2015

2015 North American RTLS in Yard Management

Customer Value Leadership Award
 BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

Contents
Background and Company Performance ........................................................................ 3

Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3

Customer Impact and Business Impact ................................................................... 3

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 6

Significance of Customer Value Leadership .................................................................... 7

Understanding Customer Value Leadership .................................................................... 7

Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 8

Best Practice Award Analysis for PINC Solutions ............................................................. 8

Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 8

Customer Impact ................................................................................................. 9

Business Impact................................................................................................... 9

Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 10

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ..................... 11

Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 11

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best

Practices ................................................................................................................. 12

About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 13

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Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges
Effective yard management procedures ensure overall efficiency of the entire logistics
supply chain. Manually operated and managed yards still exist. This hampers the
capability of the management to assess the actual performance of the yard, leading to
increased logistics costs and, thereby, dampened operational efficiency. In such a
challenging environment, it is extremely crucial for companies to develop solutions that
assist in increasing the real-time visibility of yard processes, thus ensuring greater
efficiency in logistics management.

In addition to this, the other embedded concerns that deter seamless management of
yards include a prolonged gate check-in processes, redundant moves, and time-
consuming yard checks, further leading to delays and excessive detention charges. This is
all due to the lack of access to actionable information that could help improve operational
efficiency in due course. Furthermore, tracking the movement of shipments in large yards,
that too manually, is extremely time-consuming, with a probability of broad errors, along
with the risk of losing or misplacing important shipment components.

Thus, companies that have been able to utilize their technological abilities to develop
comprehensive and unique Real Time Location System (RTLS) solutions have helped
inform customers about the real-time location of assets, leading to a much improved turn-
around time. Such solutions are necessary to help automate yard management processes,
eliminating the need for long-drawn yard checks, reducing detention costs due to
electronic documentation of shipment movement, and decreasing spoilage, theft, and
delays (resulting from real-time visibility).

Customer Impact and Business Impact

Price/Performance Value

Based in Alameda, California, PINC Solutions, with its decade-long experience and
expertise in yard management, has ramped up its capabilities to solidify its position in the
North American market. Yard management solutions have been in the market for about 15
years now, but their conventional mode of operation has compelled market participants to
innovate and offer next-generation yard management solutions that are much more
comprehensive and pertinent to industry trends. Having effectively used the low-cost
passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and developed cost-effective
RTLS, PINC has the first-mover’s advantage in the market. Keeping in mind the necessity
to maximize Return on Investment (ROI) for its clients, the company ensures minimal
capital investment compared to the offerings from other competitors. To gain a
competitive advantage, PINC Solutions has developed a more collaborative and multi-
locational system (such as the advanced yard management system), compared to first-
generation solutions. The company has been able to provide end-user segments such as
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suppliers, carriers, and shippers with real-time visibility into shipment status and
locational information across a wide range of facilities. Such comprehensive solutions help
customers execute business strategies with much more precision, utilize labor and assets,
and manage inventory in an efficient manner. PINC Solutions also focuses on
incorporating additional functionalities that are at par with industry requirements and
technological advancements so that its overall value proposition remains enhanced.
Optimizing supply chain operations from one dock to another is the key forte of all PINC
Solutions products. This is in line with the imperative market need to improve efficiency
and bring down cost with no alteration in the level of customer service. In conjunction
with this need, PINC Solutions’ Enterprise Visibility Suite facilitates end users to control
their yards effectively by allowing them a sneak-peek view in real time. Such magnified
precision in supply chain management is possible due to the operational data that is
gathered from a wide range of Global Positioning System (GPS) and RFID sensors
deployed by its advanced Yard Management System (YMS). Its embedded cloud-based
platform helps gather data from sensors in real time basis, further helping in effective
tracking and management of trailers. This also drives the Internet of Things (IoT) Mega
Trend and ensures that supply chain issues are intelligently addressed.

Furthermore, PINC Solutions’ Advanced Yard Management System (an integrated cloud-
based software platform) helps in automating the yard operations, thereby, indicating a
high performance orientation. Simultaneously built with modular hardware and enterprise
reporting tools, this unique yard controller offers a host of unique advantages that first-
generation solutions have been unable to provide. It facilitates prompt decision making,
as end users are able to enjoy a real-time view of the resource location. Moreover, the use
of the passive RFID technology does not require extra attention with regards to battery
maintenance (as is the case with active RFID approaches), thus, ensuring high reliability.
It also helps maintain rigorous communication with truck drivers, thereby, seamlessly
increasing productivity in due course.

Customer Ownership Experience

In addition to its ability to create an integrated view of shipments across organizations,

PINC Solutions offers its end users an array of advantages with regard to optimizing time,
performance, and cost and enhancing visibility. This clearly offers a sound platform for the
end users to reap benefits, allowing them to proudly own its services. With an aim to
render an enriched experience to customers, the company is committed to launch
frequent improvements in its solution delivery. For instance, on 14 November 2014, PINC
Solutions announced the launch of the innovative PINC Air—an auto-piloted supply chain
drone. This newest innovation addresses a number of logistical challenges and helps end
users manage their inventory (located in either high-density holding areas or distributed
over large facilities) with high accuracy. The ability to examine a wide area independent of
any assistance helps locate the inventory with more ease. Such value additions in its
product line have, undoubtedly, helped the company attain greater customer appreciation
within a very short time.

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Brand Equity

PINC Solutions, within 10 years of its operation, has been able to acquire prominent
companies such as Kimberly-Clark, LINC Logistics, Universal Truck Load Services, Daimler
Trucks North America and Supervalu in the manufacturing, retail, and transportation
sectors as its customers. Having utilized its expertise and technical knowledge to create a
strong position for itself in the market, PINC Solutions’ brand is now synonymous with
high customer satisfaction. The company aims to improve its offerings further by
incorporating innovative features in its existing products and introducing new products in
tandem with evolving market dynamics. The introduction of the innovative PINC Air stands
testimony to the company’s commitment to ensure utmost customer satisfaction. By out-
thinking conventional tools of yard management, PINC Solutions has undoubtedly
surpassed customer expectations and created top-of-the-brand recall among customers.

Customer Acquisition

After achieving high customer satisfaction, PINC Solutions has received attention from a
wide range of top companies in automotive, retail, logistics, and manufacturing and
currently has one of the largest YMS customer base in the industry. The company has
been able to offer extensive services to its clients and has broadly redefined yard
management procedures for them. Efficiently eliminating the manual processes of yard
management, helping customers keep track of the assets in the yard on a continuous
basis, and offering them all the information on a user-friendly web-based interface help
deliver best-in-class services to such a broad base of customers. A comprehensive and
innovative level of service offering further enables the company to acquire more
customers which gives it an edge over competitors.

Operational Efficiency

In order to heighten its overall operational efficiency, PINC Solutions has focused on
creating a sturdy network of partners. For this it has entered into strategic alliances with
systems integrators, resellers and 3PLS’s. A synergized approach with these companies
enhances customer satisfaction levels, and end users reap the benefits of low cost and
increased revenue by getting access to real-time information on shipment location. For
instance, the Advanced YMS renders high value to automotive companies by helping them
make strategic decisions (on the basis of real-time data on capacity, labor, and resource),
which enables them to track shipments on a multi-facility basis and create a comparison
between travel times as against the slated norms. Furthermore, the automated ability to
schedule tasks against each resource increases the productivity quotient, and
consequently, facility utilization is enhanced. Also, PINC’s in-house development staffs
make the company’s solutions more responsive to customer enhancements. Such
comprehensive performance management approaches place PINC Solutions much ahead of
competition and also assist the company to improve the overall efficiency of its clients.

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Growth Potential

Due to the heightened satisfaction that PINC Solutions renders to its customers, the
company has a huge potential for growth in this highly competitive market. PINC Solutions
continues to be one of the frontrunners and innovators in the global RTLS market with its
Supply Chain Drone. With changing dynamics in the North American yard management
space, PINC Solutions has notably scaled up its abilities and gathered a pool of prominent
companies in its customer list. One such top company that has reaped huge benefits by
deploying PINC Solutions’ Advanced YMS is Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). With
an aim to speed up the production process, increase inventory visibility, and lessen the
detention fees, DTNA deployed the Advanced YMS in its US and Mexico facilities. After
seamless installation of this system, the company achieved 99% accuracy in detecting the
trailer location within the yard, automatically allowing yard workers to increase their
productivity. It has further helped the company cut down on the number of leased yard
trucks from seven to six. Extending such robust services and helping customers reap the
best ROI certainly enables PINC Solutions’ to further expand its scope of operations and
gain more lead over competitors.

Conclusion
PINC Solutions has been able to set a high standard in the yard management space with
its robust range of services that include shipment analysis, real-time visibility, and overall
process improvement across locations. PINC Solutions has a wide range of customers from
manufacturers, retailers, distributors and carriers to 3rd Party Logistics (3PL)
organizations and it has visibly improved the operational efficiency of its clients’ yards.
Functioning on a cloud-based platform, its Advanced YMS gathers data on a real-time
basis from the extensive sensor network, all of which are aggregated in the Enterprise
Visibility Suite. Deploying such a compact system enables the logistics department to
optimize supply chain processes in an efficient manner.

With its strong overall performance, PINC Solutions has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2015
Customer Value Leadership Award.

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Significance of Customer Value Leadership

Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing from your
company, and then making the decision to return time and again. Delighting customers is
therefore the cornerstone of any successful growth strategy. To achieve these dual goals
(growth and customer delight), an organization must be best-in-class in three key areas:
understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and differentiating from the competition.

Understanding Customer Value Leadership

Customer Value Leadership is defined and measured by two macro-level categories:
customer impact and business impact. These two sides work together to make customers
feel valued, and confident in their products’ quality and long shelf life. This dual
satisfaction translates into repeat purchases and a high lifetime customer value.

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Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Customer Value Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently
evaluated two key factors—Customer Impact and Business Impact—according to the
criteria identified below.

Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience
Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience
Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience
Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Business Impact
Criterion 1: Financial Performance
Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition
Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency
Criterion 4: Growth Potential
Criterion 5: Human Capital

Best Practice Award Analysis for PINC Solutions

Decision Support Scorecard
To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance
categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool
allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to
the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that
basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation;
ratings guidelines are illustrated below.
RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Customer Impact and Business Impact
(i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each
criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of
this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to
the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative
rankings of the companies.

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The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the
interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players
as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.
DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR CUSTOMER VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Customer Business Average

Customer Value Leadership Impact Impact Rating

PINC Solutions 9.8 9.8 9.8

Competitor 2 9.2 9.2 9.2

Competitor 3 8.8 8.6 8.7

Customer Impact
Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value
Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar
offerings in the market

Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience

Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that
addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints

Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience

Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company’s product or service, and have a
positive experience throughout the life of the product or service

Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience

Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality

Criterion 5: Brand Equity

Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty

Business Impact
Criterion 1: Financial Performance
Requirement: Strong overall financial performance in terms of revenues, revenue growth,
operating margin and other key financial metrics

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Requirement: Customer facing processes support the efficient and consistent acquisition of
new customers, even as it enhances retention of current customers

Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency

Requirement: Staff is able to perform assigned tasks productively, quickly, and to a high
quality standard

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Criterion 4: Growth Potential

Requirements: Customer focus strengthens brand, reinforces customer loyalty and
enhances growth potential

Criterion 5: Human Capital

Requirement: Company culture is characterized by a strong commitment to quality and
customers, which in turn enhances employee morale and retention

Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,
analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to
visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at
best-in-class levels.
DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR CUSTOMER VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD

High

PINC
Solutions
Competitor 2

Competitor 3
Business Impact

Low

Low Customer Impact High

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The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best

Practices Awards
Research Methodology 360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN
Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research THE CHAOS
methodology represents the analytical
rigor of our research process. It offers a
360-degree-view of industry challenges,
trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of
Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.
Too often, companies make important
growth decisions based on a narrow
understanding of their environment,
leading to errors of both omission and
commission. Successful growth strategies
are founded on a thorough understanding
of market, technical, economic, financial,
customer, best practices, and demographic
analyses. The integration of these research
disciplines into the 360-degree research
methodology provides an evaluation
platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at best-
in-class levels.

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Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,

Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and assess
their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are
based on close adherence to this process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

Monitor, Identify award recipient • Conduct in-depth industry Pipeline of candidates who
1 target, and candidates from around the research potentially meet all best-
screen globe • Identify emerging sectors practice criteria
• Scan multiple geographies

Perform comprehensive, • Interview thought leaders Matrix positioning all

Perform 360-degree research on all and industry practitioners candidates’ performance
2 360-degree candidates in the pipeline • Assess candidates’ fit with relative to one another
research best-practice criteria
• Rank all candidates

Invite Perform in-depth • Confirm best-practice criteria Detailed profiles of all

thought examination of all candidates • Examine eligibility of all ranked candidates
3 leadership in candidates
best • Identify any information gaps
practices

Initiate Conduct an unbiased • Brainstorm ranking options Final prioritization of all

research evaluation of all candidate • Invite multiple perspectives eligible candidates and
4 director profiles on candidates’ performance companion best-practice
review • Update candidate profiles positioning paper

Assemble Present findings to an expert • Share findings Refined list of prioritized

panel of panel of industry thought • Strengthen cases for award candidates
5 industry leaders candidate eligibility
experts • Prioritize candidates

Conduct Build consensus on award • Hold global team meeting to Final list of eligible award
global candidates’ eligibility review all candidates candidates, representing
6 • Pressure-test fit with criteria success stories worldwide
industry
review • Confirm inclusion of all
eligible candidates

Develop official award • Perform final performance High-quality, accurate, and

Perform consideration materials benchmarking activities creative presentation of
7 • Write nominations nominees’ successes
quality check
• Perform quality review

Reconnect Finalize the selection of the • Review analysis with panel Decision on which company
with panel of best-practice award recipient • Build consensus performs best against all
8 industry • Select winner best-practice criteria
experts

Inform award recipient of • Present award to the CEO Announcement of award

Communicate award recognition • Inspire the organization for and plan for how recipient
9 recognition continued success can use the award to
• Celebrate the recipient’s enhance the brand
performance

Upon licensing, company • Coordinate media outreach Widespread awareness of

Take
may share award news with • Design a marketing plan recipient’s award status
10 strategic
stakeholders and customers • Assess award’s role in future among investors, media
action
strategic planning personnel, and employees

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About Frost & Sullivan

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