In the bottled water industry, delivering product to residences and businesses can often become a significant challenge, especially in the busy season. With 15 independently operated branches, Culligan of Canada concluded that they needed to centralize their delivery process to gain control of distribution operations and most importantly to maximize their profitability.

Culligan of Canada has been distributing bottled water to businesses, residences, and industrial operations throughout Canada for over 65 years. Headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada their mission is to deliver high-quality water treatment products that will benefit consumers' lives. Their national distribution manager, Chris Lantz, kept this in mind when he approached UPS Logistics Technologies, a global provider of transportation management software, to improve their delivery effectiveness.

Prior to centralization, each of their 15 branches had the drivers route their own stops. This process was taking anywhere from 15 - 45 minutes per day. Chris's plan was to centrally locate the routing, scheduling, and territory planning from one location and he decided to license Roadnet and Territory Planner to achieve synchronization. Chris stated, "The power of centralized routing is simply that we can see everything that is happening across the country including seasonal trends, geographical fluctuations in volume and stops, and continue to improve a standardized process that benefits our company."

Before installing the software there was hesitation from not only the 15 district managers but also from their drivers. Chris had to educate the managers about centrally-located routing and territory planning, as well as the benefits of the software. The managers became more comfortable with the change, but the drivers were still concerned specifically with their routes. He explained, "In order to get the drivers' endorsement, it was necessary to allow them to play an active role in the routing process. By doing so, this project became partly their own and therefore successful."

Shortly after implementation, Culligan realized their increased efficiency could be attributed to Roadnet and Territory Planner. By concentrating each driver's territory they experienced a significant reduction in miles. "We have in excess of 100 routes throughout Canada and we have 3 dedicated Logistics Coordinators who oversee the entire country." Chris explained. "This has saved us over 70% in routing time alone." Each driver is now able to complete more stops in a shorter period of time, resulting in significantly less wear and tear on the delivery vehicles.

Since seasonality is such a big part of the bottled water industry, Chris has allowed the software to adjust for the higher volume they see in the warmer months. The actual time to re-route has been decreased by 50% using Territory Planner. During the re-route process Chris loads trucks to allow for a certain amount of growth. "I find that working intimately with local management and each individual driver, I can accurately forecast and route each truck to capacity." Chris said. "By doing so, overtime hours are kept to a minimum and we avoid driver burnout."

Culligan has frequently called on UPS Logistics Technologies' consulting group over the years. Chris said excitedly, "We definitely take full advantage of UPS Logistics Technologies' consulting services for their expertise and industry knowledge. Every on-site session we have, we learn a few new tips and are able to apply them to our advantage."

UPS Logistics Technologies will continue to support Culligan of Canada as their market for bottled water delivery continues to grow.