The Challenge

The customer, a global provider of secure IP/Ethernet switching solutions, sources products from South China and Taiwan for sales in the United States. They identified cost containment objectives and wanted to improve the overall performance of their supply chain.

The Strategy

Noatum Logistics analyzed the situation and determined that improvements in the customer’s distribution pattern could enhance their supply chain and attain their cost savings objectives.

The Solution

The Noatum Logistics solution looked holistically at the customer’s distribution pattern. Prior to our involvement, the customer used two major shipping lanes, Hong Kong to San Francisco and Singapore to San Francisco. The Noatum Logistics approach consolidates shipments at the Singapore warehouse, reducing the number of warehouses in Asia from two to one, while optimizing the mode of transportation. While in the Singapore warehouse, products are labeled for delivery to the end customer. This helps the customer with its labor costs and allows shipments to bypass the U.S. distribution center. Containers arrive at the Noatum Logistics warehouse, located near an airport, where individual shipments are consolidated and distributed with 24 hours. Technology provides visibility to the individual shipments from the origin warehouse to the end customer.

The Results

The solution accomplishes the customer’s cost containment objects. Savings are realized through a reduction in the number of warehouses, transportation optimization, and decreases in the carrying costs associated with products in inventory.

Supply chain velocity improves, with the end customer receiving shipments faster. Shipment visibility gives our customer and our customer’s customers confidence in delivery schedules.