When we visited our customer in Washington DC, their purchasing manager was torn between two worlds; purchasing and transportation. When put to the task of managing multiple sectors of a business, some aspects end up taking higher priority over others. It’s the burden of not being able to multiply yourself.
Our goal was to manage their transportation so that he and the company he worked for were able to focus on managing their inventories. In addition, they needed to control their freight costs, so we aimed to coordinate shipments smoothly and use our negotiating expertise to lower their cost.
The Challenge
A need for more resources to manage their transportation and the high costs associated with their moves were the main symptoms of our customer’s transportation ailments. The majority of their shipments were inbound moves of domestic craft beers/wine and imported wines. They also have heavy LTL from the same area of the country that could be being merged in transit, showing opportunities for cost savings.
RedStone Logistics Solution
In our diagnosis, we uncovered multiple opportunities to combine shipments and reduce costs. A typical 3PL would likely try and help this company through negotiating new pricing, which may be a completely viable option. We decided to go a similar route but also implement other solutions to find even more value than a traditional transportation 3PL.
Our solution included consolidation, negotiating new transportation pricing, modal shifts, shipment management, and providing robust reports of their shipments. We identified where their product was originating and applied the best and least expensive mode. The LTL shipments that showed consolidation opportunities were married in transit, delivering the best cost solution. We also appointed and scheduled deliveries, allowing their purchasing manager to focus on what he does best.
Finishing on Top
After completing our first quarterly business review, we effectively demonstrated our solution’s effectiveness by realizing 19% in savings on their overall transportation spend. By using our expertise and connections we were able to quickly deliver a solution that gave our customer better pricing, modal shifts, and quantifiable savings. Not only did we cut costs, but their purchasing manager was also very pleased to have their company’s transportation running smoothly.
MORE ABOUT OUR CUSTOMER
Their portfolio of over 160 brands of craft beer, wines, meads, ciders, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages reflects their passion for finely crafted products made with superior ingredients. With the support of a dedicated, knowledgeable, and highly-trained staff, they invest every aspect of our business into cultivating strong, lasting relationships with their vendors, customers, and employees in order to procure the highest quality products for their clients and deliver exceptional customer service.”
