PG Distribution - Magaya Corporation

CASE STUDY:
PG Distribution
Distribution
Distribution Texas Style
PG Distribution in Laredo Efficiently Handles Northbound and
Southbound Transport of Hot Sauce and Cold Beer
Just like everything else in Texas, distribution is big. PG Distribution in Laredo uses
Magaya WMS in their warehouse to service customers who are importing and
exporting goods across the U.S. –Mexican border.
,
We want the customer to see that the information
is live. That helps us stay competitive in this
market.
Andres Chapa, Director of Warehouse Operations, PG Distribution
,
PG Distribution
At a Glance
PG Distribution
http://www.palos-garza.com
PG Distribution of Laredo, Texas is part of the Palos Garza Company, which offers
Industry
Distribution
totaling 200,000 square feet and 86 docks.
warehousing, logistics, forwarding, and fleet services. They have three warehouses
Solution
Magaya WMS and Magaya WMS Mobile
A Growth Region
The streets of Laredo, Texas, are full of semi-trailer trucks carrying
goods across the border between Mexico and the United States.
Over 9,000 trucks cross at the Port of Laredo daily. In contrast, about
3,500 trucks cross the California–Mexico border daily. According to
the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Laredo handles 39%
of U.S.–Mexico trade on the U.S. Southern Border. Trade in the district
increased by 17% in 2011, and the population has doubled since 1990.
It is the largest port of entry on the U.S.–Mexico border, and the third
largest inland border port of entry behind Detroit, MI and Buffalo, NY.
PG Distribution was started by Mario Palos Garza in 1988. He began
Laredo has four bridges that cross the border. The largest is the World
his career as a customs broker in Mexico. Over the years, he expanded
Trade International Bridge with 14 lanes. The other bridges have 4 or
his business by adding a trucking division and a freight forwarding
8 lanes. It’s not just the roads that are busy; the Laredo International
service. Seeing the growth in the distribution industry in the area, he
Airport experienced an increase of 58% in pounds of cargo from 2009
opened the distribution business in Laredo, Texas, in 2009 to meet the
to 2010.
warehousing and distribution needs of customers.
All kinds of freight cross the bridges, including automotive parts,
Software Selection and Setup
cellular phone components, chemicals, food ingredients and more.
The distribution business is very competitive in Laredo, so PG
Distribution combines technology and customer service to handle
many of these commodities efficiently for their customers.
The company has three warehouses in Laredo, totaling approximately
200,000 square feet. In 2010, PG Distribution installed the Magaya
WMS and Magaya WMS Mobile applications in one of the divisions of
the company which is run by Operations Manager Andres Chapa to
manage their distribution of commodities such as beer and hot sauce.
When PG Distribution opened their warehouse, they tried a different
software program, but it did not provide enough features for all their
needs. Operations Manager Andres Chapa read an ad for Magaya
software in the industry magazine Inbound Logistics. He downloaded
a trial of the software, tested it, and decided to sign up for it when he
saw the features he needed such as In & Out reports, notifications,
inventory tracking, integrated accounting, online visibility, and more.
“The fact that Magaya software has accounting features integrated
with it was one of the major factors that lead us to select it. Before
that, we used two software programs, one for accounting and one for
WMS,” Mr. Chapa said. When making the software purchasing decision,
he looked at his present and future needs. “There are also a lot of
add-ons available that we can use in the future. We needed a software
company that has the vision for a whole package.”
When they evaluated their warehouse to install the wireless handheld
setup, PG Distribution hired an IT company to help them plan where to
place the hotspots to ensure all the wireless units have a strong signal
PG Distribution
inside the 100,000 square-foot building. They also placed hotspots
near loading docks so that scanning cargo in and out of the trucks
goes smoothly.
Scanning Barcodes and Connecting
Data
The warehouse employees use the WMS Mobile handheld units
As part of the system setup, PG created Inventory Item Definitions
to receive the cargo. The barcodes of items are scanned and the
in the Magaya system. The purpose of defining items is to assign a
information is saved directly into the Magaya WMS. The system
part number to the data so that each time the same items arrive, the
also enables them to send a tracking link to their customers via the
information is already in the system. All that needs to be done is scan
Transaction Tracking feature.
the barcode on the label, and the system immediately identifies the
part number and populates the Warehouse Receipt document with
“We can store items by serial numbers easily using the handheld
the item details.
scanners. It gives us more control for pick and packing so we can
provide specialized attention to customers,” Mr. Chapa said.
Mr. Chapa uses the Warehouse Inspector screen in the software to view
the warehouse locations and see what is on hand. Mr. Chapa creates
a report per location in the warehouse and gives it to the warehouse
staff to perform an inventory count for that location. The warehouse
coordinator gives out the Load Tasks to the warehouse employees.
“We have visibility into the status of the tasks as they are being
performed in the warehouse.”
“We also run reports per customer from the Commodity List every day
and send it to the customer. Everyone here can run these reports,” he
The PG Distribution warehouse is organized by customer. Shipments
said. “We can customize it based on what the customer wants to see.”
arrive from different carriers, mostly delivering Full Truckload (FTL).
All the item data that is scanned and saved is also available to their
They also receive consolidated shipments from carriers such as FedEx
accounting department and customs broker.
Freight which contain items from different customers. Each pallet or
case is scanned and placed in the correct location in the warehouse
The system also enables them to save and attach scanned paper
that is dedicated to each customer. The locations and item details are
documents as a PDF. “We attach pictures and documents such as the
saved in the database.
Bill of Lading, Packing List, or a Certificate of Analysis, which is required
for food grade products,” Mr. Chapa said.
The software includes a built-in customization feature so custom fields
can be added to input data specific to any business. PG Distribution
added a custom field for trailer numbers to help them track which
trucks are carrying which goods. This number and other data can be
used throughout the system.
Mr. Chapa explained that some customers provide PG Distribution
with load numbers. “We enter the load number into their webpage
to get information about the cargo such as the consignee,” Mr. Chapa
said. “When we invoice our customers from the Magaya system, we
include the load number on the invoice. We also include the other
relevant charges such as drayage, distribution, cross-docking, and final
“We enter charges such as storage charges, packing or handling, pick
transport.”
and pack, and shrink wrap charges. We also enter costs per transaction
so we know if a trailer was Full Truckload or LTL and how much it costs
the customer.” The office staff at PG Distribution itemizes the costs on
the customer’s invoices.
PG Distribution
Online Benefits
“We like the software features that let the customers create their own
custom reports from the website. It’s one of the advantages that helps
set us apart from competitors.” PG Distribution is using the interactive
online tool called Magaya LiveTrack which gives their customers 24/7
real-time tracking details. “When we show our customers the tracking
page, they are amazed at how user-friendly it is. They also have the
option to chat online with one of our account representatives or the
accounting department. They are able to get information about their
shipments and invoices and everything all on one web page. The
information is live, up to the minute.”
“When items arrive at the warehouse, the information about the items
is visible online right away. Some customers need more information
than others such as purchase order numbers, so we enter it and it’s
available online for them to see. We want the customer to see that the
information is live. They can see what is actually being loaded right now.
That helps us stay competitive in this market.”
In Conclusion
One of the main benefits that PG Distribution has gained from using the
software is getting a clear view of everything. “It was new for us to see
the real-time status of items and know what is pending or loaded.”
“We save time with the Magaya system,” Mr. Chapa said. “The old
system was not detailed enough. We have much more detail now, and
everyone here can search the whole database to find anything and give
a quick response to the customer’s questions.”
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