Sustained Transportation Cost Reduction –
Industrial Products Manufacturer

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Situation

• $500M manufacturer of waste collection containers – heavily reliant on specialized transportation
• Fragmented, decentralized organization that had grown through multiple acquisitions
• Operating private fleet and local carriers across 40+ plants
• Sharply limited transportation data
• Very few contracts existed and freight payment was performed at each plant
• Industry experiencing cyclical downturn and volume was off by 25%

Actions Taken

• Immediately implemented a freight audit and payment provider that captures all data
• Recruited, hired and built center-led supply chain group including a Transportation Manager and load planners
• Selected and implemented Transportation Management Software (TMS)
• Sourced all modes of transportation in use; Van and Flatbed Truckload, LTL, Small Parcel and Ocean Freight
• Selected key 3PL partners to manage fleet activity at multiple plants

Results

• Implemented a 10% cost improvement across all modes of transportation
• Operational improvements and rate selection led to over 25% small parcel savings for several plants
• Retained most local trucking companies and redefined their service area to focus on short haul
• Redeployed field resources and eliminated duplicate labor in freight accounting and dispatch
• Provided the company a “one stop shop” for all freight related support