Retail Fixture Rollouts: The why, the how, the final results.

With a growing and competitive market, retailers have to respond to a range of challenges which include: consumer demands, seasonal changes and even marketing initiatives. This creates a need for a flexible and uniquely tailored supply chain that can adapt to marketing trends and also support corporate initiatives such as re-branding and rollouts.

Picture this: A retailer is working with over 20 fixture manufacturers across North America and needs a logistics provider that can coordinate the shipping and delivery of all new fixtures, as they are rolled out to 235 U.S. store locations. The timing for this rollout is the most essential element because early or late deliveries could cause the customer to incur additional costs.

From an operational perspective, this requires Millennium Logistics Management to coordinate effective route planning and to pick up schedules with fixture suppliers. Next, each store delivery is coordinated with the store manager and the installation crew to meet the retailers pre-determined installation date. From a systems perspective, this solution means the customer is provided with daily activity reports tracking the status of each store’s remodeling progress. This allows for the retailer to receive updates which are then used to measure the construction timeline for each project and gauge how the project is progressing against the initial remodel schedule, making sure the project is on schedule.

How Millennium Logistics can help with this demand:

Retailers usually work within a very constrained schedule and that means fixture manufacturers have to meet specific production dates in order to be selected as a supplier for the retailer. Committing to these specific dates leaves no room for delays when it comes to the manufacture to shipping window. Millennium Logistics Management is fully committed to the retailers on the transit time to each store to ensure the agreed dates are met by working with compressed shipping windows (often with as little as 24 hour notice to stage equipment at each manufacturers facility).

Once the orders are confirmed on each outbound truck, the office of Millennium Logistics Management communicates and coordinates the deliveries for each fixture order with each store (in detail). This level of communication is necessary in order to coordinate proper delivery appointments with both the retail Store Managers and the contractors responsible for installing the fixtures. Millennium Logistics Management is available around the clock to assist with any unforeseen challenges that may arise. Maintaining constant communication with all parties (the retailer, the fixture manufacturer, the store managers and the installers) contributing to the success of each project.

The final results:

Millennium Logistics Management plays a valuable role in each retailer’s innovative project needs by providing flexible solutions, high level visibility and around-the-clock customer service. The final result means that not only do customers complete their rollouts on time but Millennium Logistics Management takes pride in doing so while maintaining the integrity of the fixtures on a nationwide basis and still working within the total project budget.