C3's Yard Management and Dock Scheduling Blog

KeHE Distributors Rolls out C3 Reservations

KeHE Distributors, a leading distributor of more than 40,000 natural and specialty food items, has deployed C3 Reservations in nine distribution centers throughout the US. 

Dock Scheduling with a Rapid ROI 

When KeHE Distributors decided to improve their inbound appointment scheduling processes, they had several key criteria by which to evaluate the different solutions on the market. 

"We needed to improve the productivity of our schedulers, streamline our receiving of carriers at the facilities and provide better visibility on the status of purchase orders throughout the enterprise", said Craig Turner Vice President of Distribution Operations at KeHe Distributors.    "Our industry is very competitive and we needed a system to be functionally rich and easy to deploy at a cost that reflected our situation."

C3 Reservations on-demand software fit the bill.  On-demand software reduces a company's total cost of ownership by eliminating on-site servers and the associated IT costs.  Furthermore, C3 Reservation's volume based cost model means companies pay for a solution that reflects the size of their operation - not the size of the software.

C3 Reservations optimizes the receiving and shipping process by scheduling appointments to the available capacity in the warehouse.  Operators can simply apply relevant constraints to ensure that the warehouse receives a balanced schedule that streamlines the operation.   C3 Reservations reduces phone calls, faxes and manual emails that are involved with the traditional back and forth of appointment scheduling.

KeHE piloted the application at one of their busiest warehouse as a proof of concept, after which they rolled out 8 additional sites in a period of 4 weeks and have recognized significant savings.  "We have increased the productivity of our schedulers by 50 percent and our receiving at the warehouses has been streamlined and simplified.  We now have a standardized appointment scheduling process that is uniform across the business.", says Turner.

"C3 Reservations is a robust application that responds to industry requirements.  Companies are looking for an easy to implement, low cost appointment scheduling solution that doesn't require involvement from their IT departments.", remarks Greg Braun Vice President of Business Development at C3 Solutions.  "C3 is committed to providing high quality On-Demand software for areas of the supply chain that have traditionally been overlooked.  The success experienced by companies such as KeHE demonstrates that there is a legitimate need for these types of solutions."

About KeHE Distributers

KeHE Distributors is a leading distributor of more than 40,000 natural and specialty food items that fit the lifestyle of today's consumer.  KeHE distributes its huge product line--including specialty, gourmet, natural and organic, Kosher, international and ethnic food products--to retail grocery stores of all sizes in 49 states as well as Mexico and the Caribbean.   KeHE, an employee-owned company, was founded in 1952 by Arthur Kehe.

Learn More about C3 Reservations

If you would like to learn more about how C3 Reservations can increase your schedulers productivity and increase your warehouse throughput, please contact us for a free web demonstration.