FINANCIAL DRIVERS
- Speed Time-to-Market
- Improve Customer Service
- Remove Distribution Costs
Rapid Rollout of FDA-Regulated OTC Products
Faced with the tremendous task of orchestrating a national simultaneous launch for Rogaine®, Pharmacia / Upjohn (now part of Pfizer)called TLC. In anticipation of their FDA approval we worked with them to ensure a smooth rollout that would synchronize with ther national media launch.
Upjohn's U.S. Distribution Services was comprised of four different divisions, each with a well-established LTL and parcel distribution system. But the task of a nationwide rollout on such a tight time table was likened to "a snake swallowing an elephant." The Rogaine roll out consisted of 50 different SKUs in truckload quantities within an abbreviated window. FDA approval came in mid-February and product was on the shelf the 1st of April. TLC delivered in less than six weeks what normally required three months.
Upjohn elected to push smaller orders through its existing OTC distribution system, relying on TLC to handle larger orders -- ranging from 1/2 to 2 truckloads or more. TLC was responsible for linehaul shipments from the Upjohn Kalamazoo production facility to Upjohn distribution centers in Simi Valley, CA; Enfield, CO; and Kansas City, KS. Overflow from those facilities was warehoused in TLC distribution centers in Sparks, NV; Atlanta, GA and South Brunswick, NJ. TLC also distributed Rogaine to retailers throughout the midwest from its Grand Rapids, MI facility. Retail displays, picked up at the manufacturer's plant, were piggybacked with the Rogaine loads.
Because of the unprecedented demand for this new product at the retail level, Pharmacia & Upjohn clients made continual changes to the SKU mix prior to shipment, requiring a flexible and accurate order pick process.