Total Biz Fulfillment Relies on Varsity in the Pursuit of One Hundred Percent Shipping Accuracy |
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Operating from a 128,000 square foot facility in Maryland,
Total Biz Fulfillment provides comprehensive fulfillment services to domestic
and international manufacturers in a variety of industries. The company
ships to merchants such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl's and Toys "R"
Us. Supporting these clients requires Total Biz Fulfillment to ship over
1,800 (500 via small carrier) parcels a day, while striving for their goal
of 100% accuracy, backed by a 100% service guarantee.
To achieve these exceptional service goals, Total Biz Fulfillment relies
on IBM iSeries-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software from Assist
Cornerstone Technologies and Varsity's ShipSoft-Parcel shipping software.
Installed in 1998, Total Biz Fulfillment's state-of-the-art order fulfillment
system replaced homegrown shipping software that contributed to inefficient
order fulfillment processes and required a disproportionate level of technical
resources to maintain compliance with carrier rates and regulations.
The key to delivering efficient order processing is seamless integration
between their Assist ERP and Varsity ShipSoft. Varsity's flexible software
design enabled Total Biz Fulfillment to successfully build their own interface
between the two systems. Greg Wilburn, MIS Manager, notes: "We looked
at competitive products, but we selected Varsity for their ease of integration."
Seamless integration allows Total Biz Fulfillment to accurately handle a
higher volume of packages with fewer people. "Relying on a homegrown
or carrier supplied system that requires employees to re-key addresses leads
to too many errors," says Wilburn. "Varsity is accurate every
time."
The company's shipping processes take advantage of the latest advancements
in warehouse technology and are designed for maximum productivity, accuracy
and support of the company's rapid growth.
Order pickers in the warehouse wear radio frequency (RF) devices that record
each item as they select and pack it. Each box is marked with a bar code
that, when scanned by the order picker, is electronically linked to the
unique order number. As items are picked and packed, the box contents are
verified against the order so that discrepancies can be corrected at the
picking location. When the package arrives at the shipping station, there
is minimal interaction. The shipper simply scans the bar code on the box,
scans the weight from the scale and applies the printed shipping label.
No data entry is required because Varsity works seamlessly in the background.
Not only is data entry eliminated, but boxes can be processed for shipping
in any order. Varsity accounts for each box of an order and prints the label
upon scanning the box. When the order is complete, Varsity immediately returns
the freight costs to the Assist ERP system where it is added to the invoice.
Every label printed by Varsity contains the most current carrier rates and
regulations, eliminating the compliance maintenance nightmare Total Biz
Fulfillment had with their homegrown software. "I used to worry constantly
about keeping up with regulations and rate changes," notes Wilburn.
"With Varsity, I no longer worry. We receive a CD of the latest rate
changes on a Friday, pop it in our iSeries, and on Monday we are shipping
with the new rates. It is that simple."
"We guarantee our customers a high level of accuracy," concludes
Wilburn. "Varsity enables us to ship our customers' orders right the
first time, every time."
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