BACKGROUND
Michigan’s largest school district, Detroit Public Schools, faced a unique challenge during the summer of 2009 when it decided to close many of its existing school buildings. Soon after 13 schools shut their doors, DPS administration turned to Evans Distribution Systems to provide warehousing and transportation expertise to ensure a smooth transition.
CHALLENGE
Once the school year began, DPS experienced a textbook shortage in some classrooms. Evans responded by sorting through 2,700 pallets and separating active from obsolete textbooks and library books. Evans completed an inventory of 173,000 books in one day, which enabled the team to quickly prepare 135 book orders in two days to ship to the schools.
SOLUTION
A staff of 25 logistics professionals from Evans unloaded 367 truckloads of material from Detroit’s closing schools in just two weeks. They sorted, organized and stored the contents in the DPS warehouse for redistribution to the remaining schools. Throughout the process, Evans managed principal walk-throughs to hand-select furniture he or she wanted from the closed school. The district also invited all teachers and staff to the warehouse to tour and choose classroom supplies. In a weekend, Evans hosted a 900-person event and handled requests from 600 teachers. As inquiries for furniture and materials poured in, the district turned to Evans once again to administer the deliveries. Evans drove 600 truckloads of materials to various Detroit schools in three months.