Shorr Packaging Gains Real-Time Visibility into All Deliveries and Cuts Routing Time by 87%
As a leading distributor of packaging solutions, products and services, Shorr Packaging understands the importance of streamlining its logistics operations. When confronted with inefficiencies from manual routing and lack of delivery visibility, the company initiated a strategic overhaul to leverage digital tools and enhance its service capabilities.
Zebra Success Story: Shorr Packaging
Overview: Transportation & Logistics Challenge
Collaborating with Levata and implementing Descartes’ automated routing solution on Zebra mobile computers, Shorr Packaging improved its delivery process. This integration provided real-time insights into all deliveries, trucks and drivers, dramatically improving operational efficiency.
Benefits / Outcomes
- Full visibility into each truck, driver and delivery
- 87% reduction in routing time
- Fewer routes and reduced miles driven
- Proof of Delivery for every shipment
This story and all related content are republished with expressed permission from Levata
About Shorr Packaging
Shorr Packaging, a leading distributor of packaging solutions, products, and services, operates 11 division facilities with over 500 employee-owners across the U.S. The company faced significant challenges in its delivery operations due to manual routing, lack of real-time visibility, and the absence of proof of delivery. Working with Levata, a company specializing in technological transformation, Shorr implemented Descartes’ automated routing and fleet management solution on Zebra touch mobile computers. This resulted in real-time visibility into all of its deliveries, trucks, and drivers, an 87% reduction in routing time, digital proof of delivery, and increased driver efficiency.
The Challenge
As a trusted distributor of corrugated, shrink wrap, stretch film, and other packaging supplies and services for ecommerce, manufacturing, and logistics companies, Shorr Packaging routes and manages thousands of deliveries from seven dedicated truck facilities across the U.S.
However, despite its success as a trusted packaging supplier and distributor, the company was struggling with three major challenges in its delivery operations:
- All trucks, drivers and deliveries were routed manually.
- It had no visibility into its trucks, drivers and deliveries en route.
- It lacked proof of delivery for its customers and customer service team.
Each location was routing and managing fleets and deliveries differently, with some using spreadsheets, some using software, and others just doing their best with paper tracking and telephone communications. On average, they were spending two hours per day on manual routing.
Yet, the company’s logistics managers couldn’t see how each location was routing its trucks and managing deliveries. Its customer service team also didn’t have real-time visibility into delivery status or updates, including a lack of proof of delivery. So, it had to call dispatchers to find out when deliveries were going out, on what day, on which route, and the status of each delivery.
We were able to add additional customers and deliveries to our trucks because we’re now more efficient in what we do.
The Solution
Nick Matuck, the Senior Director of Global Logistics at Shorr Packaging, had helped a previous company digitize its routing, fleet and delivery management, and he set out to help Shorr do the same. He and Ashley Astley, Shorr’s Corporate Logistics Manager, reached out to Levata, the company’s technology partner, and they connected with Descartes, a leading developer of routing and delivery management solution, which Nick had used in his previous digitization effort.
In conversations with Levata and Descartes, Nick, Ashley, and the Shorr team laid out three core goals they needed to achieve:
- Replace manual routing with sophisticated, digital routing software.
- Achieve complete visibility into all of its trucks, drivers, and deliveries.
- Enable real-time tracking, information, and proof of delivery.
Descartes got to work immediately, providing a full demo and walkthrough of how its software could automatically and digitally route and optimize Shorr’s orders and deliveries. Descartes also demonstrated its ability to track everything with real-time visibility, and it provided a mocked-up proof of delivery to show the Shorr team its software is ready to deliver on all the key requirements. “They listened to what we had to say and really focused on the pain points we needed to address,” Nick says.
On the hardware side, Levata helped Shorr evaluate, test, and choose the right mobile computing hardware for its drivers, to provide access to the Descartes’ solution and help them receive and manage routes, deliveries, and proof of delivery. Ultimately, the team chose Zebra’s rugged smartphone-style TC58 touch handheld mobile computers, especially due to their compact size, easy-to-use familiarity, and easy mounting and dismounting in Shorr’s delivery trucks.
Additionally, since Shorr needed to use multiple cellular wireless carriers to keep its drivers connected on the road, Levata was able to help implement a unified cellular management solution that auto-connects each driver and device to the right carrier based on the route, location, and geography. The cellular software automatically switches devices and drivers to a different carrier when needed, including when they’re moving into different service areas or when there is a network outage.
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
- Full visibility into trucks, drivers and deliveries
- 87% reduction in routing time with digital automation and customization
- Increased driver efficiency with fewer routes and reduced miles driven
- Proof of delivery for superior customer service
After a quick and seamless rollout that included Descartes’ carefully crafted and organized training for logistics personnel and drivers, Shorr implemented its new digital routing and delivery management solution. The results were immediate and profound. “We went from zero to 100% visibility,” says Nick. “Just by doing that, productivity increased and cost reductions happened, and that visibility was invaluable to our folks in the field, in our distribution centers, and customer service.”
“What used to take us two hours each day to add routes now only takes 10 or 15 minutes,” says Ashley. That represents an 800% reduction in routing time. “Plus, our drivers get a load sheet that tells them how to load each truck.” Descartes’ solution automatically chooses, assigns, and updates the best routes and truck loading based on orders, delivery locations, real-time data, and turn-by-turn GPS navigation. It also enables Shorr’s logistics team and dispatchers to make last-minute changes or customize routes based on changing needs or requirements.
Overall, with automated and optimized routing as well as real-time tracking, Shorr’s trucking and delivery operations made massive and immediate improvements in their overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness. As Nick points out, “We were able to add additional customers and deliveries to our trucks because we’re now more efficient in what we do. We weren’t efficiently using our trucks before, so a portion of our deliveries were being outsourced to outside transportation providers, which is more expensive.”
Deliveries that used to take 12 Shorr drivers to complete are now handled by just six or seven drivers, dramatically increasing driver efficiency. It also frees up its drivers and fleets to take on the shipments that were previously outsourced to extra transportation. Customer service has also seen a huge improvement, since Descartes’ software allows drivers to capture proof of delivery on the spot, right at the time of delivery, using their Zebra devices to capture photos and signatures and automatically transmit real-time updates that are shared with customer service agents, dispatchers and customers.
One key to the project’s success has been the usability of Descartes solution and Zebra’s mobile devices, as well as a concerted effort by all involved to deliver on every requirement and provide highly effective training. “I’ve only received positive feedback,” Ashley says. “No one had any complaints about the app being hard to use or inconvenient. You always face some hesitancy upfront, but they’re all on board now. They’re realizing the benefits.”
“Drivers get on the app in the morning, and they quickly get loaded and get on their routes. It was easy to train on, too. The Zebra handhelds made things very straightforward. There were worries that some of our drivers might have some difficulties adapting to a whole new way of managing deliveries, but none of them have had any issues.”
Nick points out the importance of the training and organized rollout in achieving this level of success. “With any project, you vet everything you need, lay out your requirements, and hope you didn’t forget anything. Both Levata and Descartes asked us the right questions to ensure we covered everything. They had a project timeline and were really organized in the training process. They kept us focused, and we would work on one module on a given day. They broke it up in a very staged approach, and they were organized, concise, and to the point. Looking back, it makes total sense to train in bits and pieces while you’re progressing with the technology. Everyone was very responsive as questions came up or we asked for changes or anything we needed along the way.”
This flexibility has extended through to the front lines, now that the solution is in the hands of logistics managers, dispatchers, and Shorr drivers. As Ashley says, “Once the Descartes solution does the routing, we can make changes if we need, such as removing or adding deliveries to our routes. When our drivers or dispatchers see something where their tribal knowledge suggests a change, they can implement that, too. It’s customizable and extremely simple.”
Ultimately, by working with Levata, Descartes, and Zebra, Shorr Packaging overcame its challenges and achieved its transformative goals—all with digital tools that have made everyone’s jobs faster and easier to do with unprecedented productivity and cost savings.
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