Waterloo, ON — April 16, 2003 — Big box electronics retailer Best Buy has expanded its relationship with logistics solution provider Descartes Systems Group, extending its rollout of Descartes' Routing and Scheduling to include its entire U.S. consumer home delivery operations.
Minneapolis-based Best Buy operates nearly 1,900 retail stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company has been a Descartes customer since 2000.
Under their latest agreement, the retailer will use the provider's solution to manage more than 1.5 million deliveries annually within the United States. Best Buy will manage all of its routes from its headquarters in Minnesota with the Descartes solution. Big screen televisions, appliances, and other big box items will be routed from the retailer's distribution centers and stores to its customers throughout the United States.
Descartes said the solution helps to balance service levels with cost, enabling the retailer to gain greater control over its distribution operations without compromising customer service. Enhanced fleet utilization and lower mileage and operating costs are among the benefits of the system, according to the solution provider.
"Keeping delivery and distribution costs to a minimum while maintaining superior customer service is critical to ensuring our leadership position as a consumer electronics retailer," said Mark O'Brien, vice president of logistics for Best Buy. "Descartes Routing and Scheduling enables us to reduce costs while
