Situation
Our client, a global information technology services group, required an organization that could design and implement an integrated supply chain model to support a major North American information technology upgrade project. The supply chain needed to incorporate secure, time sensitive transportation planning and execution, inventory management, warehouse management, software and hardware configuration, production scheduling and reverse logistics. The delivery of the configured products to the site was a critical component of the overall process.
Challenges
With a supply chain model of this complexity and scale, we needed to collaborate extensively with the client and stakeholders to successfully execute all of the equipment upgrades throughout North America. The project plan and implementation had a very tight timeline, requiring us to be flexible and adapt to a series of changes – including revised delivery dates and changes to a software protocol in the configuration services – without compromising our client’s project budget, on time performance expectations and commitment to quality.
Actions
We worked collaboratively with the client and created a multi-organization program management team to lead the development and execution of the plan. This team also implemented change control measures to ensure quality and consistency when delivering the project throughout all organizations.
The client used the multi-disciplinary Apple Express Configuration Centre to minimize on-site installation time by pre-staging and packaging equipment. This state-of-the-art centre is staffed with trained information technology professionals and equipped with industry-leading infrastructure, providing scalable configuration services to meet all of our clients’ business requirements.
The logistics model we developed and executed accommodated all our client’s requirements, including maintaining and orchestrating a suite of economical transportation options.
Results
The investment in dedicated, professional staff combined with the rigorous management process, measurements and technology, ensured that the client project was successful.
Key Performance Actions and Statistics:
- Over 70,000 components processed with an end-to-end accuracy of 99.8% during the six-month project.
- Logistics management of more than 200 tons of equipment.
- Lowest cost transportation mode selected 83.0% of the time while exceeding the project’s 98.0% on time SLA.
- Custom critical logistics management conducted with 99.8% on time performance.