A government agency rapidly ramps up its PPE distribution infrastructure with SCA's support

In the heat of the Covid-19 pandemic, a government agency needed to quickly add to its distribution infrastructure so it could procure and deploy critical personal protective equipment (PPE) to the non-health entities of the broader public sector, such as our Police, Fire and Correctional Services front-line heroes.

While the agency established a procurement team and commandeered internal resources to staff the project team, SCA moved rapidly to source sufficient available space and a proficient third-party logistics (3PL) service provider. Leveraging the expertise of its team and network, SCA quickly defined requirements, drafted and executed an RFP, and selected a partner within the first three days onboard.

Operations began immediately with the rerouting of inbound product and first receipts beginning on day four. The project team organized itself around a two-phased approach, with Phase 1 focused on activities enabling immediate “start-up” and Phase 2 on ensuring “stabilization and a successful transition”.

During the six weeks of Phase 1, SCA led and supported a cross-functional project team comprised of agency and 3PL resources, through:

Negotiation and 3PL contract execution
Project planning and project management
3PL WMS configuration
Establishing a SKU master and master data set up
3PL web-portal set up, configuration, and training
ASN development and implementation
Order allocation methodology
Order creation and integration with 3PL
Developing requirements and establishing initial reporting
Inbound routing protocols
Development of all policies, processes, and training related to the above
Establishing successful receiving, inventory control, and order fulfillment to initiate operations

With operations successfully up and running, and with SCA playing a significant role in managing daily operations, efforts during Phase 2 shifted to stabilization and, ultimately, to ensuring a successful hand-off to the agency’s management team. These final six weeks focused on:

Establishing a regular cadence of operations and IT meetings, and lines of communication between key stakeholders

The development and approval all standard operating procedures and supporting documentation

Enhanced reporting, establishing KPIs (key performance indicators), and developing an operational dashboard

Freight management and visibility tools

Development of initial planning tools

Implementation of customer and vendor returns processes

Oversight and prioritization of ongoing IT development and related initiatives (new and/or improved functionality, integration, reporting, visibility, etc.)

Prior to completing the engagement, SCA developed and executed a detailed transition plan that ensured the completion of all key deliverables and the successful hand-off of ongoing initiatives to the care and control of agency staff. In addition, SCA developed a time- phased roadmap of additional recommendations to further improve operations that will guide the team over the next 12 months.