3par Selects Choice Logistics

Choice Logistics, Inc. specialist in customized third-party mission-critical service parts logistics, has been chosen by 3PAR to manage mission-critical service parts logistics services for the company in Europe.

Choice's broad network of strategic stocking locations (SSL) has been contracted to support 3PAR clients throughout five countries, including Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

"We are honored to have earned the trust of an innovative company such as 3PAR," said Paul Malamet, executive vice president of business development for Choice Logistics. "Choice has made significant investments in our EMEA network to meet the service level obligations and expansion goals for tier 1 clients in the region. With our local expertise and capacity to quickly activate new SSLs, we can efficiently meet their current and future needs on-demand."

Due to the critical business functions supported by 3PAR's virtualized storage platform, a majority of its customers require a four-hour response to service requests on a 24/7 basis. Choice has been contracted to provide the fulfillment of 3PAR's mission-critical service parts to meet these aggressive service level agreements (SLA), as well as reverse logistics for returned parts.

Within approximately six weeks, starting in early March 2010, 3PAR's entire EMEA service parts operation was transitioned to Choice's SSL network and global inventory management platform, which seamlessly integrated with 3PAR's internal system. Choice carefully analyzed 3PAR's installed base and leveraged SSLs in close proximity to each site to minimize travel distance and optimize on-time performance.

The company engaged Choice to enhance its visibility and ability to track and manage inventory to more efficiently meet SLAs. This real-time information helps 3PAR instantly locate parts to optimize inventory levels and improve service to end-users.

"Our customers rely on us to deliver exceptional service and maintenance in a timely and efficient manner," said Rusty Walther, vice president of customer services for 3PAR. "We believe that Choice is now fundamental to helping us meet these customer requirements, 24/7. As we continue to expand throughout EMEA, we view Choice's flexibility and capacity to meet our evolving needs as a huge plus. We believe that their reliable processes and extensive global footprint make them an ideal partner to support our current clients and ongoing growth initiatives."