Schnadig Eliminates Shipping Minimums, Expands Blended Containers

March 22, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on March 23, 2010

Schnadig International Corp., High Point, has launched a new cross-docking program that eliminates the cube minimum and enables dealers to purchase product at direct container pricing; and an expanded blended container program for greater flexibility and quicker deliveries.

"We have taken the complexity of buying imported goods out of the equation," said Howard Pan, Schnadig president. "For dealers, it really is no different than ordering out of our domestic warehouses. Our customers no longer need to have their own logistics staff or be familiar with the details of global sourcing because we coordinate and negotiate deliveries from multiple factories for them."  

A vertically integrated company owned by Chinese manufacturer Markor International Furniture Company, Schnadig offers highly diversified product lines across all categories--upholstery, case goods, occasional tables and home accents--at multiple price points.

"As a total resource, we offer a simple sourcing solution: the consolidation of the supply chain for our 10 manufacturing facilities into a single, reliable container flow," Pan said. "Essentially, we are allocating space in our regularly scheduled containers of inventoried product for dealer orders of any size and delivering them on time at competitive shipping rates."

Products from all of the Markor plants are consolidated at a centrally located global distribution center at Tianjin Port for shipping to the United States. Once in the United States, a sophisticated cross-docking system enables product to be shipped to the dealer the same day the container arrives at the warehouse.

"The beauty is that there is no minimum order for our mid-to-small size dealers. A dealer can buy just one piece if that is what they need, at a cost that is significantly less than buying out of our domestic warehouses," said Triche Leander, Schnadig vice president of operations. "The order is never warehoused and never goes into our inventory, enabling us to pass these savings onto the dealer. And, because product is unloaded from the container and placed directly onto the truck, it also significantly reduces the process and delivery time to the customer."

Deliveries will be under six weeks to the West Coast and less than eight weeks for East Coast dealers. Product pricing includes import freight, duties and customs clearance. The dealer only pays freight from the cross-dock facility to their door.

The streamlined supply chain also simplifies container orders. For those who buy in volume, blended containers can include an endless mix of product categories, styles and price points across the five Schnadig portfolios: Caracole, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Compositions, Schnadig and Schnadig Home.

"Last Market we made the CLASS Pledge to our dealers to provide Containers blended in any combination; Leading style designed to sell; All furniture categories at multiple price points; Shipped on time at the most competitive rates; and Simplified global sourcing from a single integrated resource," Pan says. "As a trusted partner, we are fulfilling our pledge by leveraging the power of Markor and enabling our dealers to focus more time and attention on the rapidly changing retail side of their business."