Overcoming Inventory Challenges: Eskimo Cold Storage Case Study
A Swift & Successful WMS Implementation for Added Accuracy
How the real-time inventory data captured by Footprint® WMS boosted visibility and scalability for Eskimo Cold Storage
About the Client
Experienced in handling a variety of temperature-sensitive goods, Eskimo Cold Storage provides comprehensive frozen food storage solutions, advanced blast-freezing, and other value-added cold chain services.
The Challenge
The company’s initial solution for managing inventory seemed suitable for its operations at first. But as the company attempted to scale, it quickly realized that its existing software wasn’t providing accurate inventory reporting.
The Solution
Eskimo Cold Storage partnered with Datex® to promptly implement Footprint WMS, equipping the company with a robust system capable of real-time data capture, boosting visibility company-wide.
ABOUT ESKIMO COLD STORAGE
A New-Age Company with Innovative Ideas
Since 2007, Eskimo Cold Storage has specialized in comprehensive frozen food storage solutions for a wide range of products, including poultry, seafood, and other temperature-controlled products. Located in Gainesville, Georgia, Eskimo boasts 125,000 square feet of space with the capacity to store more than 16,000 pallets of frozen food products.
The company moves an average of 10 million pounds in and out of the warehouse per week, with the system handling about 6,600 transactions weekly.
“Our warehouse is pretty busy; the inventory turns over very quickly, especially because our blast cell freezes the product in 24 hours,” Karen Reece, vice president and cofounder of Eskimo Cold Storage, said.
Square Feet
Frozen Pallets
Weekly Transactions
THE CHALLENGE
Inventory Inaccuracy Reverberates to Reputation
When Eskimo Cold Storage first kicked off operations back in 2007, it employed an in-house system for managing inventory and serving clients. Regrettably, the company soon found out that its makeshift application wasn’t providing accurate inventory levels. This issue quickly began to impact Eskimo’s reputation in the industry and its customer service quality.
Eskimo needed to quickly find a solution that would satisfy its operational needs and those of its clients. Faced with many potentially unsatisfied customers, Eskimo began to lose some hard-earned business. A lengthy and complicated implementation wasn’t an option because the company required results immediately.
Speaking from experience, Reece remarked on how the capabilities of your warehouse software can influence service quality:
“In life, all you have is your name, whether it is your personal name or your business name. My first computer system was so bad that I almost lost my good business name because of it. Luckily, Datex helped me recover that and more.”
THE SOLUTION
A Fresh Start with a Knowledgeable Provider
With very little time to waste, Eskimo Cold Storage decided to do away with its old management system and start fresh with a provider that was knowledgeable in the industry—one that could deploy a system capable of handling all of its needs and offered a quick and painless implementation process
By implementing Footprint WMS, Datex provided the company with real-time information pertaining to the inventory available in the warehouse, including the status of each product and its location at any given time. From the time the inventory is scanned during the receiving process until the shipment is confirmed, Eskimo knows the exact location, quantity, lot ID, product ID, owner, and more.
During the inbound and outbound processes, the system is able to capture temperatures, identification codes, expiration dates, weights, volumes, and all the data necessary for informing the supply chain.
“Implementation was great. Datex sent a very knowledgeable team member in to train us, and then a second team member was here during our actual go-live,” Reece explained. “They worked both in the office and on the floor, training to ensure that all our team members fully understood their role.”
THE RESULTS
Real-Time Data Capture for Full Visibility
As promised, Datex put Eskimo on the fast track to deployment, with the implementation taking just over six weeks from beginning to end. When asked about the outcome of the implementation, Reece said:
“We had the 3PL WMS [third-party logistics warehouse management software] up and running in approximately 45 days. Our priority was to provide our customers with the service that they deserve as soon as possible, so we were pretty happy with the speed of the implementation and how robust the system was. It can handle everything that we need.”
Key Takeaways
- Eskimo Cold Storage specializes in comprehensive frozen food storage solutions for a wide range of products, including poultry, seafood, and other temperature-controlled products.
- When Eskimo Cold Storage first kicked off operations, it employed an in-house system for managing inventory and serving clients—one that the company soon outgrew, leading to inventory discrepancies.
- Their inventory accuracy issue quickly began to impact Eskimo’s reputation in the industry and its customer service quality.
- With very little time to waste, Eskimo Cold Storage decided to do away with its old management system and start fresh with a new and improved system that would allow for more seamless scaling.
- By implementing Footprint WMS, Datex provided the company with real-time information pertaining to the inventory available in the warehouse, significantly boosting visibility.
- With very little time to waste, Datex put Eskimo on the fast track to deployment, with the implementation taking just over six weeks from beginning to end.
- “We were pretty happy with the speed of the implementation and how robust the system was. It can handle everything that we need,” Karen Reece, vice president and cofounder of Eskimo Cold Storage, said of the implementation’s outcome.