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Building on two centuries' experience, Taylor & Francis (T&F) has grown rapidly over the last
two decades to become a leading international academic publisher. The T&F Group
includes imprints such as CRC Press, Routledge, Garland Science and Marcel Dekker. With offices all over the world, the T&F Group
publishes more than 800 journals and around 2,300 new books each year, with a
books backlist of 46,000+ specialist titles.
The Challenge: Projected growth outstripping existing systems
Taylor &
Francis' U.S. book group was maintaining three separate outsourced warehouses,
groups of staff and business systems, which led to higher operating costs, lower
customer satisfaction, difficulty in tracking inventory, fewer consolidation
opportunities and capacity limitations. With significant business growth
projected, T&F recognized that operating and freight costs would soar if
something wasn't done.
The Solution: A single center, single systems
With
contract expirations looming, Exceed Consulting worked with T&F to consolidate
the outsourced distribution centers into a single distribution center and
customer service call center, controlled by one base business system and
warehouse management system (WMS).
An overall
project schedule was developed. It included the synchronization of facility and
equipment preparations with systems activities, and a detailed plan to transfer
product from the outsourced centers to the new consolidated center.
After
detailing all future needs, operational requirements were defined by the
Exceed/T&F team, forming the basis of an RFP that went to several pre-qualified
WMS vendors. After thorough evaluation, Quality Software Solutions Inc. (QSSI)
won the bid.
In tandem,
potential sites were identified and evaluated. An existing building was selected
that already contained some of the necessary equipment—much of which was
reconditioned and reused to minimize capital expense. In four months, an
integrated packing area, shipping sorter and inline scale/QC area were added
along with additional storage equipment. The large office was also renovated to
staff the new call center and credit department.
In the same
time period, Exceed led the newly hired T&F local management team through the
implementation of the QSSI WMS. This included defining changes to the legacy
base business in order to support the new distribution center's functionality
and configuring the WMS to meet the RFP functional requirements. Test plans were
developed for functional areas, systems and user acceptance. The tests ensured
that the base business system, conveyor, and WMS would function in concert to
achieve T&F's operational goals.
The
Results: Consolidated center generates greater profits, improves response
- A
carefully coordinated move allowed T&F to ship from its outsourced facilities
right up to the date of go-live in the new center
-
Facility
changes gave T&F more than 20,000 reserve locations and 65,000 picking locations
to support its growth
- Five-year
payback on $8MM
"You can't quantify passion or personalization on a project, but it's that
passion that gives an outstanding result, and Exceed has that passion."
- Bill Montour, Taylor & Francis
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