This fireside chat recap is from Day 2 of FreightWaves Global Supply Chain Week. Day 2 focuses on retail, building and construction.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: How to take an all-business approach to omnichannel
DETAILS: The rise of e-commerce in the purchase of construction materials and equipment is challenging companies in the building and construction segment to meet customer expectations of quickly, easily and reliably acquiring the tools and materials they need. This session explored the challenges of an omnichannel supply chain and addressed how having the right 3PL partner can solve this complexity, and support increased product availability, simplify returns and reduce order-to-delivery times.
SPEAKERS: Alejandro Del Toro, vice president of distribution, customization, logistics and customers at GE Lighting, a Savant Company; speaking with Brian Miller, supply chain senior director of customer solution development at DHL.
BIO: Del Toro is responsible for the overall operations that move GE Lighting products from Asia and Europe to the U.S. and Canada. He focuses on thinking strategically to optimize both internal resources and external third-party logistics provider resources.
KEY QUOTES FROM ALEJANDRO DEL TORO
“The pandemic threw us a curveball in terms of how to determine what demand is. We’re seeing our volumes spike week after week, month after month. But we didn’t understand how to project what the volumes were going to be. Let’s be real: Some customers didn’t know either, so they were ordering beyond what the actual consumption would be. We don’t know what the demand is going to be … after the vaccinations.”
“I think that in the retail industry, in the CPB industry, we learned a long time ago that our expertise is not necessarily in distribution and logistics. We felt our core business was in developing the products. I think partnering with a 3PL like DHL, we can focus on what is our market and what we need to do with our market. And you guys [DHL] make sure our products are at the right levels of inventory at the right time in the right channels.”
“Partnering with you guys [DHL] has allowed us to move from the low 90s in inventory accuracy to 98s and 99s on a regular basis. That’s a big deal. That’s a big change. Because now, we can make better decisions, manage our cash and inventory way better and make commitments to our customers in a different way.”