of contact, which makes payments substantially easier and requires fewer man-hours spent by the company.

On-time deliveries now exceed the 98% mark, while simultaneously contributing a significant reduction to Spirit’s overall spend.