DecisionLink

Carolina Logistics Services (CLS) is a leading reverse logistics company specializing in outsourcing returned goods management.  CLS offers supply chain and logistics services and software including, the management of returned goods through warehouse operations, data collection, reporting and industry expertise. CLS manages over 50 million returned goods transactions per month and over 700 million per year, has 40 returned goods centers throughout the United States and over 170 retail clients nationwide including industry leaders such as Wal Mart, CVS, Albertsons and Kroger.

Challenge

CLS provides retail clients monthly, weekly, and daily reporting information resulting from the returned goods process. Items such as UPC codes and descriptions, scan units, store credits and invoice dollars on various manufacturers are provided in both summary and detailed formats. Because data is stored in their client's accounting period increments, CLS 'power users' typically request repetitive search routines to segment client specific data based upon functional needs.  The challenge for CLS clients is the critical information required to make key business decisions is at the UPC level which is the lowest level of data granularity.  Most retail clients maintain over 100,000 UPC records per distribution facility and as many as 300,000 records corporately.  CLS estimates spending 3,328 hours annually at a cost of $157K to support this need.  Returns information is verified, created, and distributed to clients in daily, weekly, and monthly frequencies in both paper and electronic formats.  Paper copies are printed and mailed to clients on a weekly or monthly frequencies.

CLS clients were being presented long term returns trending information from their manufacturer partners in an effort to illustrate non compliance to support a reduction in reimbursement rates for returned product.  CLS needed to provide clients the same long term assessment to combat these assessments in both summary and detail levels. 

Solution

Stratapult worked with CLS to develop a secure Web portal to enable CLS internal associates and CLS retail clients to investigate and analyze information and trends in a long term perspective. The DecisionLink application provides CLS and its clients dynamic Web reporting regarding returned and damaged goods.

The raw data is collected at CLS warehouses across the country into a central processing iSeries system server located in the Stratapult data center. The data used for analysis is pulled into a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database and then loaded into Microsoft Analysis Services cubes. ProClarity Analytical Server 5.0 connects to the cubes to generate predefined briefing books for each client. Using the ProClarity software as the user interface over the Web allows the client to 'slice and dice' data and generate Web reports dynamically. Each client is provided several standard views to choose from in order to begin analytical reporting and decision-making.  CLS then offers custom views to meet client needs because the changes can be accomplished in minutes.

Stratapult established an extensible Web portal infrastructure including security, splash and landing pages, site navigation and custom views. Cubes were created that contained the dimensions and elements necessary to facilitate the creation of an assortment of views, from executive level trending reports to drilldowns on operational data. The Web portal is accessible to CLS clients and internal users. Several views or templates were created to provide clients with controlled access to data and to enable them to glean necessary information based upon specific needs at specific times. CLS account representatives and client 'power users' were provided a customer friendly environment to answer ad-hoc questions in a reasonable time frame.

Software Used:

Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Analysis Services and Data mining tool
ProClarity Analytic Server 5.0

Impact

Deploying the DecisionLink solution has offered benefits to both CLS and their retail clients.

The following benefits are realized by the client, CLS:

• CLS has been able to obtain exclusive processing contracts for large corporate clients because the tool offers a corporate level information view that facilitates improved management of the returns program. 
• Quicker resolution to support customer calls which increases customer satisfaction.
• Client empowerment or 'self service' lowers overall customer support costs and increases customer satisfaction by allowing clients to access information on demand.
• Reduced costs by allowing client service personnel to answer customer questions that once required IT to write special queries ¡V this is both a cost and time savings.
• Reallocation of resources or more time for support reps and IT personnel to focus on other issues.
• CLS presents a progressive tool and image to the industry.

CLS's retail clients realize additional benefits:

• Quicker access to detailed information to make better business decisions.
• Information can be downloaded to Excel to offer clients a familiar application that can be shared with business associates.
• Ability to visualize patterns, trends and exceptions that instigates additional questions and faster answers to make quicker decisions.
• Ability to be better prepared for discussions with vendors on amount of returned product costs and volume.
• Ability to tailor views to specific preferences for easier access to information resulting in timesavings.