Situation
BTi Logistics is a leading Australian-owned freight forwarding and 3PL company, offering a comprehensive suite of services including import/export sea and air freight, customs brokerage, warehousing and fulfilment, and end-to-end supply chain management.
Founded in 1988, it operates across Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. The company’s head office and national distribution centre are located in Ravenhall, Victoria, where staff manage customer service, freight forwarding, warehousing, management, and administration.
BTi has been on a growth trajectory, with a new distribution centre in Brisbane and a new Sydney facility. Its diverse customer base includes automotive, chemical, packaging, and industrial clients, and the company prides itself on flexible, customer-centric solutions.
Recognising that this expansion represented both an opportunity and a risk, BTi engaged OE Partners to help strengthen its operational foundations and prepare the business for scalable, profitable growth
Challenge
While BTi had been successful in growing revenue, management wanted to ensure that growth would translate into sustainable profit. The owners, led by Managing Director Fred Parakh and CFO Bee Goh, sought clarity on which customers and service models were the best strategic fit and wanted to ensure that warehousing, customer service, and supply chain operations were ready to scale.
1. Strategy
A key challenge was confirming the right strategy and defining what changes in systems, processes, and infrastructure would enable it to be successful in its chosen markets
This strategic clarity was essential before rolling out additional facilities and replicating operations in Brisbane and Sydney.
2. Improved Operational Performance Measures
BTi wanted to improve it’s operational KPIs for core metrics such as DIFOT (Delivery in Full, On Time), pick rates, or freight cost-to-budget. With clear leading and lagging indicators, management would gain greater visibility into daily performance and could better serve customers.
3. Warehousing Processes & Procedures
Warehousing processes had evolved and had some written procedures however there was some dependence on individual team members’ knowledge. This created issues:
- Productivity varied depending on who was on shift
- Continuous improvement opportunities weren’t always captured systematically
4. Team Capability Gaps
Many team members had grown with the business but lacked formal training in Lean warehousing principles. This limited their ability to identify waste, propose solutions, and implement improvements confidently.
5. New Facility Design & Systems
With a new distribution centre being planned, BTi needed a blank-sheet design for material handling equipment, IT systems, warehouse management system (WMS) functionality, scanning technology, and storage configurations to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity.
Action
OE Partners worked with BTi Logistics over a structured engagement to review its operations, align strategy, and design the systems and processes needed to support future growth.
1. Value Stream Mapping & Future State Design
The engagement began with a current state value stream map of the order entry, picking, receiving, and replenishment processes. This exercise captured the true flow of materials and information through the warehouse and identified bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and duplication of effort.
A future state value stream design was then created, outlining an optimised process flow that would reduce manual data entry, eliminate non-value-added steps, and increase throughput.
2. Comprehensive Operational Review
OE Partners conducted a detailed review of:
- System reports and business performance measurement practices
- Warehouse layout, configuration, and space utilisation
- Customer order and entry processes
- Picking methods and RF scanning usage
- Receiving process and handling of quantity mismatches
- Transport scheduling and delivery management
- Materials handling and safety practices
- Inventory management (including ABC classification)
- Growth-related infrastructure requirements
This holistic review provided BTi with a clear baseline and a prioritised list of initiatives that would drive measurable productivity and service improvements.
3. Visual Performance Management & KPIs
OE Partners helped BTi define the critical few leading and lagging indicators for operational success, set up methods for data collection, and designed visual dashboards for daily management. These metrics included DIFOT, pick rate per hour, receiving accuracy, and freight cost-to-budget.
4. Process Standardisation & Capability Building
BTi’s warehouse processes were documented and standardised to ensure consistency, auditability, and scalability. OE Partners coached the team on Lean warehousing principles, helping staff learn to identify waste, propose solutions, and implement changes.
5. Leadership Support & Recruitment
OE Partners also assisted in defining the roles and responsibilities for a new warehouse manager and supported the recruitment process to ensure the right capability was in place to lead operations in the next phase of growth.
Results
The engagement assisted the business to achieve a step-change in BTi’s operational readiness for growth:
- Strategic Clarity: BTi gained a clearer understanding of which customer and service models were the most effective and best aligned with its operating model, allowing the business to focus growth efforts in the right areas.
- Improved Performance Visibility: KPIs gave management and frontline teams real-time insight into operational performance, allowing proactive action before problems impacted customers.
Standardised, Auditable Processes: Documented warehouse processes reduced dependence on individual staff knowledge, improved productivity consistency, and gave customers confidence in BTi’s quality.
Client Perspective
Managing Director Fred Parakh summed up the value of the engagement:
“OE Partners helped us to better understand and implement improved processes in our daily warehouse operation and assisted us in our interview processes to identify and employ better management.”
This testimonial highlights both the operational improvements and the strategic impact of building the right management capability for future growth.
Conclusion
BTi Logistics’ partnership with OE Partners strengthened its operational foundation, aligned its strategy with its growth ambitions, and positioned the business to confidently replicate and scale operations into new facilities.
By combining value stream mapping, KPI development, and process standardisation, BTi now has the tools, systems, and leadership capability to deliver sustained, profitable growth while maintaining its reputation for flexibility and customer service.
