Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

This article appeared in ‘The Australian’ newspaper a week or so ago and it contains some encouraging news for all in the kids and baby retail sector.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that things are looking good for independent retailers in the baby and children’s retail industry. This can now be backed up by data from independent research house IbisWorld, which found that parents spend a whopping $1.14 billion on clothing their children. The best news for small to medium enterprises is that the majority of this is spent at small independent stores and those supplying to them. IbisWorld research found that the children’s market is highly fragmented with only 30% being spent at big department stores like Target, Myer, Kmart and David Jones. Even the relatively big independents like Pumpkin Patch, Baby Bunting and OshKosh have only 1-2% of the market each.

Here is the article in full if you are interested: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25520314-5018019,00.html

It’s encouraging to see that there is at least one sector where smaller, niche business can not only survive but continue to thrive despite difficult economic times.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

The logistics Industry as a whole is probably one of the worst offenders when it comes to sustainability and ‘green’ practices. The nature of the industry requires it to be heavily reliant on road transport and the image often portrayed is one of heavy polluters on the road and thoughtless practices on the ground.
However it is important to realise that given the breadth of Australia’s vast landscape trucks and transport are vital to getting things around from A to B. Furthermore, a lot has changed in this industry, with many companies cleaning up their act and becoming aware of how to do things smarter and cleaner.

At Cross Docks Australia we are trying to improve our green credentials and have gone to considerable lengths to try to make a difference in whatever way we can.

Such as:
• Using warehouse premises that require minimal artificial light and rely more on natural light and ventilation. Every fifth sheet of roofing is perspex allowing maximum light during operating hours, but with out creating heating issues in summer.
• Recycling: from the cardboard cartons that we reuse to pack our clients goods for transport, to the second-hand steel beams in our racking system. Where it can be reused or recycled we are doing it.
• For clients that require fragile packing we use wheat-pack (made from 100%biodegradable wheat dust) and discarded cardboard off cuts.
• The implementation of RF (radio frequency) picking system. Cross Docks Australia have invested in technology that has the dual benefit of increasing efficiency and reducing the amount of unnecessary paperwork.
• Any paper or cardboard that has earned retirement gets recycled by AMCOR
• Because we are not aligned with any one transport company, our clients can choose their own transport option, some of whom offer the purchase of green fleet /carbon offset options.
• We use electric forklifts rather than diesel or petrol machines.
• We have also fitted out our offices with second hand office furniture despite the fact that we could have bought brand new, timber office furniture most of which is shipped in from Asia, for the same price!
• Cross Docks Australia will continue to consider the environmental impact of the major decisions we make, we are also open too suggestions from our clients.

Cross Docks Australia are proud to have strong partnerships with environmentally aware clients like 3fish and Braemac energy. Braemac Energy are a 100% Australian owned company, showcasing a wide range of clean, green Solar and Wind energy solutions for households, businesses and government (www.braemacenergy.com.au/). 3fish describe a simple philosophy of “Do the Right Thing”. They take the full life cycle of each product they are involved in seriously. There is a strong focus on using renewable, organic and recycled materials and products that have been ethically sourced.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Albi Imports is one of Australia’s premier homeware and giftware importers. Established more then 20 years ago, importing recycled glassware from Spain, Albi Imports has experienced incredible growth in just under a decade. It is now a dominant force in the homeware industry importing a wide range of kitchenware, homeware, glass and ceramics, tabletop and textile designs, from all over the world.

What was the problem?

When Cross Docks Australia first meet with Albi Imports the business had almost tripled in size with a huge increase in their product range and the complexity of their warehousing and fulfilment requirements. This resulted in an increase in work load, demand for space and the need for more sophisticated and detailed work practices.

As a result Albi Imports now faced 2 major constraints in the warehousing and fulfilment side of their business;

• Space: There was no longer room for the stock in the existing premises

• Staff: The capabilities and size of their warehouse staff, could not cope with the tripling in size of orders and products

Additionally there weren’t adequate metrics or processes in place resulting in limited accountability and negligible transparency for customers or indeed even office staff to know where their orders were up to.

In general the whole working environment was extremely reactive and as a result they were only servicing customers at best on a day-to-day basis. Much of the work was done word of mouth and there were no systems or processes in place that tracked orders, tracked inventory or made people accountable for the work that they were performing.

Lost Business/Profit

Measuring loss in business and/or profit is difficult because there is no data to compare to but when Cross Docks took over the warehousing we moved swiftly to cut the backlog of orders jammed in the system and increase efficiency and transparency. A process was established to ensure order information was quickly and efficiently passed between the office staff and the warehouse. This ensured a reliable tracking of orders, inventory and despatch. Cllients could then be sure they were receiving reliable information.

Preparation for Christmas 2004

Albi worked proactively with Cross Docks to establish a new facility that was customised to fit with Albi’s expanding business. Using past and forecasted sales data, Cross Docks designed the warehouse to be customized to fit the current arrangement, yet flexible enough to allow for further growth and changes in product mixes and order complexities.

Milestones Achieved
In just eight weeks after taking on Albi as a client Cross Docks had achieved the following tangible benefits and the warehouse was running like a well-oiled machine:

• Staff levels and activity were appropriately managed with a rostering system that accommodated peak times and staff deployed to suit their skills. By taking over the warehouse staffing, it was one less headache for Albi and Cross Docks were able to manage staff numbers with greater accuracy.
• The warehouse increased order throughput by 50% and decreased order turnaround from 5 day average to less than 2 day average.
• Number of units picked per hour had also increased by 50% with the increased efficiency flowing through to all aspects of the business.
• Moved the stock to a new warehouse with custom-designed layout

Other value-adds to the business was the implementation of a network-based tool that enabled Albi’s customer service team to have real time access to order status information ensuring that they had current information to provide to their clients, ability to top up orders at the last minute and giving valuable information to their clients that gave them a competitive edge in the market place

Albi Imports is just one of Cross Docks Australia’s valued clients. We are constantly working to improve our business processes for our clients, so that they can then pass that value on to their customers.
To find out how Cross Docks Australia can improve the warehousing and logistics side of your business and allow you time to get on with what you do best, call Shan on 0413 745 555.

Cross Docks Australia have partnered with boutique children’s clothing label mila&milo to deliver benefits to the business.

Mila&milo specialises in importing and distributing premium quality Dutch clothing and accessories for children. When mila&milo first engaged the services of Cross Docks Australia, there were four major benefits we aimed to deliver:

BUY MORE TIME: More time to focus on core competency:
An understanding of operations is important, however mila&milo identified that it wasn’t their field of expertise. “Many business don’t anticipate how time intensive operations are”, says Cross Docks Australia’s Managing Director Shan Manickam. “It’s the time spent receiving stock, putting it away, picking orders, packing them up and sending off, that is to say nothing of storage costs, maintaining stock inventory and the cost of your own time to do this.” By outsourcing this aspect of the business to Cross Docks, mila&milo were able to focus on their core competencies of research, buying, fostering relationships with existing clients and developing new business, confident that the back end of the business was under control. We believe many small business people don’t value their time in performing these tasks, tasks we can do a lot more efficiently, thus allowing you to focus on expanding your business.

FITS LIKE A GLOVE: A tailored warehousing and distribution solution: On meeting with mila&milo, Cross Docks Australia’s first job was to ascertain the specific needs of their prospective client. Rather then fitting a square peg in a round hole, Cross Docks Australia developed a tailored solution to fit the growing needs of the business. Cross Docks Australia also offered warehouse growth capabilities with the space and flexibility to cater to fluctuating stock levels, seasonal variations or increased demand for stock.

KEEP IT SIMPLE: Simplifying the rate and streamlining costs: Of course great service is important but the vital thing was for mila&milo to achieve this within their logistics and warehousing budget. Cross Docks Australia offered mila&milo a fixed cost per unit arrangement which offers a simplified invoicing system and allows mila&milo to accurately predict what their logistics costs will be. This simple system improves budget forecasting and reduces the difficult and time-consuming process of deciphering what costs were for what service.

CONTROL AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON: Control and transparency of stock and stock movement Many businesspeople fear a loss of control when outsourcing a part of their business but with Cross Docks Australia, mila&milo were able to achieve constant visibility of their inventory and stock movement. With the RF (radio frequency) pick and pack system the data movement is visible through a web-based inventory system. This gives mila&milo real-time access to every detail of their stock and the ability to interface/integrate IT systems also decreases the double handling of data.

In the business of logistics and warehousing there is no product to sell; we instead rely on fostering strong client relationships and delivering the most efficient processes, resulting in unbeatable service. All of these ingredients are vital to a successful 3PL (third party logistics) business and go to the core of the Cross Docks Australia philosophy of being Professional, Proficient and Precise.

Cross Docks Australia increased their warehouse capacity to more than 20000sqm this week, with the opening of their third multi-user distribution centre. The Melbourne based company opened the new facility in response to increased growth and expansion of their client’s businesses, and in particular to house and service their latest customers AZ Designz and mila&milo.
The fully racked, state of the art facility has implemented ISIS WMS (warehouse management system) and runs on RF (radio frequency) which dispenses with the need for picking slips. This increases productivity due to improved order turnaround time and increased inventory accuracy.
The new centre will now host a number of new and exiting clients. One such client is AZ Designz, a rapidly expanding company which imports a contemporary range of tech gear such as compendiums, laptop bags and ipod accessories. They were previously operating their logistics services in-house but saw the need for a 3PL when their distribution requirements became increasingly complex and difficult. Warehousing and distribution is a simple process in concept but one that can cause a lot of problems if things are not run efficiently and with proper processes in place.
Cross Docks Australia’s Managing Director Shan Manickam was on the ground this week to ensure a smooth transition for their most recent client. “The partnership with AZ Designz is a great opportunity for both businesses. We are proud to be able to offer them a state of the art distribution centre and accompanying logistics services that enables AZ (Designz) to concentrate on what they do best, without the headache of the distribution part.”
But far from resting on his laurels Mr Manickam sees this is as only the beginning. “For Cross Docks the new facility is just the start. At the end of the day our business is about relationships and we are constantly trying to raise the bar when it comes to delivering a service that is specific to the needs of each individual client.”

Cross Docks Australia were pleased to welcome AZ Designz into its new multi user warehouse this month. The partnership has provided AZ Designz with a logistics solution that solves many of its distribution problems, offering a valuable service that improves efficiency and provides advantages that flow on to its customers.

AZ Designz is a rapidly expanding, multi-million dollar organisation which supplies a vibrant and contemporary range of tech gear such as bags, compendiums, laptop cases and ipod accessories. Since its inception in 1993, AZ Designz (AZD) had been handling the logistics processes in house. However the company had expanded at such a rapid pace that distribution requirements had become more complex and laborious. Despite the boom they relied on inefficient and costly methods to fulfil orders, such as manually printing pick slips, invoices and despatch labels, and couriering them to the warehouse on a daily basis. They needed another solution that improved efficiency and visibility so that they could focus on their core competencies.

Cross Docks Australia were able to offer a logistics service that improved order turnaround and supply times for AZD. A dashboard via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), together with Radio Frequency (RF) scan packing technology allowed absolute transparency of inbound and outbound stock movement, inventory availability, order status and any other pertinent information, in real time.

Cross Docks Australia were able to offer value to AZ Designz by providing a host of other benefits that increased the efficiency of the business, allowing the team to focus on what they do best; supplying quality design at an affordable price without the distraction and headaches of a cumbersome backend system. These include:

• Real-time visibility: The VPN provides AZ Designz real-time access to order and despatch information, so they can confidently assess sales data and other product information.
• Reduced costs: Improved logistics processes eliminate the need for costly couriers, reduce both time delays and the potential for lost documentation that come from manual handling of data.
• Improved staff utilisation: Administration staff members are freed from performing time consuming tasks like printing off labels and chasing up orders with the warehouse, as well as time spent on the warehouse floor itself.
• Improved customer service: Improved visibility leads to superior customer service. The sales team have direct access to order status, improving dialogue and providing their customers with up-to-date order information.

Cross Docks Australia provided AZ Designz with a logistics solution that solved many of its distribution problems. With improved efficiency and visibility of its operations, the AZ Designz team can focus on producing and selling its unique brand of bags knowing the end result will be increased sales and bottom line contribution.