In mid – 2012, a client of ours acquired U.S. operations of a sign company. Our client is a national wholesale sign supply company with coast to coast locations. The acquired company is a distributor of signage, graphics supplies and equipment in the United States and Canada. The purchase of domestic sign locations provided our client with the opportunity to expand and offer one of the most complete product offerings in the sign industry. At the time of acquisition our client was operating in 30 locations nationwide.
The acquired company provided fifteen additional locations nationwide including: Orlando, Pensacola, Miami, Pompano Beach, Tampa, Florida; Kennesaw, Georgia; Garner, North Carolina; Summerville, South Carolina; Middleburg Heights, Ohio; Villa Park, Illinois; Quakertown, Pennsylvania; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada. For our client, these locations created duplicate shipping locations in many regional areas. As the acquisition moved forward, Jarrett Logistics Systems (JLS) partnered with our client’s supply chain manager to determine how to continue to provide a high level of customer service to their customers while optimizing cost effective shipping and warehousing.
Conference calls with our client’s supply chain manager and Jarrett Logistics Systems were immediately started to manage the acquisition and its progress. JLS developed reporting to demonstrate how to best manage consolidation of repetitive locations to minimize cost impact and increase service. Every part of the acquisition and consolidation was approached to aid our client in gaining service driven outcomes. Locations were identified to be closed and relocated. Through this process JLS, managed truckload routing to transfer product and equipment to the new locations. JLS’s dedicated team managed on time arrival, coordination with crane companies for offloading and continuous transfer from facilities starting at 6:00am and continuing through midnight. Our account team served as a communication link between facilities and our client’s corporate offices. Once sites were transferred and closed, new employees were provided training by Jarrett Logistics Systems. We trained them how to use our transportation management system for quoting, routing, tracking and reporting.
To do this we utilized web conferences and site visits. JLS continued to follow up with the newly consolidated locations weekly to provide support in any area needed. Customized reports were generated and reviewed to ensure customer service driven outcomes. Six months after the acquisition, our client operates in forty – two locations nationwide. Jarrett Logistics Systems continues to provide world class supply chain solutions for our client and is actively involved in aiding our client in providing exceptional customer service.
