During Aromatique's peak season in August the company ships up to 1,200 cases a day. With additional growth of the company, it became apparent during Aromatique's 1998 holiday season that there was a need for a more sophisticated parcel shipping solution.
Susan Moore, Aromatique Information Systems Director, notes “Aromatique decided to invest in a shipping system that would improve efficiencies, increase shipping integrity and reduce freight expense for our customers”. The company had stringent requirements for a new shipping system.
The first requirement was seamless integration with their iSeries-based ERP system, BPCS, which handles order entry, accounting, manufacturing, purchasing and forecasting. Secondly, Aromatique needed a shipping system with demonstrated reliability — current carrier compliance and rates, proven integration, and software stability. Next, the company wanted to ensure that package contents matched the order. And lastly, Aromatique wanted to eliminate piecemeal shipments to the same retailer that hampered merchandising and increased freight costs.
With these requirements in mind, Aromatique evaluated several transportation management solutions, and visited companies with similar shipping requirements. Ultimately, Aromatique chose Varsity.
“We selected Varsity because of their reputation for reliability, commitment to customer service, and experience with BPCS,” Moore notes. “Varsity's service has been remarkable. Since we implemented this system in 1999, we have never experienced a delay due to Varsity's performance, even during our peak season.”
Aromatique chose Varsity ShipSoft to manage the selection of carriers, optimize shipment pricing and ensure label and manifesting compliance with FedEx. Varsity's pick/pack module, ShipPack, provides Aromatique with package accuracy through item-level detail of parcel content, shipment order reconciliation and parcel nesting. One of the key factors for Aromatique's success has been the tight integration with their BPCS ERP system on the IBM iSeries. The integration to BPCS provides Aromatique with a seamless and accurate pick, pack, ship, and invoice process.Aromatique's shipping process begins when the Shipping Administrator releases an order. A paper copy of the pick list is sent to the Aromatique warehouse where the order is ”picked” from an inventory of 300 items. The shipping station accesses the same pick list electronically through Varsity's ShipPack. As items are scanned at the shipping station, ShipPack verifies in BPCS that the item is on the sales order. Any picking discrepancies are immediately identified by ShipPack so the order can be corrected before shipping. This order verification eliminates the expense of incorrect order fulfillment and improves customer service. ShipPack also allows Aromatique to consolidate small packages into one container, minimizing the retailer's freight charges and simplifying delivery and merchandise display. Once the order is packed, ShipSoft calculates the rate, prints the label and completes the manifest.
At the end of the day, ShipSoft uploads manifest information electronically to FedEx and shipment data is transferred to BPCS accounting via the ShipSoft interface to trigger billing. Aromatique's vault to the top of the decorative fragrances market has been carefully orchestrated to deliver the highest quality products to thousands of large and small retailers. Fast growing Aromatique has relied on Varsity's transportation management software to respond to their retailer's needs.
“Varsity enables us to deliver service that matches the exceptional quality of our products.” comments Moore. “Thanks to Varsity, we can ensure that our retailers receive their exact order, in one package, when they need it, at the best price.”
Vendor Profile in MC Vendor Directory:
- Varsity Logistics, Inc.
185 Berry Street,
Suite 3500
San Francisco, Ca 94107
www.varsitylogistics.com
Varsity Products: ShipSoft, ShipPack
Customer Profile:
- Aromatique,
Heber Springs, AR
www.aromatique.com
Industry: Decorative Fragrance
Shipping Volume: Average 700 packages per day, 1,200 during peak season
Number of Shipping Locations: One
Interface: BPCS
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