Multi-Mode, Tier 1 TMS Enables Greater Automation

Challenge
Bemis Manufacturing Company’s Sheboygan Falls location is the major North American distribution hub for all of its proprietary products. But getting its products to various regional markets required enormous amounts of time and manual labor for determining the best routing options.

The company’s original scheduling system, built to handle the transportation realities of 15-20 years ago, had provided Bemis with a competitive advantage in years past, but was now falling behind current business needs.

Bemis’ network required five individuals to perform routing analysis and planning, taking into account multiple locations, carriers, along with factors like LTL versus truck load stop-off and many other data points. This led to huge variations and calculations for any one plan or date.

"We’d been manually routing our freight and the number of iterations to accomplish pool consolidation,” said Keith Bassuener, manager of distribution and logistics at Bemis Manufacturing Company. “But we knew we were leaving money on the table. We needed a TMS to help us automate the planning, plus take into account data points like fuel surcharges and intermodal rates, which have become extremely important in recent years. We needed to be able to take full advantage of the work we’ve done to provide a good carrier base and good rates.”