Readerlink, the largest book distributor in the United States, ships to over 70,000 stores, including major retailers like Target, Costco, and Walmart. At any given time, Readerlink is responsible for between 1,500 - 3,000 unique items. Their business is heavily focused on On Time In Full (OTIF) deliveries, and keeping customers and distribution centers informed about shipment ETAs is a crucial part of their success.
Challenge
Due to the precise requirements related to getting books on display at stores for expected release dates, Readerlink’s customers, distribution centers and internal stakeholders need timely answers to detailed questions. In order to provide information with the necessary speed and accuracy, they required Advanced Visibility to power business intelligence extending all the way down to individual line-items. This task required 200 man hours a week, causing their team to take time away from handling more customer-centric initiatives.
Solution
Readerlink’s internal team put together a powerful business intelligence tool in order to quickly and easily answer questions from customers, distribution centers and internal stakeholders. They powered this tool with data feeds from project44’s Advanced Visibility Platform™, giving them high-fidelity data on shipment, line-item and individual store levels.