Avaya partners with DB Schenker for regional DC

Singapore - Avaya, in collaboration with DB Schenker, has established a distribution centre (DC) in Singapore. The DC is expected to slash the lead time for the delivery of its products around the region from 14 days to two days and save the company up to 80% in logistics cost.

Prior to the Singapore hub, Avaya shipped its products to its customers in Asia from its US distribution centre, located in Memphis. The Singapore facility will allow Avaya to cut lead times to most of its Asian customers from 14 days down to two.

The finished goods DC in Singapore is part of Avaya's new supply chain management strategy for the region, the company said. The Singapore hub will consolidate products from Avaya's manufacturing facilities in China, Thailand and Indonesia and redistribute them to customers in the region. The strategy is expected to save the company some 80% in logistics costs, a key issue for companies now struggling to keep bottom lines in tact in the face of rising oil prices.

"With service as the cornerstone of Avaya's corporate culture, being close to our customers was an important business consideration in establishing our supply chain management centre in Singapore," Mark Leigh, president for Avaya Asia Pacific said.

The DC is housed at DB Schenker Megahub in the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore, and will be managed by Schenker. Avaya's decision to site its regional DC in Singapore also lay in the megahub's location in the Free Trade Zone, which translates into minimal customs formalities, tax suspensions and reduced touch points for Avaya.

The collaboration with Schenker is the first Avaya has signed globally. It has five other DCs around the world that are also outsourced. "Outsourcing the warehouse operations allows Avaya to focus on its core competencies, and to leverage DB Schenker's global expertise in logistics and transportation," the company said in a release.

Avaya estimates that it would see an annual turnover of over 500 tonnes of IT equipment worth over US$100 million out of Singapore in its first phase, which will span a period of 12 months. Leigh said the company plans to eventually move all its products manufactured in Asia through the Singapore hub.