(Kempen) PORTICA GmbH Marketing Support ensures that the lottery locations in North Rhine-Westphalia always have enough lottery tickets, consumable materials and information brochures. Each week the logistics service provider and ZTV from Krefeld send out up to 4000 packages and are responsible to ensure that these are distributed on time to about 3600 lottery locations in Germany’s largest federal state. Annually this amounts to a volume of about 100,000 packages and 500,000 items.
For 40 years, WestLotto handled the order picking and packaging of consumable materials itself. “Due to fundamental restructuring measures in our organization and for reasons of cost, we decided to have outside companies with a high level of specialist expertise handle logistics assignments,” explained Richard Hufelschulte, the project leader at WestLotto. The company issued a request for proposal throughout Europe to find the right partner.
Key criteria for awarding the contract included the disclosure of security concepts and failure scenarios. The contract was to be awarded to the one with the best price and failure security. After the proposals were evaluated, two companies had their bids accepted: PORTICA GmbH Marketing Support in Kempen and Zustell-, Transport- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (ZTV), located only 20 kilometers away in Krefeld. “By selecting two service providers, we also increased the security with regard to failure,” observed Hufelschulte. “Each of the two logistics partners is contractually committed to take over for the other in emergencies and ensure delivery.” “It is actually unusual that two companies’ bids are accepted in a request for proposal, but in this case dividing the contract between two service providers was planned,” said Bernd Kothes, the managing director responsible at PORTICA. “This is an interesting situation, because we are actually competitors. However, in this project we are partners and exchange information in order to optimize processes.”
At PORTICA, time is always critical for the WestLotto order. Its terms demand that all lottery transaction points are supplied with their materials weekly by noon on Wednesday – even in adverse winter conditions or in situations with increased demand, such as jackpot phases. An important part of this is the customer magazine “Glück” (“Luck”). It is a communication platform to inform players about new products, rates, figures on winnings and promotions. PORTICA receives the current edition each Tuesday morning. Employees then immediately begin order picking. Integration with the SAP used by WestLotto keeps the company informed of which materials have been ordered by what lottery locations. The IT system and necessary interfaces were implemented by Gedak, also located in Kempen. On the same afternoon, the packages are picked up by the package and express service provider DPD, which distributes them to the lottery locations by noon the next day.
Throughout the entire process – from the order at WestLotto to delivery at the lottery service points – the process is monitored to provide those responsible with current information on the handling and delivery status of the packages at all times.
“We are pleased to have gotten to know PORTICA though the RFP process,” said Hufelschulte, summing up his satisfaction with the results. “Our lottery locations are have a very positive opinion of the new logistics process.”
Westdeutsche Lotterie
Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. KG (WestLotto) runs lotteries and sports betting operations in and for North Rhine-Westphalia. As a subsidiary of NRW.BANK, which is owned by the state, WestLotto has the official task of directing the natural gaming instincts of the populace into monitored channels and particularly of preventing diversions into illegal gambling. WestLotto is responsible for ensuring that its games of chance are conducted in an orderly manner and that youth and players are protected.
About PORTICA GmbH Marketing Support:
PORTICA is one of the leading marketing logistics company in the German market and improves marketing, sales/distribution and information processes for its clients. The company serves customers from a large variety of sectors and handles hundreds of projects per year in sales promotion, mailings, advertising materials, contract logistics and business process outsourcing. The company’s focus is on the efficient handling of processes using a combination of logistics, information and finance management.
PORTICA is part of Atenco Holding together with the IT service provider Gedak and the printing company te Neues.
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