Brightstar Customer Story

When it comes to getting a replacement mobile phone back to its owner, just fast isn’t fast enough.

Mobile phones are about as essential to our daily lives as, well, oxygen. So when something goes wrong with a device, it’s a life-altering situation. eSecuritel provides mobile device insurance and replacement to consumers through mobile operators and retailers. They protect against loss, theft, damage, mechanical failure and malfunction. After being acquired by Brightstar, eSecuritel wanted to shorten the time between accepting a warranty claim and getting a replacement phone back to the customer.

"I’ve integrated ERP systems to third-party logistics providers like this twice before, and each one was a 12- to 18-month integration project. With UPS, we were able to do this in 110 days."

Phil Mitchell, Senior Director of eSecuritel Logistics for Brightstar

The Challenge

After the acquisition, eSecuritel integrated its repair, warehousing and fulfillment operations with its new parent company. This provided operational improvements and efficiency gains. But eSecuritel saw its distribution needs grow tenfold in two years and projected similar growth in the future. To meet that demand and outperform their competition, they knew they had to replace broken, lost or stolen mobile devices even faster.

The Solution

Managing warehousing and kitting at Brightstar’s facilities improved inventory and quality control. But moving there actually added time-in-transit, when eSecuritel needed to reduce it even more. Based on a long history of reliable service for eSecuritel, UPS recommended moving inventory, warehousing and fulfillment to UPS’s logistics and distribution campus near its worldwide hub in Louisville, KY. eSecuritel could leverage UPS’s infrastructure to support growth, deliver the tightest turn-times and not sacrifice any of their current operational efficiencies. Handling individualized, customized delivery of replacement handsets to customers was important, but UPS’s ability to coordinate warehouse staffing and processing sealed the deal. As did UPS’s ability to help facilitate the meticulous integration between Brightstar and UPS systems, a process completed in just over three months.

The Results

When orders come into eSecuritel as late as midnight ET, UPS team members can pick and pack and ship the right stock for delivery as early as 10 a.m. the next day. With UPS managing the process from warehouse to consumer doorstep, including world-class physical infrastructure, systems, process controls and seasonal staffing, eSecuritel is equipped to expand as quickly as needed.

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