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The following four phases correspond to the content featured in the free Routing Checklist.

Before exploring alternative service strategies and diving into account-level data, spend some time setting up your project to be successful. Clearly define your goals, establish project teams with subject matter experts from various departments, and ensure you have accurate account master data.

Remember, Garbage In/Garbage Out when it comes to the quality of a reroute. Make sure you start off on the right path from the onset.

During this phase, you will make all the critical service strategy decisions for each account. Start with macro strategy decisions, apply the new strategies against the accounts, then look for exceptions.

For each account, identify the following:

• Sales Model (level of sales rep, pre-sell vs. inside sales / online ordering, channel sales vs. combo sales, super-merch, sales specialists, etc.)
• Delivery Methodology (drop & go worked by merchandiser or chaser, driver put-away, two-person routes, Class A CDL vs. smaller truck, channel-specific route vs. geo route, etc.)
• Service Policy (delivery frequency, sales call frequency, merchandising frequency)
• Service Time for Each Activity by Account (data source may vary between GPS, management estimates, time studies, etc.. Service time needs to factor impact of new service strategy decisions by account)

Simply put, the routing process is the manifestation of your new strategy. It is how you go from concept to reality. Think of routing as an adding machine. It will continually add drive time + service time until it reaches a “full route day”.

Management needs to dictate to the routing team / software what the target workloads & parameters will be. This includes:

• # of Service Days / Week (4 days, 5 days, etc.)
• Target length of Workday (40 hours, 45 hours, 50 hours, etc.)
• Service Schedule (24-hr delivery, 48-hr delivery, etc.)

The implementation phase includes internal & external communication of the new plan.  While the routing is being finalized, management can design the new organizational structure and make personnel decisions for each position. Before talking to customers, management needs to communicate all changes to the employees & train them on how to communicate the changes to customers.

Verno Tip: Customer notification is the MOST IMPORTANT STEP of the entire restructuring process. Do not rush or skip this step.

Reroutes always take longer than wholesalers anticipate. This chart shows a “typical” high-level timeline for a reroute project based on Verno’s projects with clients. The numbers on top represent calendar weeks to complete each task. Projects take longer than expected for several reasons:

• • Many tasks are serial – certain tasks cannot begin until the previous task is completed
  • Everyone on internal project teams has full-time jobs in addition to their project responsibilities
  • Lost time due to holidays, personal vacation, staffing vacancies, etc.
  • Availability of outside services (routing support, strategy consultants like Verno, etc.)
  • Personnel changes to fit the new structure (especially if interviewing & hiring are required)
  • New equipment lead time (i.e. ordering new trucks)

*Project length will vary by wholesaler depending on size, degree of change, and internal capabilities.

Adjusting Workloads for the New Restructure

You can’t change the people without changing the work. Don’t just reduce the amount of resources and expect everyone to work harder to get the same amount of work completed.

Step 1 – Redefine the workload

Step 2 – Build new routes & determine the street-level staffing requirements

Step 3 – Determine the management structure & support required based on new street-level staffing

Step 4 – Finalize the new organizational structure

Verno Tip: Build the new structure from the bottom up – fill it with names from the top down