As the largest importer, distributor, and broker in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to fine wines, The Henry Wine Group's mission is to provide seamless service from wine producer to retailers. The company has grown rapidly through acquisitions, placing significant stress on manual processes in place to manage import orders. A five-fold increase in import activity since 2001 created problems in achieving adequate visibility into shipments, tracking customs documents, and controlling transportation costs. The Group was concerned about the potential impact on its ability to continue to deliver premium service to its customers. In addition, management needed to develop a reliable measure of the total "landed" cost of each case of wine as a basis for continuously improving company operations and reducing expenses.
"Controlling all aspects of the movement of our wine imports is critical to the company's financial success and competitive position," said Don Locke, CFO of The Henry Wine Group. "Engaging with Agistix has allowed us to tightly control costs at the same time that we increase the volume of wine we source from abroad. Automated processes mean that managers can easily track shipments and make decisions quickly based on real-time information. And we have been able to achieve all this without increasing staff size."
The Henry Wine Group has benefited in several ways from the flexible, scalable Agistix solution. First, it can more easily monitor more than one million cases of wine annually from pick-up anywhere in the world to delivery at its dock. Second, Agistix's consolidated invoicing has reduced the burden on the Accounts Payable department, because it processes only one weekly shipping invoice, rather than paperwork from multiple shippers. Finally, better visibility into actual shipping operations has given Henry Wine Group the ability to reduce the number of carriers it uses by more than half, improve cash flow, and slash insurance, logistics, and customs payments—realizing savings of 11 to 18 percent in less than a year of use.
"Agistix has made a strong commitment to meeting the global, complex transportation and logistics management needs of fast-growing companies," said David Fox, president and CEO of Agistix. "Manually-based processes fail to deliver to the requirements of sophisticated operations such as The Henry Wine Group. We provide an easy-to-use technology platform that greatly simplifies shipping and provides real-time data designed to support effective cost analysis, reduce operational costs, and increase profitability."
About The Henry Wine Group
The Henry Wine Group traces its roots back to 1985, when Warner W. Henry realized that the special needs of fine wine suppliers were not being met by spirits-driven wholesalers. Mr. Henry founded Vintage House Distributors in southern California and eventually acquired a select group of regional fine wine companies. The merging of this collective formed a company that is now the largest importer, distributor, and broker in the United States dedicated exclusively to fine wines. Founded on a principle of specialization, The Henry Wine Group continues to expand in expertise as well as in reach, delivering value to an ever-expanding customer base. The company first entered markets outside California in early 2001 with a Washington, D.C. branch and now operates offices in 5 States. For more information about The Henry Wine Group, please visit www.henrywinegroup.com
About Agistix
Agistix is the leading provider of on-demand, carrier-neutral, global Logistics Management Automation (LMA) solutions that enable companies to gain visibility and control of their shipments through a centralized system and streamlined process, resulting in reduced shipment costs, increased efficiency and improved process compliance.
Agistix’s award winning solutions are designed by users with a focus on simplicity, practicality, and scalability. The solutions are simple and easy to implement, providing Agistix customers with dramatically reduced training costs and rapid ROI.
For more information about Agistix, please visit www.agistix.com.
Source: BUSINESS WIRE
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