The Client

This global company has become a leader in high-performance protections solutions across a broad range of industries.  Publicly traded, the company has been in business for over 100 years and has sales revenue close to a billion dollars.

The Challenges

The Client presented Bonded with the initial challenge in 1996 of helping them secure warehousing space for storage and distribution across the US after their acquisition of a medical supplies manufacturer.  As their business grew, they not only had a need for more space but also a robust warehouse management system (WMS) to support their enterprise software system and stay ahead of increased customer demands.

The Solutions

After gaining a thorough understanding of inventory and shipment patterns, Bonded developed an initial strategy that involved space in a 96,000 square foot public facility in Charlotte, NC.  This strategic location gave the company easy access to domestic markets, with the ability to reach a majority of the population within one day.  As the Client grew organically as well as through acquisitions, Bonded moved them into 150,000 sq. ft. in a public facility that they eventually took over (230K sq. ft.).  Today, the client operates out of 440K sq. ft. across three facilities (two dedicated, three public) to manage growth of a wide range of SKUs for two divisions of the company.

Early on, the Client requested that Bonded use their ERP system and train Bonded staff to manage the warehouse, picking at the pallet and case-pick levels, as well as tracking by lot in case of any recall, expiry, or production differentiation issues.  As the Client’s business increased and they upgraded their ERP, Bonded was asked to integrate their own WMS (Cadence, provided by Cadre Technologies) in an effort to streamline both operations and become more efficient.  This transition allowed the Client complete transparency throughout the distribution process, allowing them to see the movement of product, audit the warehousing process, and gain better visibility into customer’s buying habits.

The Results

Keeping the Client’s supply chain management staff focused on the entire supply chain and allowing Bonded to focus on distribution has resulted in a decades-long relationship that continues to grow each year.  Both companies view it as a partnership, working together to stay in front of customers’ needs in a growing economy. Bonded has participated in various lean sessions, reviewing processes from beginning to end to understand challenges from the Client as well as their customer.  Bonded has taken on more responsibility with value-add services such as retail tagging, returns processing, repackaging, and pick-n-pack for samples operation.  An in-warehouse testing center has even been built to speed up delivery of product to the customer. The Client utilizes Bonded’s data analytics, quarterly business reviews, operational transparency, and customizable web portal to streamline their business and make supply chain improvements.