Discovery Channel is the second most widely distributed cable network in the U.S., is the premier provider of real-world entertainment, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography that consistently represent quality for viewers. In addition, Discovery Commerce offers an array of merchandise including home video, award-winning developmental toys for children and series-based fan gear through direct-to-consumer platforms and third-party relationships, including; DiscoveryStore.com, Discovery Channel Store, and Discovery Channel Catalog divisions.

Blue Horseshoe partnered with Discovery Channel to optimize their logistics network and deploy technology to support a best of breed Transportation platform for their distribution channels. First, the Blue Horseshoe team took a look at how Discovery Channel ran their shipping operation and made recommendations for changes in processes that would enable Discovery Channel to get the most from their new TMS. They also defined requirements for the new TMS system through system prototyping and performed gap and process flow analysis.

Blue Horseshoe then designed and developed a custom architecture to integrate their new TMS, (Manhattan Associates), with the warehouse management system. Blue Horseshoe integrated the Transportation System to Discovery Channel’s exsting Warehouse Management environment to provide real-time carrier selection and load planning optimization based on business rules. Now, LTL Pooling/Zone Skipping and consolidation opportunities are analyzed for freight savings. Carrier compliant ship labels and customer pack lists are generated from the system. After picking, cartons are conveyed to sortation where an inline scale captures actual weight and electronic manifesting and freight charge calculations are performed. Trailer shipments are dynamically built and closed at the end of the day to produce all necessary ASN and EDI requirements.

Discovery Channel is a high volume shipper that fills shipment orders to Discovery Channel retail stores, a direct-to-consumer catalog and through web orders. With their implementation, Discovery Channel has been able to identify consolidation and optimization opportunities, their freight costs are automatically captured and associated with their orders, and freight bill auditing, payment, and claims processing has been automated and brought in-house, resulting in substantial cost savings. Other benefits include; Consistent least-cost carrier selection based on business rules; Increased customer satisfaction due to on-time deliveries; Better control over transportation spend; A truly integrated solution with their Warehouse Management System that eliminates manual shipping processes; 100% carrier compliance.