Russ Krueger 
Senior Vice President, Direct to Store 
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We provide vendor management and first to market distribution services for high demand retail products.
"
 
Supply Chain Solutions - Toys "R" Us

Order Management and Direct-to-Store Delivery

Customer Profile

Toys "R" Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer with more than 1,500 freestanding destination toy and baby specialty stores worldwide. Toys "R" Us offers an unparalleled selection of new toys, old favorites, Toys "R" Us exclusives and many other great values under one roof. Toys "R" Us positions itself as THE authority when it comes to finding the perfect toy.

Customer’s Challenge

In a word: Visibility. A major challenge was management of the vendors Toys “R” Us utilized to ensure compliance on timing and the quantity of video games, accessories, and hardware on “Direct to Store” shipments. Being “first-to-shelf” is critical for success in the gaming industry, an industry which has surpassed Hollywood in terms of dollars spent. Toys “R” Us wanted to capitalize on this robust market.

Agility’s Solution

Agility ensured that the vendors and manufacturers Toys "R" Us chose met release dates with the correct amount of product to fulfill the allocation and meet the demand of a new release video title at the store level. With multiple strategic locations, combined with technology, flexibility, and proven expertise to deliver services tailored to the retailer needs, Agility origin locations configured product according to store specifications.

Being able to process shipments the “same day” shipments provides a huge edge for Toys "R" Us regarding in-store availability. It also helps with shipping cost by allowing them to ship at a slightly slower pace. This competitive edge also allows Toy "R" Us to purchase excess game units with little notice and meet in-store time tables. Flexibility in speed-to-market helps Toys "R" Us achieve their marketing goals and match product availability with advertising adds without breaking the bank on shipping costs. On behalf of our partner, Toys "R" Us, we also use some logistics’ tools to further reduce shipping costs such as LCR (Least Cost Routing). This service allows Agility to meet an in-store deadline using several levels of service at the same time. If an in-store date is two days away, Agility is able to move approximately 65 % of the product via Ground Service and the balance two day air. Our internal maps tell us which stores are reachable within two day ground service. This results in tremendous savings on freight cost.

Agility Results

With EDI integration with the courier’s system for shipment status, we are able to report back to Toys "R" Us on success of the shipments and which stores receive partial or no product. This provides Toys "R" Us one point of contact for all of the components of the Direct-to-Store “vendor-to-shelf" supply chain.

Special Services Provided for Toys “R” Us

  • Order Management
  • Vendor Management
  • Inventory Management
  • Fulfillment
  • Product Assembly