Do it Best stays up late
Indianapolis -- If you had to pick a time when it’s most convenient – and efficient – for a hardware store to receive a delivery, a strong answer would be late at night when the store is closed. Think about it: no traffic, no store labor, and the pallets can be waiting to be broken down and stocked in the morning when the first shift shows up.
Do it Best Corp. says it’s working on just such a system. And the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op even has a name for these nocturnal visits: OWL Deliveries, or orders without labor. The key to the program is granting back-room access to Do it Best delivery trucks.
“Our truck shows up in the middle of the night, which for us is the most operationally efficient way to deliver,” said Randy Rusk, Do it Best director of communications. “This is a new service where the store allows us access to their dock overnight, and we leave everything on a pallet in the back room.”
The OWL Delivery strategy saves time and money – a powerful combination in a supply-chain-challenged overall environment. Rusk described the challenges facing the truck-based distribution industry this way: a driver shortage, compounded by rising fuel costs, multiplied by regulations that limit productivity.
“There is a projected half-a-million driver shortfall at a time when there is also about a 7% uptick in volume,” Rusk said. “It’s putting a lot of pressure on the system.”
Do it Best Corp. described its OWL Delivery program and other supply chain matters during the co-op’s Spring Market here in Indianapolis.
President and CEO Dan Starr described investments in warehouse distribution, transportation management system, optimized routes as crucial to the success of the co-op. “These are not exactly thrilling topics, but they make a distribution company very efficient.”
Do it Best Corp. says it’s working on just such a system. And the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op even has a name for these nocturnal visits: OWL Deliveries, or orders without labor. The key to the program is granting back-room access to Do it Best delivery trucks.
“Our truck shows up in the middle of the night, which for us is the most operationally efficient way to deliver,” said Randy Rusk, Do it Best director of communications. “This is a new service where the store allows us access to their dock overnight, and we leave everything on a pallet in the back room.”
The OWL Delivery strategy saves time and money – a powerful combination in a supply-chain-challenged overall environment. Rusk described the challenges facing the truck-based distribution industry this way: a driver shortage, compounded by rising fuel costs, multiplied by regulations that limit productivity.
“There is a projected half-a-million driver shortfall at a time when there is also about a 7% uptick in volume,” Rusk said. “It’s putting a lot of pressure on the system.”
Do it Best Corp. described its OWL Delivery program and other supply chain matters during the co-op’s Spring Market here in Indianapolis.
President and CEO Dan Starr described investments in warehouse distribution, transportation management system, optimized routes as crucial to the success of the co-op. “These are not exactly thrilling topics, but they make a distribution company very efficient.”