Innovative products distributor, Tevo, now benefits from full visibility into the key shipping dates vital for its business. This follows the implementation of an automated logistics data system by the experts at Keyrus. The result? Increased accuracy in forecasting as well as speedier and more informed decision-making.
The challenge
Tevo is a South African business specialising in sourcing, developing, marketing, and distributing innovative, high-quality products that enhance the lives of their end-users.
Understanding its stock holding is critical to Tevo’s sales and distribution and forms the basis of its daily forecasts. The business needs a finger on the pulse of exactly what is in the warehouse and when more products will arrive from overseas suppliers.
Making this exceedingly challenging was a lack of timely information regarding when containers would arrive in South Africa. In the past, Tevo had to contact the shipping companies directly for this information. This process was time-consuming and prone to human error.
The solution
Tevo turned to the experts at Keyrus, with whom it has a long-standing working relationship.
Keyrus is a trusted partner to customers across various industries, assisting with their data and digital transformation journeys. It has a particularly rich proven track record of applying technology solutions in the retail industry.
“We decided to engage Keyrus to build an automated system to deliver this crucial shipping information,” says Jared Davey, Business Intelligence Manager at Tevo.
“A key dependency was to obtain buy-in from the shipping companies themselves,” comments Nathi Xulu, Head of Data Engineering & Principal Consultant at Keyrus. “Tevo, Keyrus, and the shipping lines would have to work collaboratively to complete this project.”
Having obtained the required buy-in, Keyrus designed a solution involving SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and a SQL Server database-driven LOB system. SSIS extracts data from FTP text files and the database. This data is then transformed and combined, using TSQL scripts and SSIS, before being loaded into SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes where it is accessed by various BI tools.
Tevo’s product managers use SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), a data visualisation and reporting tool, as well as Microsoft Excel to view reports.
Benefits
“Keyrus helped us to solve the complex challenge we faced to acquire timely data about key shipping dates,” says Jared Davey. “Combining some of these key metrics along with other key metrics from our ERP system offers full visibility into this critical shipping information.”
Rapid, accurate, visible shipping date information makes for speedier and better-informed decision-making within the organisation.
There is now a reduced risk of error. The automated system has bypassed the need for human interaction. Tevo no longer needs to try and contact individuals at the shipping companies to obtain key information.
The new system consolidates all information into one comprehensive report, improving efficiency and visibility.
“On top of this, we are able to perform analytics around the data which is now stored within our environment, without the administrative burden associated with manual interventions to obtain the data,” adds Jared Davey.
“It is a privilege to work with an innovative company such as Tevo,” notes Xulu. “We celebrate their drive for innovation in everything they do, and their ambition to deliver the best value and quality to their consumers.”
Keyrus prides itself on its hands-on approach to the solutions it delivers. Its global reach enables the team to draw on the best practice, knowledge, and experience of its international teams of experts.
“Keyrus is a recognised expert and trusted partner, focused on making our customers’ data matter,” concludes Xulu.