MGA Entertainment Inc.
MGA Entertainment Inc.
Approx. 1,700 employees worldwide
Los Angeles, CA
MGA Entertainment is the largest privately held toy and entertainment company in the U.S., known for its commitment to creativity, quality, and innovation. Since its start in 1979, MGA has created more than 13 brands from scratch that have surpassed $100 million in sales around the world. Each brand has been conceived by in-house talent, which is why they call themselves “bold, outside the box, blue sky thinkers.” Such innovative thinking has helped them overcome many challenges, including logistical ones.
MGA’s success has led to a brisk pace of shipments, as many as 70 truckloads per day. Each truckload can contain multiple orders, each with its bill of lading, printed in triplicate to provide a copy to accounting, the warehouse, and the driver.
MGA had a system for digitally archiving its shipping documents, reflecting its forward-thinking culture. Yet, getting all of those signed papers scanned into the system and archived was a full-time job for multiple employees, and during peak periods the process could become backlogged. This could potentially affect their ability to report on that information, respond to lost shipment claims, and other important factors.
As a result, they began the search for a more powerful solution that could automate logistics processes, reduce the use of paper, and accelerate their reporting workflow and information retrieval.
After reviewing two other options, MGA learned that SmartBOL has a decade of solution experience with shipping document workflows that addresses the fast-moving and flexible demands of their industry.
They found its cloud-based architecture and its ability to integrate with their critical systems to be a key implementation requirement. That architecture would also deliver future advantages for improving their logistics performance years after the initial deployment.
” We had two employees whose full- time job was to scan documents into our archival system. Since we migrated to SmartBOL, they’ve been made available to better serve the company in other departments “
MGA Entertainment
Two executives at MGA Entertainment that worked closely with SmartBOL, a Senior WMS Analyst and a Systems Analyst, explain the benefits they experienced after implementation
We’ve basically gotten away from paper. Now, the only thing we print is a bill of lading for the drivers.
We traded 10-minute printing delays for instant results. SmartBOL removed the frustration for our 50 employees, making our shipping process seamless and efficient.
Shipping documents and signatures are instantly captured, stored, and updated upon load release. Automatic archiving eliminates scanning and provides immediate access to every document version.
SmartBOL simplifies communication between our warehouse and AR teams. Instant access to signed documents means faster claims and quicker payments.
We had two employees whose full-time job was to scan documents into our archival system. Since we migrated to SmartBOL, they’ve been made available to better serve the company in other departments.
Instant documentation lets us prove two-hour sign-outs, successfully disputing detention fees and saving hundreds.
SmartBOL replaced slow paper scanning with real-time visibility across the entire organization—from the warehouse to finance—ensuring everyone sees the same data.
SmartBOL’s API integration automates proof of delivery for our chargeback platform, eliminating the need for employees to manually sift through paperwork.
SmartBOL resolved the duplicate and data issues of our legacy system, ensuring customers now receive clean, accurate documentation.
Even the best software solution would be of little benefit without support from its vendor. How did MGA’s team view the implementation assistance they received from SmartBOL?
With a reduced load on IT systems, a streamlined shipping process, and better customer service as a result of instant access to shipping information, MGA has already seen major benefits from implementing SmartBOL. And there’s more to come as they continue to leverage more of its features.
Without a doubt, choosing SmartBOL meets the demands of MGA’s commitment to further growth and innovation for years to come.
