DHL International Supply Chain, the supply chain management specialist within DHL Global Forwarding, has developed a purchase order (PO) management and visibility solution for the Swedish home furnishings retailer Mio. The solution provides Mio more control over inbound orders from eight countries, thereby reducing detention and demurrage costs while improving intake planning for distribution centers. DHL has secured a three-year contract to implement and continually optimize the solution. With end-to-end visibility, Mio will attain better control at destination and improve operational processes.
Mio is a leading Swedish retail chain for furniture and home furnishings that has been operating for nearly 60 years. With e-commerce and over 70 store locations in Sweden, Mio generated sales of $644 million in 2018.
“We are excited to support Mio in achieving better oversight and guidance of their inbound shipments,” states Chris Arnold, Head of Operations ISC Nordics & CEE, DHL International Supply Chain.
“By automating operations that were previously done manually, we free up resources for Mio to focus on other joint projects, such as port rationalization and CFS conversion, as part of their long-term growth strategy.”
DHL will provide PO management and visibility for approximately 4,500 TEU shipping containers coming to Sweden from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, and Taiwan. DHL’s solution gives Mio more control by allowing exceptions so that orders may be sped up or slowed down as needed.
In addition to managing day-to-day origin and destination operations, DHL International Supply Chain will provide Mio with a suite of bespoke reports, highlighting areas for improvement. Using these reports, DHL’s experts will continually develop Mio’s solution to ensure a smooth and efficient supply chain flow.
“DHL Global Forwarding has been a great partner throughout the development – and now implementation – of the solution,” asserts Joakim Skimutis, Inbound Logistics Manager of Mio.
“We are able to better manage our supply chain and are looking forward to continually enhancing our operations with their continued support.”
The PO management and visibility solution enables Mio and its logistics partners to plan and execute the movement of shipments from the port into Mio’s warehousing network via multiple modes. Visibility extends to all partners with Mio attaining control over intake demands earlier in the process and proactively controlling the impacts of demurrage and detention. Further projects in the joint development pipeline between DHL and Mio include port rationalization and CFS conversion projects to reduce overall shipment count and costs.
