Daniel Kohut (Blue Yonder)
Melbourne-based nConnect Group has rolled out Blue Yonder's warehouse management system at logistics provider Team Global Express, Australia and New Zealand.
Team Global Express (TGE) operates out of 28 branches in New Zealand, offering intermodal freight delivery options domestically and internationally as well as fully integrated logistics services.
TGE NZ, previously part of the Toll Group and known as Toll Global Express, was using multiple solutions across its customer base, with the main system being home-grown. These have now been consolidated down to one warehouse management system (WMS).
Partner nConnect Group played a vital role in the implementation, including programme planning and configuration, client and carrier integration, deployment, and ongoing managed services for the new application.
“The successful go-live was attributed to the strong project and operational team, as well as the close engagement among our delivery team, Team Global Express, and their leading supermarket brand customer," said Andy Kim, general manager, operations and finance at nConnect Group.
"Blue Yonder’s WMS solution is proving to be a critical piece to helping Team Global Express transform their warehouse operations and supply chain."
Team Global Express is now implementing Arizona-based Blue Yonder’s warehouse labour management, third-party billing, and yard management solutions. Future capabilities planned to continue transformation include demand planning, transportation management system and supply chain management.
Team Global Express NZ has realised productivity increases of 15 per cent and a customer and staff satisfaction rating of 9.8 out of 10, the company said.
Also evident were positive impacts on profitability, return on investment, inventory reduction, shortened cycle times and profitability.
“We selected Blue Yonder’s WMS due to its high-quality capabilities, which addressed the business challenge of separating and migrating the client base from existing solutions and consolidating into one strategic foundational solution," said Bruce Toetu’u, IT program manager at TGE NZ.
The Blue Yonder solution was relatively easy to implement, thanks to the support of nConnect Group, he said.
"Our latest customer to go live with the solution – a leading supermarket brand in New Zealand – is very happy with our implementation and has seen the difference already."
A modern solution added to TGE’s capabilities both internally and through improved offerings for customers, said Daniel Kohut, vice president A/NZ at Blue Yonder.
In April 2021, Toll Group sold the TGE business to Australian "transformation and turnaround" private equity fund manager Allegro Funds.
On its website, Allegro described its TGE investment as a "corporate orphan". However, in announcing its sale, TGE said $500 million in capital had been secured to invest in the business.
Toll Group NZ's financial statements for the year to 31 March 2021 show the then Toll Global Express business earned NZ$255.9 million in revenue, down from NZ$286 million in 2020.
An NZ$17.2 million net loss in 2020 was turned into an NZ$8.6 million profit in 2021 largely due to government COVID-19 wage subsidy payments (NZ$6.1 million) and gains on the sale of assets (NZ$16 million).
Supply chain software specialist JDA Software bought German firm Blue Yonder in 2018 before adopting that brand itself in 2020. The company was acquired by Panasonic in 2021.
