Dairy Farmers of America Optimizes Last-Mile Logistics with Descartes
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a farmer-owned cooperative managing a vast distribution network for daily dairy deliveries across the U.S. They switched from a legacy system to Descartes’ strategic route planning, daily routing, and route execution solutions to improve real-time tracking, performance management, and meet specific business needs.
The Challenge: Data Management and Performance Tracking Issues
DFA previously used a legacy routing solution that required maintaining data across two separate systems. This fragmentation made it challenging to track routing data accurately, maintain reliable records, and make informed business decisions.
They needed to optimize routing on both a strategic and daily, dynamic basis to keep up with the high volume of deliveries and ensure operational efficiency across their national network. With a focus on cost savings, they required software that streamlined operations and improved routing and performance tracking.
Additionally, they needed a solution that could provide actionable insights to help make better business decisions and hold drivers accountable for inefficiencies, such as extended rest stops or unnecessary delays.
The Solution: Advanced Routing Solutions Enable Real-Time Fleet Management and Tracking
DFA leverages Descartes’ strategic route planning, daily routing, and route execution solutions alongside telematics tools for real-time fleet management and performance tracking.
Managing the fleet starts with strategic route planning, helping managers balance low costs with customer service requirements. On a daily basis, DFA’s logistics team relies on Descartes' dynamic routing and dispatch solutions to plan efficient routes, track and address exceptions, and manage order changes in real time.
David Sordo, Director of Logistics Optimization at DFA, praises Descartes’ daily routing for being user-friendly. “It’s a really easy solution to use,” he said. “And a lot of our folks really enjoy it.”
The long-term benefits are most evident through Descartes’ route execution solution. Sordo and his team use this to identify business opportunities. By measuring key performance metrics such as delivery times, route efficiency, and driver behavior against the plan, they can make data-driven adjustments to enhance operations.
One improvement has been in driver coaching. The solution revealed instances of drivers taking longer breaks than planned, allowing for targeted coaching to boost efficiency.
“It's a wonderful opportunity to pinpoint where improvements can be made, but you still have to make a business decision to capture the benefits,” said Sordo. “I can either look the other way, or I can address the driver because he took three stops that were 50 minutes long throughout his day.”
Sordo is confident that the solution will have a lasting impact as DFA continues to build and improve its plans over time.
DFA values its ongoing partnership with Descartes, citing exceptional support and a shared commitment to operational efficiency and cost savings.
“The support team has been excellent. They’re very responsive. We have regular dialogue every week, every month. One of the real big benefits of choosing Descartes is that we have a partner that is interested in making sure we're maximizing the benefits.”
David Sordo, Director of Logistics Optimization, Dairy Farmers of America
The Results
Improved Operational Efficiency with Real-Time Tracking Data
Live route tracking enables more accurate ETAs, better management of route exceptions, and immediate adjustments to improve delivery performance.
Actionable Data Enhances Driver Coaching
Comparing the route plan to actual data revealed areas for improvement, such as long driver breaks, which can now be addressed with data-driven coaching.
Streamlined Data Management Saves Time
DFA now has a single source of data for customer attributes, eliminating the need to maintain data in two separate places and resulting in significant time savings.
Cost Savings through Optimized Routing
Optimized routing and performance tracking have led to substantial cost savings by reducing inefficiencies and improving overall delivery performance.
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