Case Study
A national footwear and sportswear retailer was experiencing inventory loss and delivery delays with its final mile provider for its 75 Chicago locations. When its current final mile partner couldn’t resolve the problem, the retailer called in USPack.
USPack’s implementation team built a close relationship with the retailer’s corporate and store teams, gathering critical information to right-size a comprehensive delivery solution. Our delivery solution improved:
The retailer was thrilled: in just a few months, USPack’s final mile delivery solution had eliminated losses for the retailer. Building on the success of USPack’s Chicago/Upper Illinois solution, the retailer is now exploring where USPack’s full-service solution might be applied to locations across the country.
“Our implementations team successfully eliminated order shortages, damages, losses, and eliminated delays”
In the highly competitive footwear market, fast delivery and low shrinkage are essential, especially when it comes to high-demand, limited edition sneakers that can run into the hundreds of dollars. Miss the mark in just one of these areas and, suddenly, meeting consumer demand while preserving margins becomes impossible.
For a national foot and sportswear retailer operating a portfolio of five store brands with 75 locations throughout Chicago and Upper Illinois, making fast, accurate, and loss-free deliveries is a must. With their previous last mile provider, the retailer faced a triple whammy of shrinkage, delays, and unreliability because of two core logistics issues:
Frustrated that their carrier lacked the flexible capacity, security capabilities, and inventory tracking tools necessary to solve their logistics issues, the retailer’s regional executives called in a final mile provider that, in helping remedy a crisis for the retailer, had proved themselves capable of effectively responding to even the most challenging situation: USPack.
After talking with USPack’s Director of Implementation, the retailer became keenly aware of just how much they’d been missing from their old provider: deep Chicago-area logistics expertise, technology knowhow, an ability to develop API integrations, and, an exclusive gamechanger: a dedicated implementations team that could craft and deploy a new delivery solution across all their Chicago locations at once.
Four weeks prior to deployment, USPack’s implementations team integrated with the footwear retailer at the corporate and store levels to learn their area-specific logistics challenges firsthand. Simultaneously, the implementation team rigorously sourced, vetted, and onboarded independent drivers and held mock delivery runs so that each could become familiar with each store’s location. The team readied our Chicago distribution center managers and staff to flawlessly execute the solution from day one.
Terminals, cross-docking, and induction
Depending on the season, up to three line haul trailers, each carrying 1000-1100 cartons of product, arrive at USPack’s Chicago distribution center two to four times a week. Because of the strong communication between the retailer’s logistics team and our terminal managers, the terminals are always properly staffed to quickly handle induction, where product is:
USPack also brought three key time and cost advantages to the final mile solution:
Technology
Emblematic of our commitment to partnership and meeting clients where they are, we trained all our drivers in BearWare, the inventory tracking platform that was already in use across the retailer’s network. What’s more, USPack’s IT team custom-built an API that integrates the e-Courier logistics software we use with the BearWare platform. This ensures the retailer’s store associates can use the BearWare devices, as they’re trained to do so to reconcile deliveries with current stock. The integrated solution allows the retailer’s corporate teams to receive real-time data on delivery performance—everything from driver commute length to arrival times—without moving platforms.
Security
To eliminate inventory shrinkage issues, our entire Chicago distribution center is monitored by security cameras, and we store all the retailer’s high-dollar products in locked security cages. USPack drivers and terminal staff wear distinctly colored vests signifying their roles and access levels and are required to present badges when entering the building. And because we scan every item at induction, terminal pickup, and store delivery, we can use both BearWare and e-Courier to quickly detect, investigate, and report potential theft or shrinkage to the retailer.
Documentation
The implementation team maintains a detailed SharePoint folder containing all resources, including agreements, cost models, routing templates, and communications history that our team relies on to accurately draft employee SOPs and contractor orientation materials. They also share this and other information about the retailer’s Chicago operations with the dispatchers at our dedicated call center, which is available 24/7 should the retailer have any questions or concerns.
The footwear retailer was impressed by USPack’s tailored logistics solution. Backed by our organization-wide capabilities and fueled by a dedication to the retailer’s business, our implementations team successfully eliminated order shortages, damages, losses, and eliminated delays that had been plaguing the retailer with their old provider. In a survey about our logistics performance, USPack received a 5.0 perfect score from the retailer for our combination of professionalism, communications, and on-site support.
Today, the retailer is enthusiastically looking to expand our relationship, eyeing to again embed our implementations team with their locations across the U.S. Our performance and the retailer’s strong trust shows how final mile deliveries from USPack can make even the most renowned retailers more competitive.
