True Manufacturing Case Study
About True Manufacturing
The True Manufacturing story began in 1945 as a family-oriented firm building the first ever commercial refrigeration units in their backyard. True Manufacturing began exporting its coolers internationally in the 1950s, expanding its operations to the food industry during the 1970s. Seventy five years later, the firm is a renowned world leader and is dedicated to sustainability and energy efficiency. Its award-winning products are American made.
The Opportunity
The food and beverage industry needs reliable, high quality refrigeration and it is essential to ensure replacement and spare parts can be ordered and shipped quickly and efficiently. Although the ordering process was smooth, True Manufacturing knew that order fulfillment could be smoother and more cost effective. The aim was to review packaging, reducing costs and improving the legacy process.
Before, True Manufacturing used a few standard boxes. The warehouse person would select the most convenient sized carton and had to facilitate the process of producing the carton. They then had to decide how best to physically pack the parts, using fill material and bubble wrap as necessary, ensuring products arrived in perfect condition. Often, when packing multiple parts, identifying the correct carton was tricky. Consequently, shipping costs were higher than necessary. The entire process of selecting and producing the cartons and packing the items while adhering to shipping rules was time consuming.
After evaluating other logistics systems available, True Manufacturing decided to work with us at MagicLogic. They chose our BlackBoxTM because it is scalable to accommodate business expansion and is customisable.
Solution
As part of the solution, True Manufacturing purchased an automated packaging system that scans items to be packed, determining the length, width and height. Our BlackBox uses this information to determine the optimal carton size. The correct carton is then created by the automated packaging system based on our BlackBox calculations.
Introducing BlackBox significantly improved this process as it now serves as the calculator and communicator between the automated packaging system and the ERP system. BlackBox contains all pertinent information about parts items and specific packaging rules.
Now, when a customer places an order, BlackBox receives information about the item and quantity required. BlackBox automatically determines the optimal carton size and fill material needed. The information is transmitted to the automated packaging system so the carton can be created. Every box is assigned a unique reference number so it can be matched to the correct sales order
Results
Due to the positioning and functionality of BlackBox, personnel no longer need to facilitate the process of producing shipping cartons. Our logistics software helped improve the visual of how parts shipments are presented to the customer while adhering to all loading rules. Consequently, products continue to arrive in perfect condition.
During the first year of implementation, True Manufacturing’s packaging expenses reduced by USD$213k. MagicLogic continues to offer custom BlackBox solutions to accommodate True Manufacturing as its business changes and develops.