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VALUE ADDED SERVICES <br /> <br /> Companies today realize that customer service is no longer a "buzz-word." Customers <br />expect products when they want them and with more retailers applying bulk self-service <br />operations, such as Home Depot, Walmart, Sam's Club and BJ's, more pressure is applied to <br />suppliers. Suppliers like Stanley Works have met these changing demands by creating a Value <br />Added Services (VAS) department. _ <br /> <br /> VAS is not a new concept within <br />industry, nor within Stanley, however the <br />new department marks the first attempt to <br />include products from all of Stanley's <br />operating departments. Stanley Works' <br />VAS department operates out of the new <br />Distribution Center in Kannapolis, NC. The <br />department assembles finished goods <br />stocked within the DC into customer <br />specific orders. Examples include toolbox <br />assortments, floor displays, anti-theft <br />tagging, shelf labeling and special <br />packaging. This service is a means to meet <br />customer specific requirements. After many <br />hours spent improving workflow processes, <br />MRP planning, and better sales forecasting, <br />the department is meeting and-exceeding <br />those needs. <br /> <br /> Installing a manufacturing concept into a distribution center provides remarkable <br />transportation benefits for the company. Product no longer needs to be transported on trucks for <br />delivery to the VAS department; rather a forklift can deliver product to the assembly line in a <br />matter of minutes. This allows the department to drive a "Demand Flow Manufacturing" (DFM) <br />operation within the DC. A DFM operates like a Just-In-Time (JIT) operational concept in a <br />manufacturing environment. When a VAS order is placed, Stanley hopes to manufacture and <br />deliver the order to the customer ~vithin two to three days. <br /> <br /> <br />