Using Warehouse Optimization's Automatic Vehicle Load Building system (AutoVLB), P&G is reporting a decrease in supply chain costs. According to Industry Week, beauty care distribution manager, "In our operations, AutoVLB has saved more than 7% on replenishment freight and reduced the need for manual intervention. This is a significant initiative in P&G's quest to reduce supply chain costs in this challenging transportation environment."

How is P&G finding these savings? One was to increase shipment size on replenishment lanes between producing sites and distribution points to make sure that trucks are completely full. "While we previously had to manually intervene to avoid the shipment of straight loads of unstackable items, like displays, AutoVLB knows to put displays on top of strong unit loads," indicated Schwerdt.

In addition to planning, this new system is able to tell the Loader how to arrange the pallets on the truck.

Warehouse Optimization is a Franklin, TN-based consultancy specializing in the development of distribution systems.