Blue Horseshoe's Software Solution Modernizes Inventory, Shipping Processes of National Beer Distributor J.J. Taylor Companies

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Horseshoe, a strategic operational consulting and software solutions company, has transformed a 52-year-old national beer distribution company's manual inventory and shipping systems into efficiently automated and highly accurate processes.

Since 1958, J.J. Taylor Companies has grown from a small beer distributor in northern Massachusetts into one of the top beer distributors in the United States. The company employs more than 900 in multiple locations in Florida and Minnesota and sells a mix of domestic, import and craft brewery brands.

With company expansion, the rapid onset of SKU proliferation and increased demand for high-quality customer service, J.J. Taylor Companies was not able to manage its dated inventory control practices, manual replenishment and shipping processes to meet its high standards of quality, accuracy and customer service.

"Original systems forced nightly, manual inventory counts that are not practical and extremely labor intensive," said Josh Holmes, account director and partner at Blue Horseshoe. "With its total number of SKUs nearly doubling on an annual basis over several years, it was clear to us that J.J. Taylor Companies would benefit from an automated solution to manage its warehouse operations."

Blue Horseshoe retooled operational practices and implemented Manhattan Associates' SCALE Warehouse Management System to work in conjunction with existing systems, including Rutherford's route accounting solution, eoStar and Vertique's automated case pick material handling device. SCALE's online environment integrated well with J.J. Taylor Companies' existing technology, allowing for easy user adoption.

"We chose to partner with Blue Horseshoe to support our market growth and the onset of rapid SKU proliferation," said Bruce Whitely, chief information officer for J.J. Taylor Companies. "Blue Horseshoe's experience and integration flexibility made the company our clear choice as we continue to optimize our entire supply chain."

Blue Horseshoe developed a best-in-class operational model and continues to work with J.J. Taylor Companies to replicate in additional facilities across its existing Florida and Minnesota footprint.

"The ultimate goal of the engagement is to effectively and efficiently improve J.J. Taylor Companies' inventory and order accuracy, reduce operating costs and position the company for sustained growth in the future," Holmes said. "Our solutions have eliminated time-consuming and costly manual inventory processes and created an environment that empowers management to make effective decisions. J.J. Taylor Companies can now accurately replenish its forward-picking areas and existing automated pallet-building devices and electronically manage its route/stop sequencing, outbound dock and systematic loading operations to assure order accuracy."

Blue Horseshoe is a privately held solution services firm that has been providing expert consulting and packaged software solutions to Fortune 500 and mid-market businesses throughout the world since 1983. Based in North America, Blue Horseshoe assesses business needs and applies world-class business applications to improve profitability and increase efficiency. For more about Blue Horseshoe, visit www.bhsolutions.com.

SOURCE Blue Horseshoe