May 13
philsnyOrder Fulfillment Logistics, Ogden, Practical Commerce, Utah, Warehousing
ProPack is excited to be getting more exposure in a new article from Practical Commerce that references ProPack’s Ogden, UT facility. Late last year ProPack moved one of its longstanding clients down to Ogden, UT to allow them more centralized distribution. Now in the below linked article they discuss the positive value that move had on their business.
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/4003-Lessons-Learned-Trusting-your-Gut-to-Ecommerce-Success
May 06
philsnyOrder Fulfillment, Small Package Carriers, Technology Case Study, CMS Globalsoft, FedEx, Manifesting, Shipping
Today FedEx released a new case study featuring ProPack and CMS Globalsoft (makers of ProPack’s manifest system, WorldLink). This article is available on the FedEx website and provides great exposure for ProPack.
Check out the FedEx case study at: http://images.fedex.com/images/us/2011crimages/compatible_solutions/content/CaseStudy_ProPack_v1.pdf
Apr 22
philsnyWarehousing Logistics, Pallet Storage, Racking, Supply Chain, Warehousing
Last week ProPack setup over 2200 pallet positions of location managed racking in it’s Ferndale, WA warehouse. This expansion more than doubles the warehouse’s pallet capacity and makes the systemized location and management of pallets substantially more efficient.
ProPack’s expert racking team got the new setup put up within four days. Now just like in Utah and Tennessee ProPack has a fully racked warehouse in Washington.
Ferndale’s new racking will help add value and reduce costs for ProPack’s many clients in Northwest Washington and Southwestern British Columbia. And most importantly it allows great expansion opportunities for ProPack and it’s clients.
Apr 01
philsnyOrder Fulfillment FedEx, Order Fulfillment, Packaging, Shipping, UPS
Carrier pricing for package shipments is based on the shipment’s destination and time in transit as well as it’s package weight and dimensions. Since the destination is set by the customer the most often area targeted for cost savings is the time in transit (or service level). While selecting a Ground or Mail service with a longer transit time can save money it is not the only way to reduce costs. Lesser known is minimizing the size of the shipment’s packaging to save on dimensional weight charges.
Dimensional weight always applies for FedEx, UPS and DHL domestic air and international shipments. For FedEx and UPS Ground shipments it applies over three cubic feet. Carriers charge based on the greater of weight or dims. The length, width and/or height of a package can easily turn a 10 pound package into a 40 pound package, thus increasing the cost of the shipment.
ProPack has designed a series of custom boxes for use by it’s clients. These boxes have scores (or perforated lines) at 2, 4 and 6 inches down from the top of the box. This allows ProPack’s expert packagers the flexibility to “score” down a box to the exact size needed for the product inside. Eliminating any excess height to a package saves on potential dimensional weight charges.
ProPack’s custom sizable boxes help save it’s clients on their shipping costs. This is yet another way that ProPack uses innovation to add value and reduce costs in the supply chain for it’s clients.
Mar 11
philsnyWarehousing 3PL, East Coast, Economic and Community Development, Logistics, Supply Chain, Tennessee, Warehousing
ProPack is very excited to share a press release issued today by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development:
**********************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2013 Media Contact: Laura Elkins, ECD
Office: (615) 532-1910
Email: laura.elkins@tn.gov
PROPACK TO OPEN FACILITY IN ROBERTSON COUNTY
Logistics Company to Invest $1 Million, Create 22 Jobs in White House
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty along with ProPack officials announced today the company’s plans to open its first facility in the Southeast on Highway 76 in White House. The expansion represents a $1 million investment by ProPack and will create 22 new, full-time jobs in Robertson County.
“As one of the country’s premier transportation and logistics hubs, Tennessee allows companies to move goods quicker and easier to locations around the world,” Hagerty said. “I appreciate ProPack recognizing of the value of a centrally located base in Tennessee, and I welcome the company to our state.”
Headquartered in Washington, ProPack is a third-party logistics company that specializes in order fulfillment and freight forwarding services. In business since 1991, the company chose to open a facility in Tennessee in part due to its central location and ease of access to many of the major markets.
“ProPack is excited to open a warehouse in Tennessee and take advantage of the business friendly atmosphere this great state has to offer,” said Phil Snyder, Vice President, Operations and Technology, ProPack. “We look forward to increasing the number of clients we work with in Tennessee while also expanding the number of jobs available to the community.”
The 100,000 square-foot warehouse is temperature controlled and can hold up to 3,000 location managed pallets with a total potential of up to 6,000 pallets. ProPack has extra capacity available, and companies interested in storing pallets should contact the company at 1-877-655-9425.
“We are very pleased that ProPack choose White House for their expansion into the Southeast,” Gerald Herman, City of White House City Administrator, said. “Mayor Mike Arnold is committed to growing business and 1,000 new jobs in our city in his first term in office. ProPack adding 22 new jobs is helping us reach this goal.”
“We are excited to have ProPack in White House,” Julie Bolton, Executive Director, White House Chamber of Commerce, said. “They are a great addition to our city.”
The 22 new jobs include logistics/warehouse and management positions. To apply, email resume@propack.com or contact Elwood Staffing or Randstad USA about available positions at ProPack’s White House, Tenn. warehouse.
For more information, please visit www.propack.com.
About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tn.gov/ecd. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.
Feb 25
philsnyInventory Management Inventory Management, Order Fulfillment, Supply Chain, Technology
In the Third Party Logistics Order Fulfillment world it is best practices for the company and their warehouse to each maintain their own separate inventory. Since the warehouse is a contracted provider for the company it is in their best interest to maintain their own inventory to best manage their own processes. The company should also maintain their own inventory to manage their website and for accounting purposes. Reconciling both these inventories together helps maintain both their accuracies and holds both the company and 3rd party warehouse accountable.
ProPack has developed a custom module in our WMS system to facilitate the automated reconciliation between the company (ProPack’s client) and the warehouse (ProPack’s system). This system imports SKUs, lot numbers and quantities from the company’s system, compares them against the warehouse’s system and returns a report detailing any differences. ProPack then employs an automated physical count system to double check any discrepancies, notify the client and update the inventory accordingly.
Inventory accuracy and system accountability is very important. ProPack is continuing to develop and enhance its systems and processes to add value and low costs for its clients.
Feb 04
philsnyWarehousing Cross Dock, Fulfillment, Pallets, Racking, Storage, Tennessee, Warehousing
During the week of 1/28 through 2/1 ProPack setup 3000 pallet positions of racking in its Tennessee warehouse. The team did a fantastic job of getting the project done in one week when the projection was for two. This racking now allows ProPack a substantial amount of expansion opportunity for Eastern US fulfillment.
Below are some pictures to document the setup process.
As well you can view a 360 Panorama here.
Jan 21
philsnyWarehousing 3PL, Logistics, Online, Pallet Storage, Storage, Supply Chain, Technology, Warehousing
Last week ProPack officially launched its new Pallet In/Out system at their Ogden, UT facility. ProPack developed this exciting new bit of technology for two clients who frequently cross dock pallets. For the past six months the system has been mostly manual. That changed last week.
Pallet In/Out is developed around receiving, storing and shipping complete pallets. The process is straight forward:
- ProPack physically receives in a shipment of pallets
- Both shipment and individual pallet information is record in ProPack’s online system
- Pallets are labeled and placed in a specific rack location tracked in the system
- The client is charged for receiving the pallet
- At the end of each day the client is also charged a small storage fee for each active pallet
- Clients have complete online visibility to their pallets and the descriptive elements recorded for those pallets at the time of receipt
- When clients would like to either pickup their pallets or have them shipped out they submit an online order through ProPack’s online customer portal
- ProPack scans each pallet in the outbound order
- Clients are charge per pallet for the outbound shipment
- All receipts, inventory, orders and charges are visible online
Clients are charged per unit when pallets are received, stored and shipped. These charges are competitive and clients only pay for what they use. All pallet inventory is completely visible online and accurately tracked. Clients will always know exactly how many pallets are in ProPack’s warehouse.
ProPack is very excited about this new service offering and the competitive advantage the technology offers. With substantial room to grow in ProPack’s Washington, Utah and Tennessee warehouses there is great benefit for both ProPack’s exciting and potential customers.
Jan 14
philsnyWarehousing Logistics, Supply Chain, Tennessee, Utah, Warehousing, Washington
In 2012 ProPack focused on the setup of its three expansion warehouses in Washington, Utah and Tennessee. In 2013 ProPack will be focussing on filling these warehouses with new clients as well as on processes and technology.
February, 2012: ProPack begins staffing its Ferndale, WA warehouse.
June, 2012: ProPack opens its first out of state warehouse in Ogden, UT.
October, 2012: ProPack begins shipping out of its Tennessee warehouse north of Nashville.
Currently there are no new warehouses planned for 2013. However, the logistics industry is dynamic and ever evolving. It will be exciting to see what 2013 has to bring.
Jan 07
philsnyCarrier Rates 2013, Carrier, DHL, FedEx, Freight, Packages, Rates, Shipping, UPS, US Mail
FedEx
Effective Jan. 7, 2013
FedEx Express package and freight rates will increase an average of 5.9% for U.S., U.S. export and U.S. import services. The shipping rate increase will be partially offset by adjusting the fuel price at which the fuel surcharge begins, reducing the fuel surcharge by 2 percentage points.
The following surcharge changes will take effect Jan. 7, 2013, unless otherwise noted, for FedEx Express® services.
Address Correction – From $11 per correction to $12 per correction.
Declared Value – For Express services will increase from $0.80 to $0.85 per $100 of value, minimum charge will increase from $2.40 to $2.55.
Delivery Area Surcharge
- Commercial and extended commercial from $2 per package to $2.15 per package.
- Residential from $3 per package to $3.25 per package
- Extended residential shipments will increase from $3.25 per package to $3.50 per package.
FedEx® Delivery Signature Options – $2 per package to $2.25 per package.
Payer Rebilling – From $11 per shipment to $12 per shipment
UPS
· UPS Air and International Services will increase an average net 4.5% through a combination of a 6.5% increase in rates and a two percentage point reduction in the UPS Air and International fuel surcharge table.
· UPS Ground Services will increase an average net 4.9% through a combination of a 5.9% increase in rates and a one percentage point reduction in the UPS Ground fuel surcharge table.
· The Delivery Area Surcharge applied to commercial addresses for U.S. Air Services will increase $0.15.* The Delivery Area Surcharge to commercial addresses for U.S. Ground Services will remain unchanged.*
· The Delivery Area Surcharge applied to commercial extended addresses for U.S. Air Services will increase $0.15.* The Delivery Area Surcharge to commercial extended addresses for U.S. Ground Services will remain unchanged.*
· The Delivery Area Surcharge for U.S. Air Services to residential addresses will increase $0.25.* The Delivery Area Surcharge for U.S. Ground Services to residential addresses will remain unchanged.*
· The Delivery Area Surcharge – Extended for U.S. Ground and U.S. Air Services to residential addresses will increase $0.25.* For a complete listing of eligible U.S. postal codes and to determine which charge may be applied, click here.
· The On-Call Pickup Area Surcharge for extended residential addresses will increase $0.25.*
· The On-Call Pickup Residential Surcharge will increase $0.25.*
· The Delivery Area Surcharge for UPS Hundredweight Service® will increase $0.75.
· The charge for Declared Value will increase $0.05 per $100 of value declared, with a minimum charge of $2.55.
· The charges for Delivery Confirmation Signature Required and Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required will increase $0.25.
· The Delivery Intercept charge will increase $1.00* for requests made via ups.com and $2.00* for requests made by telephone.
· The Residential Surcharge for U.S. Ground Services will increase $0.25.* The Residential Surcharge for U.S. Air Services will increase $0.20.* The Hundredweight Residential Surcharge will increase $1.70.
· The Residential Surcharge applied to UPS International Air Services imported to the U.S. or destined to Canada and billed to a U.S payer will increase $0.20.* The Residential Surcharge for UPS Standard shipments will increase $0.25.*
· The 1 UPS Pickup Attempt Labels fee will increase $0.50. The 3 UPS Pickup Attempt Labels fee will increase $0.50. The fee for 3 UPS Pickup Attempt Labels charged to customers that pay Retail Rates will increase $0.25.
· The UPS Next Day Early A.M. premium applied to customers receiving Standard List Rates will increase $1.00. The premium for customers receiving Daily Rates or Retail Rates will decrease by $1.00.
· The minimum disbursement fee for imports to the U.S. will increase $0.50.
· A fee of $3.00 per additional line will apply when more than three entry lines are entered.
US Mail
U.S. Postal Service Announces New Prices and Services for 2013
Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 27, 2013 include:
· Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
· Letters to all international destinations (1oz.) — $1.10
New domestic retail pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate products include:
· Small box — $5.80
· Medium box — $12.35
· Large box — $16.85
· Large APO/FPO box — $14.85
· Regular envelope — $5.60
· Legal envelope — $5.75
· Padded envelope — $5.95
The USPS rates increase will also cause our MII rates to increase.
DHL
DHL Express has announced an average rate increase of 5.9% for its U.S. export and import services, effective January 2, 2013. The average rate increase will be partially offset by a two-point reduction in the Fuel Surcharge index. DHL Express adjusts its prices annually, taking into account inflation and rising costs in the more than 220 countries and territories it serves. Customers should refer to their current DHL agreement to determine the impact of these changes.
Adjustments:
5.9% average increase for U.S. export and import services
Two-point reduction in the Fuel Surcharge index
Effective January 2, 2013
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