White Paper

Reckitt Benckiser Reduces Cost And Improves Service With New 3rd Party Provider

Client Challenge
In the past Reckitt Benckiser was not pleased with their current 3rd party provider. The high labor cost and inflexible labor created by the potential Union Environment. The high labor dollars required handling all facets of the Human Resource Management, including wage issues, grievances insurance claims, and workers compensation issues.

Objective
The objective was to reduce cost and improve service over the past 3rd party provider by focusing on developing brands and customer relationships while leaving the distribution to a 3rd party expert. Improving flexibility by developing 3rd party labor relationship which would allow the provider to utilize labor from multiple facilities to meet peaks without incurring high O.T. cost due to high labor demands, i.e. qtr. close months. Also, by eliminating corporate headcount required handling Human Resource Management. The improvement on utilizing the Best Practices and Benchmarking gained by utilizing 3rd party logistic experts and improving process improvement by Utilizing an organization with Engineering and Logistics expertise.

Solution
GENCO's flexibility to incorporate Reckitt's system with GENCO's staffing to eliminate cumbersome system conversion and unwanted service issues or downtime. We applied experienced managers and resources to immediately impact Operations Management, Transportation Management, Customer Service Support, and Inventory Control. GENCO provided on-site transportation and scheduling support utilizing the in-house system that was already owned by Reckitt Benckiser which allowed an easy integration and transition between plants and Logistic Centers. We quickly implemented the CMO and Postponement to improve service and lower inventory levels while having the ability to adapt to change and Bulk to Rack.

Overview What GENCO Does For Reckitt Benckiser
Reckitt Benckiser, Inc.
GENCO currently operates 3 distribution centers totaling 1,306,000 square feet of space for this leading household cleaning and personal care products, and food manufacturing company. Recognizable brand names include Lysol, Spray n' Wash, Electrasol, Jet-Dry, Lime Away, Easy Off, French's Mustard and Frank's RedHot.

Implementation Dates for all 3 sites: 1992-1994
Locations: Tolleson, AZ; Suwanee, GA; and Mechanicsburg, PA
Annual Shipping Volume for all 3 sites (2001): 47.4 million cases
Teammates for all 3 sites: 194
EDI is utilized in the three locations
Reckitt Benckiser utilizes its own Logistics Management System (LMS)

In addition to standard Distribution operations we also offer the following.

  • Manage Custom Manufacturing Operation or Postponement
  • Incorporated RF at all sites
  • Handle Returns at all three sites. (Includes Return to Stock, Damage Disposition, Asset Recovery)
  • Performing Asset Recovery at each facility to bring salvage return $$'s back to Reckitt.
  • Equipment Utilized: (Slip Sheet Attachments, Tygard Claw Attachments, Clamp Attachment
  • Manage CHEP pallet program.
  • Shipper Load & Count and/or Carrier Count flexibility. (Customer Pick-Up Flexibility.)

Results
By the elimination of the annual physical inventory due to consistent inventory the accuracy results are above 99%. The Service remains at a high level even during qtr. close months when volume in last week can equal 70% or more of total monthly volume. All Major returns on Asset Recovery $$'s, number is confidential but significant in terms of previous return was zero. The Strong budget performance on an annual basis, results confidential. GENCO's ability to handle growth, Reckitt PA from 520,000 sq. ft to 820,000 sq. ft.