Driving Fulfillment Performance with Descartes OzLink Shipping for Fishbowl

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With the aim of ramping up order turnaround speed, Dia-Foot implemented Descartes OzLink Shipping for Fishbowl, driving operational efficiencies through its shipping workflow. By automating the labeling and shipping process, coupled with sharing order data seamlessly with its Fishbowl Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the diabetic footwear and orthotics supplier increased productivity, reduced order errors, and improved the customer experience.

“Our entire service model is based on speed of turnaround and delivery. Descartes OzLink is critical to our ability to rapidly get orders out the door, especially for SWOG and insurance orders that require individualized name tags and specific documentation. The Descartes solution completely automated the labeling and shipping process, saving us serious time and resources.”

— Stewart Arrojo, IT Manager at Dia-Foot

Company Profile

Dia-Foot
Specialized Footwear Wholesaler

Descartes Solutions
Descartes OzLink™ for Fishbowl

About the Client

Dia-Foot is a footwear wholesaler, specializing in diabetic shoes and pre-fab and custom diabetic inserts. The company also manufactures the Pure Stride line of pre-fab orthotics, insoles, and gel foot pads. With a nationwide dealer network, Dia-Foot ships diabetic footwear products to medical professionals across the U.S.

Quick Overview

Challenge

Manual Workflows Impede Shipping Efficiency

Results

• Increased Productivity
• 90% Order Accuracy
• Exceptional Customer Experience
• 80% Heightened Efficiency

Solution

Automation Drives Fulfillment Throughput

Challenge: Manual Workflows Impede Shipping Efficiency

With podiatrists relying on Dia-Foot to provide patients’ custom orthotics and diabetic footwear in an expedient manner, the company’s manual shipping processes were hampering order fulfillment speed and accuracy. Multiple sales orders both insurance and non-insurance—for multiple patients needed to be sent to the same doctor with individual patient labels, proof-of-delivery forms, and proper insurance documentation as required. Custom business rules regarding items that shipped at no cost, coupled with selecting the correct UPS or FedEx shipper number based on a list of designated insurance carriers, further complicated the shipping process.

Solution: Automation Drives Fulfillment Throughput

Dia-Foot implemented Descartes OzLink Shipping for Fishbowl to expedite and streamline its time-consuming manual shipping process. The Descartes solution integrates seamlessly with Fishbowl, Dia-Foot’s ERP system, making sure shipping costs, tracking numbers, and relevant order information are captured in real-time; Fishbowl, in turn, shares daily data with QuickBooks.

“Before Descartes OzLink, we had to manually key in the order, manually create the patient label for each shoebox, and manually generate the shipping label. It was a cumbersome process. Now we can scan once and the new solution automatically generates name tags, shipping labels, and invoices, and pushes the information back into Fishbowl,” said Stewart Arrojo, IT Manager at Dia-Foot.

“Plus, if it’s a SWOG (Ship With Other Goods) order, we can easily scan in each individual order and the Descartes system recognizes that it is part of one larger order, generating individual shipping labels and recognizing the difference between insurance customers and regular customers. And it creates one straightforward invoice with cumulative charges,” Arrojo added. When the order is scanned, Descartes OzLink automatically populates UPS WorldShip or FedEx Ship Manager, selecting the appropriate account number based on Dia-Foot’s custom business rules and a configurable list of insurance providers.

Arrojo noted, “The Descartes solution has helped immensely with order accuracy. In the past, we had to rely on staff to remember to manually include Proof of Delivery (POD) and insurance forms in the box. Now that the process is automated, doctors receive the correct documentation for each patient’s order.”

90% Order Accuracy

By eliminating the user errors inherent in manual processes, plus real-time integration with Fishbowl and carrier applications, the Descartes OzLink solution ensures the accuracy of order data, labels, shipping charges, and tracking information.