Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Functional Applications - Transportation Management Systems (TMS)
Applicable Industries
- Packaging
- Transportation
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Last Mile Delivery
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
About The Customer
Verso Corporation is a leading producer of graphic, specialty, and packaging paper and market pulp. The company operates two manufacturing locations, two distribution centers, and 30 local warehouses, delivering paper products to approximately 200 customers across the U.S. and Canada. Verso's customers have tight press deadlines, making on-time delivery crucial. Late shipments can result in significant lost revenue for customers, a cost that is typically covered by Verso. The company's manual tracking practices were inefficient and time-consuming, leading to frequent visibility gaps in transit and high volumes of calls from customer service representatives seeking load status updates.
The Challenge
Verso Corporation, a leading producer of graphic, specialty, and packaging paper and market pulp, was facing significant challenges with its manual tracking practices. With two manufacturing locations, two distribution centers, and 30 local warehouses, the company was losing hundreds of hours per month due to inefficient and time-consuming manual tracking. This lack of visibility into the transit process often led to customer service representatives interrupting the logistics team to ascertain the status of customer loads. Additionally, high carrier turnover rates complicated the process of uploading EDI data from carriers into a portal for customers to track their orders. Late shipments were particularly costly due to customers' tight press deadlines, with press downtime translating to thousands of dollars in lost revenue—a cost typically covered by Verso.
The Solution
In response to these challenges, Verso deployed Descartes MacroPoint, a freight visibility platform that provides real-time tracking of shipments. This solution, fully integrated with SAP Transportation Management (TM) and MercuryGate transportation management system (TMS), allowed Verso to enhance load visibility, boost productivity, and transform the customer experience with real-time delivery updates. The implementation of Descartes MacroPoint was part of a larger strategic shift for Verso, which included reducing corporate staffing levels by 50% and making strategic market and customer shifts to create leaner, more efficient operations. The automated tracking system enabled Verso to improve on-time deliveries, reduce late penalties, and heighten customer service by keeping clients up-to-date on the status of their delivery.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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