CENTRALIZING SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION FOR MULTIPLE WAREHOUSES
Multi-Million Dollar Shipping Savings
Lincare Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LNCR) is a leading provider of oxygen and other respiratory therapy services delivered to patients in their homes. With a 12% steady growth in the last 10 years, Lincare now operates 1,019 centers and services nearly 700,000 patients in 47 states. The company, which also administers 34 billing offices and 24 pharmacies nationwide, ships about 5,000 daily packages to customers coast-to-coast.
Case Study Overview
Because Lincare ships 5,000+ oxygen and other respiratory therapy services daily from four different warehouses, centralizing systems administration was a key component of their decision to implement a more robust, enterprise shipping solution. The overriding selection criteria for Lincare executives centered on Lincare’s rigorous rate shipping demands. Fortunately, CMS WorldLink’s functionality alone exceeded Lincare’s logistical requirements.
Moreover, the millions Lincare would save yearly using the diverse rate shopping capabilities of CMS WorldLink’s BestWay add-on module helped to cinch the deal.
Lincare's Challenges
Lincare sought to streamline systems administration across its four warehouses in order to address several supply chain logistics challenges including:
- Lincare does not favor one carrier over the other
Rather the company favors the carrier (UPS, FedEx or USPS) with the best price for a service fulfilling the required delivery time frame. - Shipping from multiple warehouses
Where each Lincare site has its own destination-specific-time-in-transit table for each carrier. - Management of multiple interface points
Each Lincare warehouse is managed by individual subsidiaries and, for various business reasons, pulls relevant shipping details from different Host databases, including Pharmware, CPR+ and various SQL tables.
"By using CMS WorldLink, Lincare saves millions of dollars — while maintaining very high levels of customer satisfaction — over the span of its CMS WorldLink shipping system.”
Wil Fekeci
President, CMS GlobalSoft
The Solution
By deploying CMS WorldLink and the BestWay add-on module, Lincare has been able to benefit from the following:
- Time-in-Transit tables
The implementation of a CMS WorldLink import utility allowed Lincare to administer a total of eight distinct time-in-transit tables for the company’s four warehouses. Because the carriers committed to providing any future updates to the tables in similar flat file formats, Lincare retains an easy method to import updates into CMS WorldLink. - BestWay selects least-cost shipping method
For each processed package, CMS WorldLink’s BestWay module selects the delivery method by rate shopping among all carrier services that meet a specific delivery time frame, resulting in the selection of the least-costing applicable service. - Refinement of shipping via multiple interface points
Referencing order IDs, CMS WorldLink is directed to connect to the appropriate Host database within each Lincare warehouse. The application also monitors whether a given station is the appropriate one from which to pack an order.
The Outcome
Lincare selected CMS WorldLink for several reasons, including its multi-carrier shipping capabilities and enterprise-wide solutions—resulting in improved global visibility across the company’s supply chain. Additionally, CMS WorldLink’s ability to combine time-in-transit and rates to determine the lowest-cost delivery service has, to date, saved Lincare millions of dollars since its implementation.
”CMS WorldLink’s functionality exceeded Lincare’s requirements and our diverse BestWay rate shopping capabilities clinched the selection.“
Wil Fekeci
President, CMS GlobalSoft
Add-on module in use by Lincare today:
Rate Shopping/Best Way
Employees can rate packages via deliver date across multiple carriers and multiple services. You can also balance delivery speed versus shipping cost.
