ABF retrieves, stores, then redelivers products

Adapting to the often-fluid needs of customers requires the utmost in professionalism, flexibility, and responsiveness. It’s also a good idea to have a supply-chain partner who shares your commitment to excellence, particularly when projects go awry. 

Just ask Siemens Business Services, one of the world’s leading IT service providers.

Recently, a national car rental company contracted Siemens to install information systems at its airport locations. So Siemens sought a supply-chain partner capable of handling the entire project from start to finish.

The project involved 400-pound kiosks featuring touch-screen computer systems that provide directions for car rental customers. Siemens needed someone who could deliver the shipments, uncrate and position the kiosks for setup, then remove all the packing material at 130 airports throughout the continental U.S. and Hawaii. 

It would have been a massive project even if everything went smoothly, but everything didn’t go smoothly. 

Many of the initial deliveries coincided with peak demand for airport car rentals, which meant delivery couldn’t be completed. Even when deliveries were successful, the systems weren’t quite ready to go live.

Fortunately, Siemens had chosen the ABF TurnKey® professionals to fulfill the project. The TurnKey professionals simply dispatched teams to retrieve the kiosks for storage at local ABF service centers until they were needed.

“Support from ABF was outstanding,” says Shirley Howard, director, Inventory Control and Planning for Siemens Business Services.

“ABF was very responsive. They did everything we could have expected from them, including being very patient when our customers ran into unexpected difficulties. No one foresaw and certainly no one was to blame for any of the difficulties; circumstances just conspired against us.”

Soon, the project was back on track and all 130 systems were successfully deployed. Today, the kiosks are providing precise directions to thousands of drivers across the country.

With 34,000 employees in 44 countries, Siemens Business Services has annual sales of $6.1 billion. The company’s success is built on providing “superior solutions” through strategic alliances that add “significant value for our customers through comprehensive, intelligent deployment of solutions.”

As Siemens Business Services can attest, having ABF TurnKey as a supply-chain partner is a great way to strengthen customer loyalty. Providing the value-added, personalized service of TurnKey helps to cultivate customer trust and confidence, which translates into increased customer retention and profitability.

ABF TurnKey is a reliable, single-source solution that reduces logistical work and simplifies even the most difficult shipments.

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