Diamond Contract Manufacturing (DCM) was recently chosen to produce all of the retail displays for 3M’s O-Cel-O™ and Scotch Brite® brand sponges in the U.S. DCM was selected due to it’s ability to manage the entire system on a JIT basis. This minimized the amount of inventory of both raw materials and finished goods.

3M had been building displays to stock and shipping them out as orders came in. This process led to potential finished goods shortages that caused missed deliveries or surpluses that resulted in lost revenue.

DCM was tasked to manufacture all components of the finished display (including wrapping sponges, printing corrugated, etc.) and ship in 15 calendar days from receipt of order. This would allow 3M representatives to sell displays that are built to order, instead of pulled from stock.

This would also allow 3M to direct ship from DCM instead of a central warehouse, thus reducing lead time.

Over the course of 2006, DCM’s average turnaround time was seven days – half of the promised lead time. This delighted 3M’s sales force, and in turn, their customers.

DCM currently builds 43 different displays that ship to hundreds of individual retailers across the country.

In the time that DCM has managed the display program, 3M sales of in-store displays have nearly doubled.

In April 2007 DCM became a beta site for 3M’s order processing and tracking system, USS. USS was implemented in early May 2007, and has been a key factor in streamlining the process flow for both companies. Diamond utilized a virtual private network (VPN) to ensure a secure connection between the companies.

In May 2007 DCM was awarded the 3M Home Care Division “2006 Supplier of the Year Award”. This award was presented for DCM’s exemplary performance during the 2006 calendar year.

DCM’s ability to streamline the packaging system for 3M has resulted in savings of thousands of dollars and increased revenue from an expanded customer base.