Critical Network Operations Program

During challenging economic times, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies asked R+L Global for help in designing and implementing a critical spare parts hubbing program.

Problem

The most valuable technology asset in business and government today is telecommunications. Without it, businesses, government agencies, and service organizations would be unable to function. The use of wireless communications has never been greater, and it has become an essential part of our nation's business management and emergency response system.

In order for the telecommunication’s giant to maintain its service standards, its network operations needed fast and reliable access to critical spare parts. The inability to do so would cause loss of revenues, threaten business continuity, security, and emergency response management.

When the global telecommunications giant needed to reduce their capital expenditure on critical spare parts, they began looking for a transportation and logistics provider they outlined a number of essential requirements for the program to be a success:

• The program would have to provide access to a variety of critical parts needed to make repairs.
• It would be necessary to maintain approximately 150 of redundant critical spare parts at designated warehouses to supply each of the Company's 80 switch sites.
• Failed parts would have to be replaced the same day, and within a 2 hour delivery window usually between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.
• The goal of the program was to lower operating and administrative costs while preventing service interruptions by providing parts to technicians to be exchanged during "off-peak" hours.

Solution

Working together in a collaborative effort with the company, R+L Global crafted a reliable, flexible, and predictable solution that was also cost effective. R+L Global proposed and implemented a plan that entailed the opening and management of 13 "hub" facilities that would be strategically placed across the country whereby they could reach each of the customers 80 switch sites within 5 hours drive time from one of the hubs.

From each of its 13 hubs, R+L would be able to react in a timely manner to deliver a replacement part to any of the 80 switch locations that experienced a critical parts failure. A collaborative effort between R+L Global's VP of Sales and IT Director also resulted in the development of a secure website from which R+L Global could provide the company with live "up to the minute" access to the inventory in any of the 13 parts hubs.

In the event that R+L received a critical spare parts “case” shipment to deliver from the R+L Global hub in San Francisco to the company's switch site in Santa Clara, Ca. R+L Global would coordinate the proper part being pulled from the inventory and delivering it to the site within the company’s prescribed delivery window. The delivery window would be within a 1 to 2 hour period the same day.

As the critical spare parts are being shipped to Santa Clara, R+L automatically replenishes the San Francisco hub with a replacement part from the Central hub in Kansas City. The company then automatically restocks the R+L Kansas City hub with the necessary replacement part. The deployment of this program has greatly reduced the customer’s capital expenditure by reducing the number of sites in which they stored critical spare parts from 80 down to 13.

Results

Since beginning the critical parts hubbing program, R+L Global has performed approximately 1660 successful critical spares case shipments. There has been only one service failure which arrived 10 minutes late, and they have maintained a 99.993% on-time delivery. They have also maintained inventory at 13 hubs with 0% shrink and no damages. This solution has saved the Telecommunications in excess of 17 million dollars in capital expenditure savings.

This Critical Network Operations Program is another example of how remaining responsive, flexible and dependable benefits R+L Global Logistics customers.