Crown Castle Names KMM as National Materials Management and Logistics Provider

FAIRFIELD, N.J., Sept. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Castle, the nation's largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure, has awarded the full scope of its Materials and Warehouse Management activities for Small Cell and Fiber deployments to KMM, a leading provider of logistics and network services to the U.S. communications industry. KMM is currently providing service to Crown Castle in nine major markets and will be responsible for managing field network support inventory for all such new deployment projects moving forward.

The two companies initially started a business relationship in August 2015, after Crown Castle engaged KMM to conduct a six-month Materials Management trial that spanned four markets. Supported by eRIMS™, a proprietary web-based inventory management tool, KMM delivered a turnkey solution that included material movement and consolidation as well as inventory and warehouse management services.  KMM leveraged its existing facilities throughout the U.S. as well as its national 3PL partnership network to provide Crown Castle with local market warehousing presence.

"We were very impressed with KMM's responsiveness and flexibility throughout the trial. Their willingness to tailor their solution and systems to fit our exacting needs, along with their national warehousing capabilities, were the primary reasons we elected to entrust our materials management to them," explained William Barnett, Vice President, Asset Management for Crown Castle. "Another major driver in our decision to move forward with KMM was their robust asset tracking system, which consolidated our inventory into one central repository and offered us a level of visibility at the field level we didn't even think was possible. This helps us more effectively manage and expand our growing Small Cell and Fiber Solutions business."

To promote an even more stringent inventory management process, KMM developed an enhanced version of eRIMS for Crown Castle called eRIMS Mobile. More streamlined than eRIMS and mobile compatible, the tool gives project managers and field staff complete visibility of inventory after it leaves a national or market-level facility, all the way down to the service van level. Using a laptop, smartphone or tablet, the customer can receive material shipped from a KMM location or direct from an OEM, record material receipt discrepancies, and perform material movement functions at customer locations, including installations, auto-replenishments, returns, and transfers from one location to another. eRIMS Mobile also gives the customer the ability to perform a variety of inventory management functions, including updating storage bin locations and moving inventory to hold and to other projects.

"Crown Castle's business requirements motivated us to improve our inventory tracking capabilities, and we've worked collaboratively to add features to our eRIMS tool that will have positive implications for both parties," said Nick Shanker, KMM's President. "We've developed a strong rapport with Crown Castle and are excited about the opportunity to support them in their future endeavors by providing them with world-class materials management and logistics services."

Since project inception, KMM has trained more than 400 Crown Castle employees from multiple markets on eRIMS, eRIMS Mobile, and eSOLVR, KMM's workflow management system. KMM anticipates providing materials and warehouse management services at upwards of 30 locations across the U.S. by year-end 2016.

About KMM

KMM couples core logistics services with highly skilled field expertise to deliver integrated solutions spanning full network lifecycles. Supported by multi-tiered warehousing options and an extensive portfolio of services and systems, KMM's solutions result in improved efficiencies, decreased time to market and greater cost savings for customers. KMM is a certified woman-owned business enterprise. For more information on KMM, please visit www.kmmcorp.net.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle provides wireless carriers with the infrastructure they need to keep people connected and businesses running. With approximately 40,000 towers and 17,000 miles of fiber supporting small cells, Crown Castle is the nation's largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure with a significant presence in the top 100 US markets. For more information on Crown Castle, please visit www.crowncastle.com.

CONTACT: Sarah McNab, 772-205-9761, [email protected]

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SOURCE KMM