About the Company
Fabuwood
Fabuwood is an integrated manufacturer of semi-custom kitchen cabinetry. The company, however, sees itself as a technology company that happens to produce cabinets and has built a formidable growth strategy around that philosophy. As a result, its fulfillment times are but a fraction of its competitors’ to the delight of homeowners throughout North America.
The Business Situation
A Tech Company in the Cabinet Business
A tech company in the cabinet business Fabuwood has pioneered the deployment of advanced IT systems in cabinet manufacturing and was the first in its industry to build a business around their use. The company has invested substantially in building this technology, but it also acquires some specialty systems from partners. For freight transportation management, it selected 3G Transportation Management. The team chose to put its trust in 3G for two reasons: its ability to support multiple operations and a shared customer-first philosophy. While many manufacturers choose to outsource logistics planning entirely, the Fabuwood team has a different approach – one that requires maintaining control of operations in order to maintain control of the customer experience. The common focus on the end customer experience led to a mutual understanding of what was really important.
The Solution
3G Transportation Management
3G’s phased implementation approach allowed Fabuwood to go live and begin planning its LTL shipments while continuing to incorporate additional functionalities. While Fabuwood saw the software’s ability to meet its immediate needs, it was 3G’s partnership approach that gave the company long-term confidence. While other software packages probably could have handled the here-and-now, 3G was best positioned to support Fabuwood’s aggressive growth plans. The right transportation management partner had to not only be able to keep up with Fabuwood technologically, it had to be philosophically aligned, too. That meant a refusal to sacrifice customer experience for the sake of additional sales. Upholding its reputation meant working with a software provider that felt invested in the ultimate success of Fabuwood’s own customers. Like Fabuwood, 3G shares a philosophy of growth through continuous improvement to processes and products. For this reason, the 3G development team has worked directly with the Fabuwood team to collaborate on product enhancement initiatives (to the potential benefit of all 3G customers.
The Outcome
Supporting a Commitment to Customers
Fabuwood cabinetry stands on its own for its USA-made craftsmanship, but reduced manufacturing and delivery times make it a true standout in the minds of contractors and homeowners. Therefore, logistics plays a vital role in overall customer experience, supporting over 3,000 dealers with thousands of daily shipments and a five-day average lead time. This is where the TMS plays an important role as well: once cabinetry is built, there is little room for error in managing its journey from Fabuwood’s facility to the customer’s home and 3G is proud to be trusted with that responsibility. An algorithm to reliably & efficiently manage transportation resources, build loads, and route trucks is key to the ultimate execution of the company’s strategy.
“The secret to great cabinetry? Materials and craftsmanship. The secret to great, attainable, semi-custom cabinetry without months long lead times? Technology! Every operational or software enhancement must pass the ultimate test: Enabling a better experience for more customers. Controlling our own transportation operations, and using 3G’s software to do it, is yet ano her way Fabuwood prioritizes customer experience above all else.u0022