Combining Logistics with ERP Promises Significant Savings

Oct. 16, 2019
ERP integration with Microsoft Dynamics and Keubix TMS

AMMEX is a global importer of disposable gloves providing retailers and distributors with high-performance, high-margin products. The company sources disposable rubber, latex, and nitrile gloves from vendors across Asia before transporting their goods via direct shipping containers to North America. AMMEX uses third-party warehouses located in Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Canada to fulfill orders across North America with LTL shipments.

 

Currently, AMMEX ships between 80 to 100+ LTL shipments every day from their domestic warehouse locations. As a massive enterprise organization, AMMEX decided to turn to technology to streamline their logistics operations and make shipping processes more transparent.

 

In 2018, AMMEX conducted an RFP to discover the best fitting transportation management system for their needs. Being able to connect their ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics, to streamline order processing was a significant factor in the company’s final decision.

 

After evaluating several options, AMMEX implemented Kuebix TMS in late 2018 and has continued to add functionality and features to expand its usage across their offices in the USA and the Philippines. Currently, 15 logistics and supply chain professionals within the company are registered users of the TMS.

 

AMMEX’s logistics team uses the TMS on a daily basis to rate, book, and track their LTL shipments to retailers and distributors nationwide. The company’s Operations Manager, Patricia David, leads a team of 9 people who oversee the company’s logistics processes.

 

David handles daily organization with the warehouses, manages returns and sales, and also deals with vendors and brokers. David, who is based in Metro Manila, Philippines, has worked at AMMEX for 12 years and has seen significant operational improvements since implementing Kuebix.

 

“The ease of comparing rates between different carriers makes the process of rating and booking much faster for us,” said David. “Instead of going between multiple carrier websites, we only have to look at a single page!”

 

Not only does the technology make rating easier, but it also consolidates the company’s LTL shipment information into a single source of truth.

 

Instead of re-keying information between their ERP system and Kuebix TMS, AMMEX is leveraging an ERP integration between Microsoft Dynamics and Kuebix to automatically populate order information between systems. This greatly speeds up the order creation process and ensures that issues don’t arise because of human error.

 

David went on to say, “Our PO team simply processes orders in our ERP system and they appear in Kuebix. Then, all my team needs to do is book the shipments and process the BOL (bill of lading) in the TMS! Once it’s been processed, it comes back automatically with a PRO number.”

 

She adds, “When we were doing BOLs manually, it was taking us between 3 to 5 minutes per shipment since we needed to check the weight, pallet count, etc. With Kuebix and an integration to Microsoft Dynamics, we’ve cut that time down to 2 minutes and are ensuring accuracy every time!”

 

Being able to have full visibility of exact order information is especially helpful for AMMEX as an organization with teams located across the globe and with third-party warehouses. Accurate communication is essential to keeping operations running smoothly and having all information consolidated into a single TMS creates efficiencies. All records, invoice payments, and financial analytics are also stored within the system when an ERP integration is added.

 

AMMEX has decided to continue to scale with Kuebix by adding container tracking for inbound visibility. Once this has been configured for AMMEX, the team located in Kent, Washington will also begin using Kuebix to manage inbound container shipments from China, Malaysia, and Thailand.