D.W. Morgan Company, Inc.
Supply Chain Visibility from SkyBitz® Solutions Helps D.W. Morgan Company to Drive Profit and Expand Successfully into Global Markets.
Founded in 1990, Pleasanton, California-based D.W. Morgan Company is a privately held supply chain, transportation and logistics management firm. The company’s core capabilities in managing transportation and information, along with its supply chain expertise, are serving some of the world’s most demanding manufacturers, many of which are Fortune 500 companies.
Situation
D.W. Morgan Company was tracking trailers full of goods on a global basis using a number of different solutions - including trailer tracking, in-cab- (e.g. in the tractor) based GPS solutions as well as various handheld applications.
“We had a quilt of local systems,” said Grant Opperman, President and Chief Strategy Officer. “Each one solved a need for a given market but each was also different in terms of quality and features, and required its own integration with our enterprise management systems. As we built a wider, global footprint, we knew we needed a single, highly reliable integrated solution capable of scaling to everywhere we wanted to do business around the world.”
With asset visibility becoming critically important, D.W. Morgan identified key characteristics for the technology it sought to deploy, including a global capability for customers in North and Central America, Europe and Asia as well as the ability to operate in additional markets without the need to determine which local providers and systems have the necessary features.
In addition, integration of data with enterprise systems, user training, and the ability to ship a unit to any location, mount and activate it and begin tracking were all important considerations.
Solution
To meet its international supply chain needs, D.W. Morgan adopted SkyBitz asset tracking solutions for its dedicated fleet of trucks. Location reports are sent over satellite to the SkyBitz InSight web application where D.W. Morgan can view and manage its equipment. This allows D.W. Morgan to maintain control over the supply chain management and in-transit visibility.
Using SkyBitz technology, D.W. Morgan is able to see where trailers are located and whether they’re being delayed or diverted from a planned route. In addition to providing asset visibility, the SkyBitz technology solutions help determine when trailers are idle, how long they remain at a delivery site, and when they’re crossing important checkpoints (customs, for example), all keys to building more efficient routes. D.W. Morgan’s fleet and staff are located in the world’s key manufacturing regions, moving components into factories, coordinating work-in-progress between factories and transporting finished goods to distribution centers. The SkyBitz solution for D.W. Morgan tracks these critical supply chain moves, often involving trailer loads of high-value goods and time-sensitive deliveries that are handled by multiple tractors.
“SkyBitz gives us the global capability and reliability we need in a proven, high-quality solution everywhere we do business,” Opperman said. “There’s no guesswork because satellite positioning and communication means that we don’t lose track of trailers when they travel through remote areas.”
“With SkyBitz we also have one source of tracking data, which is fully synched to our in-house systems,” Opperman added, “and SkyBitz systems are also easy to deploy. There’s no difficult installation or learning curve, which is important to us as we’re working in many different countries and cultures.”
Results
Since D.W. Morgan began using SkyBitz solutions its revenue has increased every year at rates greater than 100% while maintaining profit margins. More customers require SkyBitz solutions to
provide the full visibility of their assets that is essential to successfully managing the growing complexity of their supply chains.
“In our business, accurate and efficient tracking is a requirement,” Opperman said. “Our customers demand that we have that capability as a condition of doing business with them so it’s really a key part of our offering. It’s a competitive differentiator for us, particularly when we’re operating in a global supply chain.”
“When we assessed potential partners SkyBitz stood alone,” Opperman concluded. “No other company had the ability to deliver on all of our criteria. SkyBitz has been a key enabling factor in our growth amid challenging economic conditions. As we enter more emerging markets when GPS tracking can be even more difficult, we know that with SkyBitz trailer tracking systems we can continue to be successful as we expand.”