We found that the system used for bagging and loading polyethylene was outdated, expensive, unsafe and generated too much product loss due to damages and the stevedore operation took too much time.
After several meetings with my superiors I
convinced them that we had to reevaluate our bagging and loading system,
including reviewing the transport system, even though our sales were FOB, there was an
opportunity for cost reduction and improving the quality of our product delivery
to customers, and mainly, improving the productivity of the
bagging system for the final product, which was under our operations. After
reaching an agreement, we reviewed the entire system for bagging, shipping, and
delivery to our customers. This process included visiting 20 major clients to
gather their comments and suggestions on the then-current system, and also to
obtain from them any suggestions they might have regarding improvements, in
short, trying to learn what they would like to continue to receive and/or
maintain in the then-current system.
Inside the company there was great resistance
because there was no interest in changing the status quo, however, after
many meetings and explanations on the objectives, we were able to arrive at an
agreement with both the operational and commercial areas, and then we found a
company in the marketplace that became responsible for bagging the final
product, warehousing and providing stevedore services (loading the bags on
transport trucks). Here alone we obtained an annual savings of US$1,000,000,,since the project conceived stipulated a drastic
reduction in damages and product loss, improved warehousing and cost reduction
of bagging operations, which were all outsourced. As to the carriers, we went
from working with 60 carriers a month providing transport, to only 20. Besides timplementing a pool of only 3 carriers (which our
customers were not forced to work with), which improved the quality of
deliveries and reduced shipping costs by up to 20% for our customers.