The rise in demand for bottled water in domestic and international markets provides a growing avenue for FMCG companies to expand their business.
However, in a relatively seasonal market, companies require fast-moving supply solutions capable of meeting different requirements.
The customer
Maersk’s customer is the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the US and is also a part of the world’s leading bottled water company.
Its product portfolio comprises various brands for flat and carbonated water across domestic and international markets. It also offers three (3) ready-to-drink tea brands with 350 stock-keeping unit (SKU) assortments.
Challenge
The customer approached Maersk with a unique warehouse logistics predicament. As business increased, the customer was importing large volumes of cargo into their distribution centres near Carson, California.
The fluctuating demand for the product made it necessary to maintain the capacity to expand its footprint
The shipped bottled water containers weighed about 24-27 tonnes, restricting cargo movement to a specific area in the ports for drayage. The cost for the customer to reduce the loads on the import containers and dray elsewhere was unsustainably high.
Additionally, the fluctuating demand for the product made it necessary to maintain the capacity to expand its footprint and inventory on short notice. The company needed a water shipping solution to facilitate its fast-expanding business ambitions.
Warehousing solution
Before handling the warehousing solution, Maersk was executing load reductions for the customer to facilitate the inland movement of containers.
Maersk’s team was able to provide a Maersk warehouse near the port and within the overweight parameters. This allowed faster drayage and product standardisation with fewer delays.
The key areas the solution was focused on:
- Providing a warehousing facility close to the port which was able to handle special cargo.
- Product customisation, which included the ability to correctly handle overweight cargo, shaving or shunting needs, and weight product standardisation.
- Flexibility to expand capacity as per seasonal requirements with the procurement of additional warehousing space.
- Shipment management and inventory control.
- Meeting the customer’s internal compliance reviews and KPIs.
Results
- Warehousing facility close to the port
- Product customisation
- Flexibility to expand capacity
- Shipment management
As a direct result of the Maersk team’s solution, the customer was able to rapidly increase its footprint throughout Carson. The facility and its operations met the customer’s logistics requirements and internal compliance, proving to be a well-oiled machine powering its business growth.
The customer benefited from:
- Doubling of its business footprint from the initial 7,000 pallets.
- The ability to handle an additional 5,000 pallets in overflows.
- Standardised shipments based on the customer’s orders or complete stock transfers on the customer’s behalf to other warehouses.
- Improved inventory accuracy and compliance performance.
- Faster deliveries to end customers.
