Ryder System, Inc., a leader in supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions, announces the opening of a one-million-square-foot North American distribution center for Lexmark, a global imaging and IoT solutions leader. The new, purpose-built facility consolidates two Lexmark operations into one, streamlining the receiving and shipping of printers and copiers, toner cartridges, and spare parts for a more efficient customer order fulfillment process.
Strategically located in Jeffersonville, Indiana – just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, a crossroads of river, road, rail, and runway – Lexmark’s new centralized facility enables 99% same-day shipping and 99% midnight parcel pick-up with next-day air service. It also streamlines the customization, configuration, return, refurbishment, and recertification of equipment, while saving costs.
“Lexmark’s business is time critical, so equipment handling and transit time is a primary concern, as is keeping costs competitive,” says Norm Brouillette, senior vice president of supply chain for Ryder. “With that in mind, we conducted a network analysis considering markets served, shipping volumes and times, transport costs, nearby ports, real estate prices, and the labor market. It pointed to one ideal location that would provide Lexmark with both a reduction in total outbound shipping cost and an improvement in two-day transit – not to mention the added ability to provide same-day shipping and next-day air.”
Also key to the customized solution is the implementation of RyderShareTM, a digital platform that enables everyone involved in moving goods through supply chains – including shippers, receivers, carriers, and service providers – to see across the supply chain in real time and work together to prevent costly delays and find efficiency gains. It also incorporates best-in-class business intelligence tools combined with a proprietary analytics solution to inform future decisions, prepare supply chains for unexpected events, and speed recovery from disruptions.
“Ryder brings the technology, solutions, and expertise we need to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly changing supply chain environment,” says Billy Spears, senior vice president and chief product delivery officer for Lexmark. “We’ve enjoyed a 14-year relationship with Ryder’s transportation management team, so when we started looking for a new supply chain partner that could keep us on the path of continuous improvement and innovation, it was a natural evolution to expand our relationship with Ryder to include their supply chain solutions.”
Ryder provides distribution management; returns handling; equipment restoration and redistribution, including repairing returned hardware, recertifying it, and returning it to stock; bundling hardware and supplies; and customization, such as adding options, software updates, and customer-setting configurations.
Since 2009, Ryder has provided Lexmark with comprehensive transportation management solutions, including network design with built-in continuous improvement, carrier procurement and management, shipment planning and execution, and cross-border operations between the United States, Canada, and Mexico – resulting in $1 million in annual savings and greater than 98% sustained on-time performance with Ryder’s qualified carriers.
