Weber Distribution Newsletter Winter Outline
Purpose
/ To educate and inform Weber’s existing customer base and prospects about its staff, new services, quality improvements, warehouses, technology, etc. on a quarterly basis.Specifications / 6-pages
Print Run / 4300+
Timeline / Copy to Carl week of October 24
Graphics outline
I. Opening Letter from Nick / Copy outline / Notes
Show photo of Nick Weber, along with a holiday theme / A short holiday letter from Nick to Weber’s customers thanking them for the business and focusing on what is coming in the New Year. / Melissa to interview Nick
II. Weber Safety
Show photos related to safety. / How Weber’s working to address safety issues at each of its distribution centers. / Melissa to interview Pete Zaharis (x6460).
III. WMS Progress
Show technology related graphics/photos. / Discuss the latest roll out of Weber’s new WMS and how it is benefiting customers and changing the way they do business with Weber. / Melissa to interview Marcel or Kimberly Bradley.
IV. Case Study
Show photos related to case study. / Case study – await information from Carl. Maybe Minute Maid? / Frank Comito
713-888-5905
V. New Staff Member?
Focus on a new Weber staff member? / Await information from Carl / Melissa to write about staff member?
VI. New Service?
Focus on a new service being offered by Weber? / Await information from Carl / Melissa to write about new service?
VII. Your Suggestions
Your Suggestions @ Work graphic. / Include a short section “Your Suggestions @ Work” where we mention a customer suggestion and the solution Weber has created. / Melissa to discuss with Debbie Bunting or Linda Riles 562-356-6371
VIII. Facilities
List of all facilities in clean, simple graphic. / Include a list of all Weber’s facilities including addresses and phone numbers. / Pick up from last issue
Tesimonials
Other suggestions for articles:
· In the wake of the recent tragedy, any charitable acts Weber has participated in.
· A “Did You Know” article focusing on the different types of value-added services Weber offers to its customers.
· Use information from the new paper direct mail piece and include an article on the advantages Weber offers to paper manufacturers.
· Any recent awards or employee achievements at Weber or in the community.
· Ways customers can take advantage of the improved transportation options available at Weber.
· We could pull an article from Logistics Management, Inbound Logistics or Transportation & Distribution focusing on ways to improve the supply chain.
Graphics outlineI. Opening Letter from Nick / Copy outline
Show photo of Nick Weber, along with a holiday theme / A short holiday letter from Nick to Weber’s customers thanking them for the business and focusing on what is coming in the New Year.
1. What are the main Weber highlights that benefited customers in 2001 with regards to public/contract warehousing, distribution, transportation or information logistics?
2. What new services and/ or technologies will Weber be implementing in 2002 with regards to public/contract warehousing, distribution, transportation or information logistics?
3. What type of holiday greeting would you like to say to Weber’s customers?
II. Alliance
Show photos related to partnerships/ alliances. / Weber Joins Forces With Transplace and AWI to Deliver New Distribution Options
Weber has joined a strategic alliance, recently formed between Transplace and Associated Warehouses, Inc. (AWI), with the goal of expanding the variety of warehousing and transportation management services it is able to supply to its customers.
Transplace, an Internet-based global transportation logistics company, and AWI, a consortium of more than 50 third party distribution and fulfillment companies, have come together to provide integrated warehousing, fulfillment, transportation, and logistics services – all backed by access to real-time shipment information.
According to the alliance members, these services will bring manufacturers easy access to a vast array of transportation options, which is unmatched by any single operator or carrier in the industry.
AWI brings to the table more than 90 million square feet in 250 facilities, which stretches across North America, including Canada and Mexico. Transplace, on the other hand, has introduced a state-of-the-art technology called Dense Network Efficiency, which includes an online network of over 5000 carriers. They also employ more than 500 customer service representatives who facilitate collaborative planning, communication and quality control between shippers, carriers and alliance partners.
“Weber has actually been working with AWI over the past 18 years to extend the variety of services we are able to provide our customers, as well as optimize the number of locations we offer,” said Carl Neverman, Weber’s Business Development Manager. “Transplace has brought a new dimension to this relationship in that it is able to offer a well-organized and orchestrated e-business infrastructure, designed to make it easier for shippers to locate the services they require.”
He said this business relationship is really a perfect fit for Weber and its customers. “Weber is a dominate West Coast third party logistics provider, but we could not offer our customers space, for example, in Atlanta, Jacksonville, or Montreal, without the alliance with AWI. Some might view this relationship as self-defeating for Weber, by opening our door to competition, but we really view it as an opportunity to furnish our customers with a whole host of new opportunities to fulfill their supply chain needs.”
“This alliance presents an excellent opportunity to provide integrated logistics services, demonstrated best practices, and collaboration on a larger scale,” said Joel Sutherland, a Senior Vice President of Transplace. Transplace was formed in July of 2000 through a merger of the six logistics business units of the nation’s largest publicly held truckload carriers: Convenant Transport, Inc.; J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.; M.S. Carriers, Inc.; Swift Transportation Co., Inc.; U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.; and Werner Enterprises, Inc.
If you have any questions about this new alliance or would like to use this network, please contact Carl Neverman at 877-624-2700.
III. WMS Progress
Show technology related graphics/photos. / LINKS-WMS Implementation Update – Well Underway and Running Smoothly
By Marcel Trincale
Weber’s Vice President, Information Technology
We hope by now, everyone has heard about Weber’s exciting new Warehouse Management System, which we’ve named LINKS (Logistics Integrated Network Knowledge System), and even more importantly, all of the process improvements it has to offer your supply chain.
So far, LINKS has been implemented and tested at our Rancho Cucamonga facility, with 15 customers using the system, and we are very pleased to report that everything is operating as expected.
In fact, the changeover to the new system, which took place last August, went so smoothly that it was transparent to our Rancho Cucamonga customers and we did not experience any downtime during the transition. The entire team at Weber is looking forward to offering this state-of-the-art service to all of our customers, but unfortunately, upgrades of this magnitude take time, so the roll out will not be completed until the end of next year.
The feedback from our customers who are on the LINKS system has been extremely positive, so far, with many reporting the following benefits:
§ Real-time visibility into their inventory, receiving, shipping, and order status via the web
§ Customized reporting capability with each user able to view personalized reports through the web
§ Rules-based/ event driven system functionality (i.e. the system is capable of sending alerts via e-mail or fax to individuals based on certain events taking place such as an order status)
§ The ability to place orders via the web
These tangible advantages are obviously allowing us to reach a new level of efficiency for our customers, but there’s more. LINKS also offers a tremendous amount of flexibility by providing each user with their own picking, allocation and shipping rules. This means LINKS seamlessly integrates into any business’ network – taking on the “look and feel” of your own system – which makes it very easy to use and navigate.
Not to mention, LINKS’ scanning capabilities, using the latest radio-frequency equipment and barcodes, are increasing inventory accuracy, reducing short ships, as well as improving the overall quality of our operations and speeding up daily processes.
The most important thing that LINKS brings to our business is helping our customers to achieve supply chain excellence within their own industries by reducing inventories, increasing turn times and ultimately, delivering a higher quality of service. This, in turn, gives them a true and measurable competitive advantage by improving the service levels they are able to supply to their own customers.
If you have any questions concerning LINKS and its advantages, you can visit our web site at www.weberdistribution.com to download a detailed brochure (found under Services/ Warehouse Management Services) or feel free to contact me directly at or 562-356-6332.
IV. Case Study
Show photos related to The Minute Maid Company. / Weber Quenches The Minute Maid Company’s Thirst
For Flexible West Coast Distribution Services
Weber talks with Frank Comito, National Material and Distribution Manager of The Minute Maid Company, to discuss the efficiency of their West Coast distribution network and why he works with Weber.
When did The Minute Maid Company begin working with Weber? Weber and The Minute Maid Company celebrated their two-year working anniversary in September of this year.What types of distribution services does Weber provide to The Minute Maid Company? Weber stores and manages the overflow inventory from our co-packer manufacturing facility located in Anaheim, California. We utilize Weber’stransportation group to shuttle finished goods from our manufacturing facility to and from its distribution centers in La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs and Norwalk. When we are ready to fill an order, the product is moved back to The Minute Maid Company’s production facility for distribution to our customers.
Weber also stores, warehouses and distributes some of our non-carbonated beverage products, primarily Powerade, a popular sports drink. For these products, Weber manages distribution to our Coca-Cola bottler network. The bottler receives full pallets of finished goods from Weber and then picks orders from the product pallets and loads them onto a route truck for delivery to our customers in both California and Nevada.
Are there any special or unique services that Weber provides to The Minute Maid Company? Weber manages our inventory using our inventory system. When we first started working with Weber, we provided their operations team with extensive training on how to use this customized system, which provides us with direct access, through the Internet, to our inventory. People in our organization make day-to-day business decisions based on our inventory levels and by having Weber operate our system, we receive real-time and accurate data.
What types of products are being distributed? Weber warehouses a variety of products for The Minute Maid Company, including Hi-Ci and Minute Maid brands, which are packaged in aseptic drink boxes, pouches, and 64oz and 128oz plastic bottles, Powerade brand and some raw materials.
Why did The Minute Maid Company decide to work with Weber Distribution? We needed an overflow warehouse in Southern California and Weber had a significant presence there and provided us with the flexibility to vary the space provided according to our changing needs. The demand for some of our productsvaries by season. For example, at peak periods during the summer, Weber handles up to 19,000 pallets of finished goods per month, as compared to slower periods, which typically consist of 10,000 pallets per month.
What do you feel are the real strengths and benefits of working with a 3PL? By utilizing a third party logistics provider, manufacturing companies gain the expertise and skills offered by the provider in areas suchas warehousing, systems, and transportation. It affords acompany the opportunity to focus on its core business with the 3PL managing its non-core business areas, like distribution and warehousing.
Has The Minute Maid Company or its customers experienced any major service improvements as a result of your relationship with Weber Distribution?
Since we began working with Weber, we’ve experienced a major Improvement with our inventory accuracy levels. Accuracy is obviously vital to ensuing the right levels of product are available to be delivered to our customers at any given time.
What advice do you have for companies who are thinking about outsourcing to a 3PL? Consider the variety of services a 3PL has to offer. Don't get caught in the trap of just focusing on cost savings. Instead, focus on their service levels, what information systems they have in place andthe value added activities they can provide to your organization. Find a 3PL that has experience with handling the type of product you need them to manage.
V. Did You Know?
Montage of services Weber offers /
Weber Distribution = One-Stop, Full Service Supply Chain Management
So when you think of Weber Distribution, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?We hope, of course, it is our superior service, but based on a recent perception study we conducted with WBA Market Research, 93% of those polled said the first thing is public warehousing, 63% pointed to distribution and only 49% mentioned contract warehousing.
Weber performs all of these functions equally, and in fact, currently works with a variety of companies in a contract warehousing environment, including The Hain-Celestial Group and The Minute Maid Company. If you are considering outsourcing your warehousing, and are looking for a dedicated, contract warehouse, please contact Guy Denniston, Weber’s President and COO, directly at 562-356-6440 or .
As a valued customer of Weber’s, we want you to know that in addition to the standard warehousing and distribution services, we offer a wide variety of value-added services, which are listed below. It is our goal to become your one-stop, full service West Coast logistics provider so let us know what other services you require to make your job easier.
If you would like to discuss any of the services mentioned below in greater detail, please call us at 877-624-2700.
Comprehensive Transportation Services (all modes)
-LTL and truckload-Local and nationwide trucking