The Challenge
A national custom furniture manufacturer with more than 750 dealer locations across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas distributes retail catalogs twice each year.
The summer release includes a complete catalog, while the fall release contains product updates and new product introductions.
For years, the company relied on internal office and factory personnel to manage the distribution process.
The program presented several challenges:
- Hundreds of shipments to dealer locations
- Labor-intensive order preparation
- Frequent data quality issues
- Shipping inefficiencies
- Limited carrier relationships
- High freight costs
- Significant demands on internal staff
The process often took weeks to complete.
The WGSD Solution
Data Preparation & Validation
WGSD reviews, validates, and formats dealer data before importing it into the Warehouse Management System. Missing or incorrect information is identified and corrected before orders are created.
Intelligent Freight Optimization
Using order size, destination, and shipment characteristics, WGSD determines the most cost-effective shipping method for each order using USPS, UPS, or FedEx.
Rapid Distribution Execution
What previously required weeks of effort can now be completed in a single day. More than 750 dealer shipments are processed through a streamlined workflow, with tracking and reporting provided immediately after shipment.
Beyond Fulfillment
At the conclusion of each project, WGSD provides the customer with a cleaned and organized version of their dealer database, improving future marketing and distribution efforts.
Results
The customer was able to:
- Eliminate weeks of internal labor
- Improve distribution accuracy
- Reduce freight expenses
- Streamline dealer communications
- Improve database quality
- Receive complete shipment visibility and reporting
Results Snapshot
| Before WGSD | After WGSD |
|---|---|
| Manual distribution process | One-day nationwide distribution |
| Weeks of internal effort | Freight optimization across multiple carriers |
| Higher freight costs | Clean and validated customer data |
| Data quality challenges | Complete tracking and reporting |
| Limited shipment visibility | Significant reduction in internal workload |
Key Services Demonstrated
- Force-Fed Distribution Programs
- Data Management & Validation
- Inventory Management
- Marketing Distribution
- Freight Optimization
- Multi-Carrier Shipping
- Reporting & Analytics
- Program Management