A LOT OF SMALL THINGS WERE ADDING UP TO ONE LARGE AND SEEMINGLY UNMANAGEABLE PROBLEM.

(left to right) Pfizer Receiving Coordinator, Calvin Fields, Yellow Driver Charles Renfroe, Yellow Corporate Accounts Manager Anne Griffin-Moore, and Pfizer Receiving Checker, Marvin Pilley

 

Memphis, Tenn. – based pharmaceuticals and consumer products giant Pfizer Inc., was experiencing an increasing number of invoice reductions for products purportedly delivered either early or late. One Pfizer customer – a large national retailer – was particularly aggressive in assessing the deductions from Pfizer invoices.

Pfizer turned to Yellow for a solution. Yellow is Pfizer’s largest ground transportation service provider and handled most of the problem shipments. As a frequent recipient of Pfizer’s annual Carrier of the Year Award, Yellow was intent on finding that solution.

Yellow Corporate Account Manager Ann Griffin-Moore began doing some detective work. She had a hunch most of the shipments had actually arrived on time, but were not recorded as such.

An analysis of thousands of manifest records provided by Pfizer proved her theory correct. The records showed the vast majority of shipments were delivered on time but were either not checked in promptly by receiving personnel or the customer had imposed a new delivery appointment that was different from the original agreement.

With the source of the problem identified, Pfizer needed a way to verify that it was indeed meeting its service commitment.

Enter Definite Delivery, a Yellow premium service providing guaranteed on-time delivery with 24-by-7 monitoring and proactive notification for any shipment running late. Definite Delivery shipments move at normal Yellow transit times. But for a small additional charge, Yellow guarantees on-time delivery or the customer does not pay. With an on-time record of 99 percent plus, though, refunds seldom come up for discussion.

Beginning in April 2000, Pfizer began using Definite Delivery for its shipments to customer warehouses throughout the U.S. Shipments flow through large Yellow distribution centers in Memphis, Tenn.; Pine Brook, N.J.; and Orange, Calif.

The program was an immediate success. Pfizer began receiving a documented paper trail of precise delivery times for every shipment Yellow delivered to a Pfizer customer location. And not surprisingly, invoice deductions decreased sharply.

Definite Delivery proved to be a true "win-win" solution for both Pfizer and Yellow. The incremental cost of the Definite Delivery service was more than offset by the reduced deductions. And Pfizer has awarded Yellow with even more business, handled until recently by a competitor.

Definite Delivery proved to be a true "win-win" solution.