Fashion and homeware retailer Store Twenty One has reduced the size of its fleet by 27 per cent through efficiency improvements enabled by Paragon routing and scheduling software. The company uses the software to optimise its distribution logistics operations, delivering annualised savings of £0.5 million. With Paragon, Store Twenty One is providing a consistent delivery service from its Solihull distribution centre to its current 220 stores throughout the UK.
“We began using Paragon Single Depot routing software in December 2011 and we have been able to remove three 18-tonne rigid trucks from the fleet, which is a major saving when you add up fixed and running costs of the equipment and wages. The savings arise from using the software to plan optimised peak and off-peak delivery schedules for all of our stores, which make better use of our resources and improve overall efficiency of the logistics operations,” says Martin Packer, Head of Logistics and Distribution, Store Twenty One.
“The stores benefit from accurate delivery time windows and the staff can continue with their in-store duties until the vehicles arrive to offload. Clearly, without Paragon we would not have been able to achieve this level of success.”
Store Twenty One uses Paragon to plan two types of schedule: one for peak deliveries that include the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas and the Easter bank holidays, the other for off-peak deliveries for the rest of the year. The company also uses the software for strategic planning of new store routes and deliveries.
“We began with inputting all the routes, deliveries and stores, with all the local restrictions for offloading, into the software. Then we involved our drivers and regional managers to analyse and agree or adjust the schedules. This approach is proving to be worthwhile and its value is demonstrated by the delivery consistencies and savings we are achieving,” says Martin Packer.
“Store Twenty One is continuing its store expansion programme across the UK. We have a separate 45,000 sq ft facility to service these new stores and we use Paragon in this part of the operation too, enabling fast and accurate planning of fuel-efficient routes. The software is very flexible as it allows us to remove stores from the plan without having to go back to the beginning and start from scratch; it is simply a matter of re-running it to update the data,” he says.
Paragon Software Systems is a market leader in transport optimisation with over 1,500 routing and scheduling systems installed in more than 33 countries. Paragon helps companies reduce transport costs by up to 20 per cent through more efficient deployment of vehicles and drivers. Headquartered in Dorking, UK and with US offices in Dallas, Paragon is a respected pioneer in routing and scheduling with over 30 years of know-how.
Paragon Software Systems
Jane Geary
Tel: 01306 732600
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