Transcript

Alright. Hi, Josh. Thank you very much for taking the time to, you know, help us with this interview and this, you know, package immensely valuable. Let me start with a quick introduction about, you know, your, facility and and go from there. Okay.

So we are a I work for Kengo Logistics Services. We’re a third party fulfillment agent for, a a range of customers. The current customer we have in our facility, has a product line that is very unique to our vertical. The products are expensive and definitely need to make sure that we are doing a good job of being good stewards of, number one, making sure that, when we see products come in, if there’s damage, if there’s any type of deviation from temperature control or any type of, customer requirement that we definitely are making note of that. We’re about a hundred or 240,000 square foot facility, temperature controlled.

Definitely got a lot of opportunity for deviations to occur, so we definitely utilize a product like Loadproof to monitor and manage some of the risks that we do experience. So can’t go into a lot of detail into exactly what our product line is. Definitely wanna, respect my customers’ request. So, if there’s anything else you’d like me to add, I definitely can answer more about that. Oh, great.

Great. No. No. I completely understood. So so what was the problem you guys were trying to solve?

Right? What was the, the frustration and what that you were, you know, like, you know, so painful, you know, but, originally, what was the problem? So there’s there’s two things that we we were dealing with. One was shipper damage. So we were seeing, prior to load proof, instances where products would come in.

We’d do the trailer inspection on the the initial shipment. We’ve identified damage on the product prior to, you know, our material handling equipment, removing it from the the trailers, and we didn’t really have a defined process or a tool that would help us, manage that. We were seeing where communication wasn’t in place, identification wasn’t in place, shipper damage was now making its way into the facility. At that point, that product is now warehouse damage. You know, we’re having to eat the cost, for missing that.

So that’s one side of it. The second part of it is, and we don’t see a lot of this. So when you look at our activity with Bofrupp, it’s kinda hit and miss, but was dealing with LTL shipment and outbound shipment. So there are instances where we wanna make sure that the products that we load, we definitely have a record of what the condition was prior to leaving our facility. So we have a a reference if we do get a a claim and it’s a verified claim that we have the support, and documentation to show, the condition of the product left our facility.

So those are the two main reasons. So shipper damage and then just loading damage. Yeah. Got it. Got it.

So how did you guys hear about us? I mean, now, you know, first time, no. I I know it was through Trevor and I mean, all you know, right, like, what made you, jump say, hey. You know, I want this. Yeah.

I definitely have a great relationship with Trevor and Innovation Lab. The the easiest thing for us to make the decision to utilize load proof was is just having that peace of mind to be able to easily document items such as shipper damage or load damage, you know, it only takes one or two times for when you see a potential inbound carrier to file a claim or when we file a claim, it’s hard to argue with photographs and documentation. So having something like load proof makes it really easy for us to have that peace of mind that when we do our inspection process, that we have an easy and retrieval record that allows us to feel confident that we’ve done, we followed our processes and procedures. And when we do file a claim that we’ve got that documentation support that, there’s not gonna be really any pushback. Same thing for the outbound side.

There are certain instances with certain LTL carriers if we have shipments that, you know, go from our Tennessee locations to California, well, within an LTL life cycle, it’s gonna hit four or five different hubs. That’s a lot of different handles where, the condition is probably not gonna look the same as when it looked had left our facility. So we definitely wanna make sure, you know, we we catch that. And in talking with Trevor, this was just an easy tool that Innovation Lab, you know, promoted to us. And, definitely for the cost, it it’s definitely paid for itself a thousand times over.

So Great. Great. You know, so I’ve seen many end user distribution center I think, oh, hey. Alright. We gotta have it like this.

And then finally, something happens and the tipping point. They hit the tipping point and they’re like, we gotta buy this. Right? So what was that tipping point in your side? What did that made you guys to say, oh, we gotta have this and we enter it, you know, bought it?

Well, one of the things that we’re working through is our Kinko operating system, which really focuses on lean fundamentals. And with our product line here, it doesn’t take a lot to incur a significant charge. And with us being a pass through cost, you know, it’s our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards, for our customers. And, with such a low cost item, it really was really a no brainer to be able to implement a tool, to be able to have at the point of use for anybody in our site that’s a user to be able to have access to to quickly document and make sure I keep using that peace of mind phrase, but that’s really what it is. It’s it’s us being good stewards of our customer product, to make sure that we’re making the decisions that we need to in documenting where things are deviated from the process.

Because we definitely don’t we do not want them to incur any excess expenses that really could be caught if we’re utilizing, a quick and easy process like Bulletproof. So Got it. Got it. You know, while while how easy was it to turn it I mean, alright. We you guys decided, hey.

We’re gonna have load code. And then how long did it take to, you know, turn it on? And then obviously, right, you know, there’s something called change management. We see this all the time. And we don’t turn on and when it takes people, sometimes you get a pushback, but people take some time to, you know, get you through it.

And then they then, momento. Oh, I’m so glad I have these pictures now. Right? How how was that process so as with anything like you mentioned, with change management, anytime you add something new, you can get some pushback. I think the the goal that we tried to set was is trying to to provide others to see the value in why you would wanna utilize a tool like LoadProof.

I think we still got some gaps, that we’re working through to try to find the most the most ways that we can utilize the product, but it didn’t take us very long here. You know, I think there are a couple instances that come to my mind where our customers inquired about claims that have been filed. We quickly had documentation to negate the claim from from the the end user. So I think as soon as you can if you can provide an environment where people see the value and how easy it is to create an application, like an app that, you know, any team member can use. If you make it really effortless and have a high amount of value, it definitely will sell itself.

To say, I mean, for here, it probably took a month, maybe a little bit less, maybe a little bit more. But I think there’s definitely, you know, I had a conversation this morning. There’s definitely more instances where this program can be utilized, and that’s one of the things that we’re working through is trying to identify, you know, how do we continually see value added areas where a program like this can be implemented in. Got it. Got it.

So do you guys have this running on the associates mobile devices, or do you have dedicated mobile devices that are available in the deep big big chips? So what we do on our site is is we have several users, and they’re mainly in the shipping and receiving office. So that’s gonna be from the inbound side and then the outbound side. For our leadership team members, they have access to the app via their phone their cell phone. But we also have an iPad mini at the site for shipping and receiving team members along with returns team members that have access to utilize the program.

So we really try to keep it in a really controlled environment, but we also definitely wanna make sure from a lean perspective that people have who need it can have access to that without having to wait, for somebody to come and help them. For us for us here, our goal has always been to be able to make it so the team members can solve problems on their own and empower them to do that. So we’re definitely trying to give them the right tools and give them access to when they need it. So Great. Great.

Fantastic. Where did you guys see the most value? Was it in the inbound side or is it in the outbound side or is it in general? You know, obviously, right, once something happens, then, you know, as a leader, as a team, you know, we spend a lot of time sitting in discussing a how do we make sure, you know, that it does not happen again? How do we, you know, change it?

We’re in good operating points, you know, control, checks so so we can’t handling. Right? We spend a lot of time. So that that involves quite a bit of labor. Where do you guys do the most value?

Is it inbound, outbound, or such labor, you know, savings? Definitely the inbound side. We we don’t see we don’t we don’t when I work with the inventory control manager here, we don’t see a lot of, excuse me, verified claims for outbound damage. It’s very, very minimal. We see more of it on the inbound side.

So I would quickly for me, it it it the value’s been on the inbound side versus the outbound side. And and what about labor savings? Was that a big deal or or is it is it wasn’t a big deal? So I think from a claim perspective, like I said, I can’t go into any details. I definitely feel and can see where, you know, in some of the verified claims that we’ve had where we’ve been able to support, shipments going out, it’s definitely been a cost savings or I’d say cost avoidance for our customer because we have proof of the status of, you know, when an item came in.

Definitely making sure, from an inbound perspective, you have to follow the the process of not touching anything before you you handle it to make sure that there’s no doubt. But yeah. And definitely on the inbound side, there’s there’s been some cost avoidance. Got it. Got it.

Great. You know, how was the transformation? How was life before more proof, and how was, you know, life after and what means has that made in your environment and how was it not just better now? That, you know, impacted? I definitely think it makes people’s lives easier.

I definitely know whenever you receive an email, and you’re being questioned about, you know, a certain shipment, you know, whether or not your team members follow the right process, it definitely lightens the mood when you can show that you’ve got proof to say, hey. This shipment came in just like this, and you got an easy picture to show. And the conversation kinda dies. Okay. Well, thanks.

We’ve got this. And then our customer goes back and and can handle it on their end. So I don’t think it takes very long, especially when it’s you that’s the one that’s being asked about assuming that you handled. So, probably every instance is gonna be different. But it it it’s always nice to be able to not have to worry.

Like, I I keep using that peace of mind. It’s it’s trying to utilize something to make your life easier so you don’t have to go back and explain. Because, you know, the one thing I like about photographs and documentation is within our business here with our customer, we we may ship something out today and not receive a claim back for six months. So we as human beings, our record retrieval is very difficult. So it’s very nice to be able to go back and have a file for, oh, yeah.

Here’s the shipment here. Here’s the photographs from it. And it’s really not a conversation point anymore. It kinda just draws off. That’s great.

You know, I think whenever there is an email that comes in, that’s like, oh my what is this? Right? Go through that. It’s really inside. Oh my god.

What what did we screw up? Right? And then, you know, now we have pictures. It’s somehow I’m just gonna take the pictures and stuff. It looks better.

Life is so much better. I mean, you don’t have to go through that agitated feeling any longer. Right? That’s great. You know you know, for for our site, we don’t utilize it.

We don’t photograph every outbound shipment. We utilize it where we feel we need to utilize it. We’re at the point now where we’re trying to make sure that we’re not over utilizing it. We’re not under utilizing it. Trying to make sure that we’re on the same page and utilizing it where it’s value added.

So I definitely think there’s always room for improvement. We had a conversation this morning in our top tier meeting, and just trying to look at, you know you know, what example do we have where there’s areas maybe we’re missing and maybe we need to go back and you we could utilize load proof for this or this and maybe it’s not specific to inbound and outbound. Maybe it’s, reverse logistics where we can utilize it. So we’re always trying to make sure that we’re maximizing our programs abilities because it’s really about making our team members’ lives easier and just taking care of our customer. Exactly.

Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, all it’s all about. We worked so hard and, you know, we don’t want people coming and telling us, oh my god. You did a bad job. So so when you have that proof evidence, you know, to show that, hey, we did a great job.

Just so much better. So, you know, how likely, you know, you guys are, you know, you guys will recommend us, right, when using it? And and, why should someone you know, let’s say someone and someone is on the fence, you know, why should, you know, use start using look now? I think when when you can talk with somebody and you can understand what their pain is, I go back to an example when we started going through our lean journey. There’s a lot of different ways that you can perform in in action.

So the the the the philosophy that the philosophy that I always try to take is is here’s the requirement that we’re gonna have to meet. Here’s a a couple of ways that we can do that. So if somebody’s on the fence, like, for example, with our five s audit program, we easily could have went the route of filling out forms. I could have collected all those forms. I could have interpreted all the data on the forms.

I could have entered all the spreads information into a spreadsheet. I could have produced all the charts and graphs. But at the end of the day, if there’s tools out there that that can automate all that with a little bit of input from an individual, it’s number one, gonna make your life easier. Two, it’s gonna be more accurate. And three, just from an, from a cost perspective, it’s gonna lower your cost.

So if somebody’s on the fence with load proof, absolutely, I’m gonna promote it because all the instances that we’ve seen where we’ve been questioned about inbound loads or outbound loads, where we have records of it, it’s been very easy for us to produce feedback, with little pushback. I know a lot of things that we see in our facility, our customer wants an immediate photograph that’s outside of load proof. So there’s there’s certain things we don’t use it for. But I think once you have to the the people who are using it have to see the why and the value. If you can look at your operation and understand that, you know, to be a good steward of my customer, I need to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to identify ways, remove any process deviations.

And if there’s tools out there like load proof, then it it’s very easy to meet those goals. Okay. Great. And and you guys, you know, scenarios scenarios every shipment is being programmed and then scenarios where they’re doing only certain maybe you need for that. You know, what was that thought process behind that?

You wanted to take a look at me on certain, you know, and so certain maybe not for every single how did you guys get there, the thought process behind that? So I you were cutting out just a little bit. Do you mind repeating that a little bit? I’m gonna turn my phone a little bit. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, you know, what was the, you know, thought process behind you guys said, hey. We are gonna pick and choose the scenarios that we’re gonna photograph. Right? What I’m just curious if what was the thought process behind that.

Right? I mean, someone, you know and and, obviously, we have other sites that are every picture of every solid that’s going out. Right? I’m just curious, you know, is anything tied to lean or is it anything, you know, tied to else that made you say we already have these instances, you know, things Well, one of the things that we look at is is we look at historical data on, you know, where are we seeing damage, you know, if it’s specifically with inbound. Okay.

Is it certain carriers? Is it certain times of the day? Is it certain seasons? Same thing with outbound. Is it specific to LTL?

Is it certain or specific to full truckload? So we definitely don’t want to spend extra time taking extensive photographs if it’s really not gonna be identified as value added. So we we worked internally to identify from a risk perspective, you know, where are we seeing the most need and where are we gonna get the most value out of that. So that’s why in the beginning, you know, when we’re talking, it’s gonna be mostly on our inbound side because that’s where we see a lot of areas where, we could easily be in a bind if we’re not doing and following good documentation practices. Got it.

Not down the road not down the road, like I mentioned earlier, I think there’s other areas where the program can be utilized. But I definitely think there’s a there’s a line there where you can be excessive and start creating non value added items and waste. But there’s also, you know, just being aware of, hey. Where is this most needed, because you definitely don’t wanna start adding waste into a process and and photographing everything if you don’t really need to do that. So it’s all about that value at trying to create identify where the value is gonna be created.

So Got it. Got it. Perfect. That makes sense. So, you know, the last question is, what was the ROI on this tool?

And and, obviously, there is some label in note as well. Now what was the ROI? Would it be possible to provide a ballpark number, like, per month or 40 or something like that? If it’s if it’s not a big deal. Right?

Yeah. I mean, I I don’t I don’t I that’s probably not something I can’t share. I definitely, and there’s reason for that. I mean, it’s it’s, for the products that we store in the facility here, it’s been requested by our customer just to to to not share that information. But the one thing that I can say is that the savings and I I call it cost avoidance because we’re not saving this cost avoidance by us following good documentation and practices is significantly higher than the amount of money we’re spending to manage the process, if that makes sense.

I definitely wish I could share more, but I think when you look at the cost for load proof per month per based on the user package that we have, it it’s it’s just it it’s it you easily save the money from one ship. I could say one shipment. I mean, it has paid for for probably the lifespan that we utilize it. So Perfect. Perfect.

I mean, you know, I think that’s all I wanted for this video. So I’ll go ahead and stop recording, and then we’ll do the other one. Okay.

Number of Sites – 51

Synopsis from the Transcript

• ​LoadProof is so easy to use.
• It is easy to store the pictures with the correct context.
• It is so easy to retrieve the pics you need.
• ​It has saved a lot of $$$ for us.
• ​It pays for itself 1000 times over.

– Josh Keeney – Continuous Improvement Leader – Pharmaceuticals 3PL