Mitchell Companies enhances beverage distribution performance with Descartes’ Routing Solution

Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that Mississippi-based Mitchell Companies, a total beverage distributor and longstanding Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, is using Descartes’ route planning and execution platform to enhance customer service across six locations in three states through more effective routing, improved driver performance and better visibility into sales and distribution operations.

“As our customer base expanded and evolved, we outgrew our legacy system. Without the capacity to frequently and thoroughly review delivery patterns and imbalances, inefficiencies crept into our distribution workloads,” said Will Woodall, Sales Execution Coordinator at Mitchell Companies. “With Descartes’ solution, we’ve doubled our rerouting frequency and it’s no longer a full month’s effort with multiple resources exchanging and debating team knowledge to do so. For each location, we now strategically reset the distribution network twice a year to maximize distribution efficiency and keep delivery productivity high. Plus, we’re able to reduce driver churn by ensuring more predictable days with no delivery backlogs and minimized overtime—a critical benefit given the industry-wide struggle to hire and retain Class A drivers.”

Descartes’ route planning and execution platform helps food and beverage distributors, like Mitchell Companies, ensure optimal distribution performance. With strategic route planning, companies can determine the best distribution strategies to minimize costs and maximize customer service by easily redefining the delivery network to keep pace with demand fluctuations, new customer service policies and ongoing growth. Dynamic route planning optimizes daily route execution based upon fluid customer demand. With an integrated GPS-based mobile application, the solution helps drivers execute routes efficiently and proactively address disruptions in the field as they occur. Electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) captures delivery details and streamlines the delivery process. Additionally, the solution improves delivery sustainability through increased route productivity, which lowers CO2 emissions per delivery, drives fuel savings and eliminates paper manifests and documents.

“We’re pleased our solution has helped Mitchell Companies adapt distribution operations in step with changes in its customer base and business growth,” said James Wee, General Manager, Routing, Mobile and Telematics at Descartes. “In wholesale distribution, exceptional sales and delivery teams are important factors for success and our routing and mobile technologies help heighten sales performance and keep delivery operations running efficiently to meet high customer service requirements.”