A Window of Opportunity
Window and door maker Simonton Windows partners with Cardinal Logistics to open the door to new efficiencies
THE CUSTOMER: Simonton Windows, Columbus, Ohio
Simonton Windows, part of Fortune Brands Home and Security (FBHS), produces ENERGY STAR-qualified replacement and new construction windows and doors, including a line of impact-resistant products.
THE PARTNER: Cardinal Logistics Management, Concord, North Carolina
Cardinal develops and implements customized transportation solutions for its clients’ unique supply chains. Services include dedicated contract carriage, home and jobsite delivery, bulk transport, transportation management, and Software-as-a-Service solutions.
Simonton Windows manufactures award-recognized products nationwide to key markets throughout the 48 contiguous United States and in Canada. Cardinal provides dedicated delivery to Simonton’s dealers and big box retailers across the United States.
Simonton’s hallmark is delivering the industry’s shortest, most dependable lead times. Partnering with Cardinal has enabled the company to continue its award-winning order-to-delivery time.
Simonton operates three manufacturing plants located in sparsely populated areas. Cardinal analyzed Simonton’s facility locations relative to its customer base and delivery points, and created several remote domiciles throughout the country. In some cases, one-way carriers now deliver windows from the manufacturing plants to the domiciles in more densely populated areas and closer to customers. Cardinal drivers receive the loaded trailers from the one-way carriers and deliver the product, reducing empty miles returning to the plants, and shortening lead times. Third-party backhauls play a key role in minimizing costs.
Cardinal also implemented routing and scheduling technology to achieve better equipment and driver utilization. Simonton’s business can experience seasonality, and Cardinal’s ability to add and delete resources is a key part of the program. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the partnership proved beneficial to support Simonton’s additional volume for emergency response. Cardinal’s expansive driver and management infrastructure allowed it to move loads on short notice.
Cardinal’s proprietary mobile handheld technology, Cardinal Activity Tracker, provides real-time status updates and assists drivers to ensure delivery accuracy at multiple stops along a single route. Each delivery is tracked through a route monitor so Cardinal, Simonton, and Simonton’s customers are aware of completed on-time deliveries and delays as they happen.
Partnering with Cardinal brings new efficiencies to Simonton’s already acclaimed lead times and customer service. Key measurements are closely monitored to identify new opportunities, and future plans call for Cardinal to automate notifying customers of delivery times and manifests.
"Our partnership with Cardinal has allowed us greater efficiencies and the ability to maintain the most important value propositions we offer our customers: excellence in delivery, and industry lead times that are second to none," says Andy Shashlo, senior vice president of operations, Simonton.