Direct store delivery (DSD) can save consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers significant time, aggravation, and money, as “cutting out the middleman” usually does, boosting bottom lines through:

• Improved cash flow
• Reduced transportation and fulfillment costs
• Increased sales thanks to satisfied customers and optimized point-of-sales (POS) opportunities

Yet the velocity of modern business can make something as simple as delivering fresh milk to a local grocery store a complicated transaction. DSD requires shared information throughout the supply chain for split-second decision-making even during routine delivery schedules. When routes are disrupted—a common occurrence due to extreme weather, deteriorating infrastructure, and mounting urban congestion—the need for visible, up-to-the-minute data is even greater. That’s a sobering thought for CPG executives, especially with the National Association of Manufacturers predicting that by 2020 “one-third of the entire US interstate system will be congested, impairing reliability and increasing the cost of goods movement.”¹

Fortunately, mobility tools—combined with scalable, integrated software solutions—can preserve DSD profitability gains and revenue growth. Infor is preparing for this mobile future both internally and with partners such as Numeric Computer System (NCS).

The NCS solution accommodates multiple go-to-market strategies for the DSD model in the food and beverage industry. The firm’s xMobility Development Suite offers customizable workflows to support multiple product management, as well as sales and delivery applications including:

• Delivery
• Presales
• Merchandising
• Vending
• Sales force management

NCS’s DSD solutions are part of its Ready-to-Work family, supported by both the Xpedium xLink Mobility Connector (for integration into back-office ERP solutions) and Xpedium vehicle-tracking and -information systems. Available options include wired or wireless communications, GPS, barcode scanning, thermal or impact printing, camera/imaging, RFID, and many other peripherals and web services. These solutions allow low-visibility tasks such as start-of-day inspection and load verification to become part of a unified information stream that documents product flow.

What does all this mean? Primarily that key data on goods is always accessible, leading to significant DSD cost savings through:

• Reduced labor hours spent tracking data or waiting for information or problem resolution
• Lower transportation costs
• Fewer damaged or obsolete goods

At the same time, these solutions supercharge DSD by giving CPG companies the ability to:

• Deliver more goods to more places with fewer resources.
• Accelerate the order-to-payment cycle, directly impacting positive cash flow.
• Manage promotions and other sales programs more effectively and efficiently.

By integrating DSD solutions into existing enterprise-wide solutions, CPG firms extend visibility beyond the manufacturing plant even as they build a DSD data warehouse—a treasure trove of potential insights that business intelligence capabilities can transform into new opportunities.

DSD is here to stay, but it’s not enough anymore to simply eliminate the middleman; leading firms will use DSD—and the information that makes it possible—to reinvent their businesses and their industries.

Are you ready to join them? Share your thoughts and ideas by leaving a comment to this post.