Beverage Distributor Handles Holiday Rush With Ease

Monarch Beverage, Indianapolis, Indiana

The numbers tell the tale:

• More than 11 million cases each year
• More than 60 vehicles each day
• More than 800 deliveries each day

That describes Monarch Beverage, one of the largest one-building beer and wine distributors in the United States. The Indianapolis-based company started to use ArcLogistics in 2001, replacing an existing vehicle routing system, to handle its typical day—more than 60 vehicles making more than 800 deliveries.

The problem was that previously it took three to four hours for the dispatcher to route the dozens of vehicles. Now, using ArcLogistics, the same dispatcher needs less than two hours to complete the routing.

The result is increased efficiency. Overtime has been halved and vehicles operate much more efficiently. This is most evident when the volume increases around holidays and the Indianapolis 500. Using the previous system on one such holiday, Monarch was unable to deliver all the beer in time and had to send vehicles out the following day, a holiday, to complete deliveries. In 2002, using ArcLogistics, all deliveries were made on time.

Added Efficiency and Customer Service

Monarch is also using an AVL system from VIP to track vehicles. All vehicles are equipped with Symbol handheld units for product scanning and messaging including directions from their current location to the next stop.

The AVL system is completely integrated with ArcLogistics Route and expected arrival times are automatically recalculated at every stop. Any potential missed time windows are communicated to the driver and dispatcher, who can then alert the customer, if necessary, or reroute the vehicle.