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Panasonic Logistics

Industry: Manufacturer
Categories: Operational routing and scheduling , Strategic planning , Benefits reported

Following the success of live implementations of Paragon's Vehicle Routing and Scheduling System at two sites, Panasonic selected Paragon's strategic capabilities to help shape their future distribution strategy for their new state-of-the-art distribution center.

Strategic Goals
Panasonic's strategic goals required the streamlining of its distribution operation to achieve the highest levels of accuracy and efficiency. Panasonic's first priority was to replace their existing fixed route system with a live scheduling system which could calculate efficient routes and transportation schedules each day according to actual orders placed achieving desired benefits and efficiency savings. They required a system which could be tailored to meet Panasonic's exacting requirements, including working alongside its mainframe warehouse management system and handling planned new delivery documentation. The strategic modeling capability of the new system would then be used to help Panasonic shape its DC reorganization program.

Paragon's selection
Panasonic's selection of Paragon was determined by:

the software's power, flexibility and multi-DC scheduling capabilities
the ease of use of Paragon's Windows based system
the in-house software development team who showed a clear understanding of Panasonic's requirements and had the resources and expertise to adapt the system to tight deadlines
the company's reputation for excellent, on-going back-up, which was to be crucial given the duration and demands of the project

How Paragon was implemented
Paragon supplied its Paragon for Windows Vehicle Routing and Scheduling system, tailored to facilitate the automatic addition of late orders, the scheduling of wave orders and the progressive uploading of routes. With the help of Paragon's experienced support team, the system was implemented for live daily scheduling at Panasonic's main depot. On a daily basis, Paragon calculates efficient routes and schedules to Panasonic's customer base. The routes are designed to minimise transportation costs whilst satisfying customer service requirements.

Having implemented Paragon successfully at Bracknell, Panasonic then instigated a second implementation at their second DC.

Once Paragon was up and running at these DCs, and achieving daily reductions in transportation costs, Panasonic turned to a major strategic review of their distribution infrastructure. This was based around a new high profile distribution center. Once again, Paragon came into its own, this time being used at a strategic level to analyze a range of alternative distribution techniques. As a result, Panasonic was able to determine the most efficient transportation infrastructure to underpin the operation of this new flagship facility.

Business Benefits
The business benefits achieved by Panasonic Logistics as a result of implementing Paragon include:

enhanced accuracy and efficiency of dynamic scheduling
reduction in vehicle journeys of two a day within weeks of the first implementation, resulting in savings of £100,000 per year
increased volume utilization
successfully achieving a distribution structure for optimum delivery scheduling from their new distribution centre serving southern England

"Ours is a very busy operation and we couldn’t wait months for the system to be enhanced," says Panasonic Logistics’ Simon Kay. "It had to be adapted quickly – which is what Paragon did. What we have achieved as a result is a more cost effective operation without losing service quality."

Panasonic Logistics

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