Acer is a global vendor of PCs, Notebooks, Smart Phones, Tablets and peripherals. The company employs over 8,000 people and has revenues approaching US$ 20 billion per year. Acer has become a leading brand in India with an extensive sales and service network spread across the country. The business is constantly looking to strengthen its competitive advantage, and DHL Supply Chain was invited to propose ways in which Acer India could simplify its service parts and repair operations in order to improve turnaround times and reduce costs.

CUSTOMER CHALLENGEIndia’s vast geography and poor infrastructure meant Acer faced some unique challenges. The business lacked visibility and control over the large network of 21 parts warehouses and service providers that had grown up to support customers across the country. Adding to the challenge was a single central repair facility, which meant the overall model was resulting in high parts inventory and transportation costs.

DHL SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONDHL Supply Chain India worked jointly with the Acer India team to simplify the service and repair operation by consolidating their 21 parts warehouses down to just 3 regional hubs, situated in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkatta plus the innovative step of then co-locating the repair and screening operation at these hubs, rather than a central location.

In addition, DHL Supply Chain was able to propose a multi-modal transport solution to provide a consistent and cost-effective same and next business day service. This integrated logistics solution meant DHL Supply Chain could provide a comprehensive end-to-end parts warehousing, repair and transportation service that would give Acer full visibility,

Customer Challenge

• Large network of warehouses and service providers resulting in high inventory and transport costs

• Lack of visibility and control•Need for improvement in parts repair turnaround times

DHL Supply Chain Solution

• Jointly worked with Acer to support consolidation of 21 warehouses into 3 regional hubs, with co-location of repair operations at hubs

• Hired and trained more than 60 specialist electronics technicians

• End-to-end process ownership for warehousing, repair and transportation

• Powerful dashboard and metrics system

Customer Benefits

• Simplified model with increased visibility and control • 10,000 parts repairs per month• Faster turnaround times and improved service for

Acer’s customers• Rationalization and reduction of parts inventory and

transport costs

INTEGRATED REPAIR AND SERVICE PARTS OPERATION IMPROVES TURNAROUND TIMES AND REDUCES COSTS

Technology

control and traceability - including collection of defective components from Acer service providers, undertaking screening and repairs, re-routing spare parts, inventory management, quality control and testing, and final dispatch back out to the customer or service provider.

DHL Supply Chain was awarded the contract and has begun to roll out the 3 regional warehousing and service hubs. This includes hiring and training more than 60 specialist electronic technicians and meeting productivity targets for handling nearly 10,000 parts repairs per month. The repair service now spans the visual screening of defective units, and functional testing and component repair of motherboards, media, power

supplies, memory, adapters and displays. DHL Supply Chain also developed a unique dashboard and metrics system to provide visibility and measurement across the entire repair and service parts operation.

CUSTOMER BENEFITSConsolidating the warehousing and repair operations into 3 regional hubs, and partnering with DHL Supply Chain to provide integrated logistics has greatly simplified Acer’s service operations. It has also given them the necessary visibility and control to rationalize and reduce inventory and transport costs. Having DHL Supply Chain manage the end-to-end process minimizes the number of touch-points which is already translating into faster turnaround time and higher levels of service for Acer’s customers. DHL Supply Chain are also delivering same and next business day fulfilment to over 95% of Acers service providers, and their relentless focus on excellence means they are well on the way to meeting Acer’s ambitious productivity, repair quality and cost saving targets.

For further information

Contact our Technology Supply Chain Experts: supplychain@dhl.com

Complete end-to-end repair process

ProductDrop Off at Acer Service

Centre

Inbound to Regional

Hub

Units Receiving

Repair & Screening of

Units

Quality Control &

Final Quality Control

Final Packaging

Technology