LuK - Aftermarket Service to Increase Distribution Efficiency to Expand Business in Key Market Segments
WAUKESHA, Wis.--Nov. 18, 2002--To support growth with major retailers, LuK - Aftermarket Service, Inc., the leading supplier of new automotive and agriculture replacement clutches in North America, will increase its distribution flexibility, efficiency and productivity by implementing real-time logistics solutions from RedPrairie Corporation. RedPrairie(TM) (formerly McHugh Software International) is the leading provider of real-time, end-to-end logistics solutions.
The automotive replacement parts business is dominated by large retailers such as Auto Zone, Pep Boys and NAPA Auto Parts. Suppliers to these key retailers must comply with each retailer's unique distribution requirements while maintaining competitive pricing. To compete at this level, suppliers' logistics operations must be flexible and efficient.
"Our business is work order driven, with the majority of our product sold in kitted form," said Jim Mehrl, Director of Materials Management for LuK - Aftermarket Service. "We needed a system with the flexibility to support varying pick routines by customer and sophisticated bill of materials and configure to order capabilities."
After evaluating distribution capabilities from leading ERP vendors and Best of Breed WMS suppliers, LuK selected RedPrairie's DLx(R) Warehouse and DLx(R) Labor systems to support their business growth with new and existing customers, allowing for the varying demands across and within the different market segments.
"RedPrairie had the greatest depth and breadth of functionality, with 95 percent of what we needed out of the box," noted Mehrl. "Their de-kitting and bill of materials capabilities are much deeper than the other vendors' and they are one of few who track indirect labor and have an equipment table to match tasks with the equipment available. We found most functionality "gaps" in systems we considered were generally exceptions to processes, which could be handled without code modifications - if a simple notification of the occurrence of the exception could be sent to the appropriate people. We're considering RedPrairie's Event Management System for this in the future, but we have to walk before we can run."
To remain competitive, LuK needed to increase the efficiency of its operations. Currently, workers are assigned by work area. "Short of `management by walking around,' we really don't know when material handlers complete their current work and are ready for additional assignments," said Mehrl. "We estimate each material handler loses about an hour per day as a result. This was a significant part of our ROI for a new system."
With RedPrairie's dynamic work queue management, all workers will be directed by RF devices to the next most urgent and productive task, taking into account travel times and equipment availability. Sophisticated task interleaving algorithms will dynamically direct workers from task to task to maximize productivity and throughput.
"Task interleaving is huge," added Mehrl. "Not only does it make our material handlers more productive, it will cut my full time cycle count position in at least half, since cycle counting can now be interleaved with other material handling tasks."
Another benefit of the system's advanced labor management capabilities will be the expansion of LuK's incentive pay system. Explained Mehrl: "Because we can't currently track task completion by individual, we pay incentive based upon group performance. But this causes inequities since productivity is not equal across all work centers. With the new system we'll be able to pay incentives on an individual basis, as well as expand it to more areas. Operators will get real-time feedback on how they are doing against the standards via their RF terminals, which acts as further motivation."
RedPrairie Company Results Leader John Jazwiec stated: "We're seeing a definite increase in the number of mid-market companies like LuK that need sophisticated logistics solutions that include advanced labor productivity capabilities such as dynamic work queue management, task interleaving and support for incentive pay. RedPrairie is the only company that provides this leading-edge distribution and productivity functionality in a single, integrated solution. We're pleased that we were selected by LuK to help them achieve their goals of greater efficiency and growth."
About LuK - Aftermarket Service, Inc.
LuK-Aftermarket Service, Inc. distributes automotive and agricultural replacement clutch products in the United States and Canada. Customers include distributors, repackagers, retailers and technicians who specify and install the LuK RepSet brand. They are one of many companies that make up The LuK Group worldwide, which designs and manufactures original-equipment parts for customers around the world. LuK-engineered products include clutches, discs, flywheels, automatic torque converters, power steering pumps, torque converter clutches and dampers. For more information, access www.Lukclutch.com.
About RedPrairie Corporation
RedPrairie delivers superior logistics results by driving out more logistics costs than anyone in the industry, and enabling customers to consistently achieve their supply chain objectives. This is accomplished through an integrated suite of DigitaLogistix(TM) solutions that provide the industry's leading transportation, productivity, and distribution management capabilities, enhanced with action-oriented components for real-time control and performance measurement. These solutions are deployed through an end-to-end value delivery system (the RedPrairie Approach) that ensures results achievement. RedPrairie delivers measurable results for customers in many markets, including high tech and electronics, consumer goods, food and beverage, third party logistics, retail and wholesale, service parts, and make-to-order manufacturing. Customers include Compaq Computer, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Panasonic, Georgia-Pacific, Eveready, Unilever, Exel, General Electric, Amazon.com, and many others.
For additional information, call 1.888.624-8448, or access www.RedPrairie.com.
RedPrairie and DigitaLogistix are trademarks, and DLx is a registered trademark of RedPrairie Corporation. (c) 2002 RedPrairie Corporation. All Rights Reserved.