Personalised service equals success for TL DistributionCustomer Story As a boutique player in the book distribution industry, TL Distribution (TLD) has thrived despite an unsteady sea of publishing houses going bust or being acquired by larger entities. The company has enjoyed steady growth and credits the ERP publishing system it utilizes as a major success factor to running its business. Warwick Teale, joint principal (with Greg Little), comments, “I have to say IBS BOOKMASTER underpins our operations. I don’t think we’d be as successful as we are without it. The system is very flexible and allows us to offer highly individualized services to our client publishers. It’s almost like running 8-10 different businesses – none of which conform to a strict model and while that may be a challenge it’s one we successfully handle through IBS BOOKMASTER.”
Synergistic ERP solution
While TLD provides specialized services encompassing warehousing, distribution and logistics, it depends very closely on its backend ERP system, IBS BOOKMASTER, to effortlessly deliver its distribution offering.
“We’re real IBS BOOKMASTER fans,” enthused Warwick Teale, “because every challenge that we’ve been given from our clients – and there have been many because of the diversity of our client base – we’ve been able to meet with IBS BOOKMASTER. For example, the interface we have with publishing companies was created within IBS Bookmaster for us. One such publisher electronically exports hundreds of orders to us every day. Being able to electronically receive orders directly from retailers has also been a huge costsaving for us.”
Interestingly, one of TLD’s customers, New Holland Publishing has been an IBS Bookmaster user for 10 years. While it utilizes its own IBS BOOKMASTER system for its publishing area it also has daily access to the distribution module on TLD’s system.
Fiona Schultz, CEO/Director of New Holland Publishing comments, “It’s great that we both utilize IBS BOOKMASTER. We’ve never experienced any downtime with the system both from our end or on TLD’s system. TLD do a fabulous job for us and they’re very experienced in cost-effectively moving products out the door. Having them do our distribution also allows us to concentrate more fully on the publishing side of the business.”
Freedom and flexibility
IBS Bookmaster allows TLD to be flexible in how it services the customers. As Greg Little says, “We don’t dictate what services clients receive from us. It’s up to them. Some ask for the minimum such as warehousing and dispatch. For others again, it can be a combination of things such as customs clearance, receipting, credit control and collections, database management, inventory management and even sales analysis and reporting.” IBS BOOKMASTER also allows TLD to give customers their own profile. Greg Little explains, “We can provide a seamless warehouse/distribution solution where, to all intents and purposes, it appears that they are running their own warehouse, even to the point of sending out invoices on their own stationery if required.”
“It’s also important for us to be able to cope with changing client requirements as their business grows. Fortunately, IBS Bookmaster gives us the freedom to not only manage different business rules – but ever-changing rules also.”
24-hour access to service offerings
Importantly, TLD offers every client access to its own data directly from IBS Bookmaster through a secure Internet connection. This benefits TLD clients in two ways: It means that they now have complete visibility on how they’re being serviced while also having the option of self-service. For example, clients can do their own title maintenance or print sales reports – at any time.
24-hour order fulfillment
While IBS BOOKMASTER plays a strong role in maintaining warehouse efficiency, the ability to successfully move products out of the door is also the result of the hands-on role played by the two principals and the efficiency and hard work of their warehouse staff.
“We pride ourselves on very fast turnaround and the high service levels we guarantee on our contracts,” says Warwick Teale. “The culture we have in the warehouse reflects that too. Whether we have 20,000 or 40,000 books to dispatch, we do whatever is required to get orders out on time.” He went on to explain, “As far as warehouse design, the picking sequence is set up so that the fastest moving titles are at the beginning and middle level. This minimizes picking time and maximizes the productivity.”
“Pickers read an IBS BOOKMASTER generated picking slip and pack into a tote. Every order picked is double-checked either via scanning equipment or by experienced
packers.”
“From there the order is confirmed in IBS Bookmaster with details recorded such as the number of cartons and the con-note number. This is where IBS BOOKMASTER will produce an individual invoice for each of TLD’s client-publishers, which shows their own logo and details in the format client-publishers have requested.” IBS BOOKMASTER electronically sends con-note information to the carriers. TLD utilize an independent carrier, the Malcorp group of companies, who are a familiar name in the book industry.
Rapid turnaround on returns
TLD puts the same focus on returns as they do on stock going out. Both joint principals have been in publishing for a long time and understand the knock-on effect if returns are not processed quickly, particularly the impact on debt collection and meeting customers’ expectations. As the publishing industry receives many returns, a strict system needs to be in place to ensure that all returns are authorized and then processed quickly.
IBS BOOKMASTER goes through a process of validating all stock returned, by checking first of all if stock was actually purchased through TLD and that it has been returned within the returns window – and for each publisher this can be different. This ensures that TLD’s clients are not incurring unnecessary costs from returns.
Staff who work in the returns area scan the products against the returns authorization processed by TLD’s customer service staff. Because returns are processed quickly by TLD and then tracked by IBS BOOKMASTER, the whole process of moving books quickly out of the door starts again, thereby minimizing inventory holdings and improving client-publishers sales.
“IBS BOOKMASTER’s replenishment system works very well,” notes Warwick Teale. “It fully tracks stock in all locations including bulk and forward picking.”
“At the end of each day we process orders through IBS BOOKMASTER and it will report what needs to be replenished from either the bulk or the returns area. This means that we can quickly and efficiently have stock available in the right location ready for pickers the next day.”
Future plans
While TLD is a niche player in a very competitive marketplace, they have been so successful by concentrating on their core strengths in warehousing and distribution, and by listening to and adapting their services to suit the unique needs of their client base.
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