Case Studies

Client Results

Our clients’ businesses and our reputation depend upon the results. We define our approach and deliverables before the project begins. It keeps us focused on your objectives, which may include performance improvement, cost reduction, asset utilization, business planning, acquisition integration, outsourcing, change management, organizational design and staffing, technology optimization, facilitates design and training.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Implementation:
A major refurbished medical equipment manufacturer established a separate business unit to manage the return, disposition, and sale of used equipment obtained through trade-in or end-of-lease.

Core business processes for forecasting, production scheduling and materials management were disjointed, resulting in poor customer delivery performance and inventory management.

A S&OP process was developed and implemented for this unique business to align with core business practices; including published availability and revenue forecasting. Tools were established to manage returned inventory and obtain additional used equipment when required to balance supply and demand.  Capability to purchase used equipment and global processes to transfer used equipment from other global operations were established and were major contributors to a ten-fold improvement in delivery performance, while growing revenue at double digit rates.

Industry: Healthcare – Medical Equipment 

Inventory Containment & Replenishment Automation:
For a major US medical equipment manufacturer, we developed a manufacturing planning program to tie component inventory to forecast demand and on-order supplies for an equipment refurbishment business. The operations assessment revealed $18 million in obsolete and inactive inventory between raw materials, WIP, finished goods, and nonessential inbound supplies within a $48M inventory. All active components  were setup for automated replenishment based on Min-Max planning and trained materials planners. Further, we developed a program for regularly updating component demand and a plan for Oracle ERP Supply Chain Planning module integration. The program was rolled out and inventory control issues were resolved.
Industry: Healthcare – Medical Equipment 

Excess Inventory Causation:
For a major US medical equipment manufacturer, we analyzed demand flow, on-hand accuracy, WIP job completion practices, and system configuration and maintenance to identify assignable causes of $30 million in excess inventory for a magnetic resonance equipment plant holding $85M in inventory. An in-depth analysis of a random sample of assemblies revealed double counting of sales order demand, excessive lag time in WIP job completions, errors in replenishment parameter calculations, and system setup defects which drove their rapid inventory increase. The system setup defects were corrected to prevent double-sales order counting and set accurate replenishment parameters. Materials personnel were trained on WIP job completion, root cause analysis and system maintenance. The analysis and remediation project was expanded and effectively completed by plant personnel.
Industry: Healthcare – Medical Equipment 

Lean Replenishment Model Design:
For a major US medical equipment manufacturer, using Six Sigma DMADV methodology, we defined replenishment requirements to support Lean manufacturing. A pull-based replenishment model replaced the existing MRP functionality. Active-tag RFID were implemented to automate system transactions, which dramatically improved data integrity and reduced system touches by 95%. We documented system setup and remediation instructions. Supplier requirements were defined to support consumption-based replenishment. Rolled out the program with training and support to 14 initial production facilities globally. Implementation continued as additional plants joined the Lean Enterprise program and established a new corporate standard practice.
Industry: Healthcare – Medical Equipment

Replenishment Program Compliance:
For a major US medical equipment manufacturer, we developed performance metrics and a web-based reporting tool to measure the use of automated replenishment functionality. Compliance quickly increased from 55% to over 80% across four primary manufacturing sites following the implementation of a program identifying and resolving root causes of noncompliance, materials personnel training. Automation has improved data integrity and inventory accuracy, and has freed the materials planners’ time to focus on inventory analysis.
Industry: Healthcare – Medical Equipment

Inventory Control Process & System Design:
For a major U.S. automobile maker, we designed inventory control processes and systems to support in their central distribution facility (3.1 million sq.ft., 1,000+ users). This stratified inventory, establishing a cycle count program and custom designed system enhancements to automatically generate daily counts by product and location. Results supported an effort to identify and address transaction errors and consolidate inventory. Further, a custom developed inventory module automated daily replenishment transfers with outside warehouses, which dramatically reduced system transactions and human error.
Industry: Automotive

Physical Inventory Program:
For a major U.S. discount retailer, we designed and rolled out a physical inventory program that was used in 9 regional distribution centers, ranging in size from 1.2 to 1.5 million square feet. Given the size and complexity of the task, as well as limited time window for execution, it required a detailed project plan for system configuration and testing, facilities preparation, counting and data entry training, and resource assignments. The program was used both to initialize inventory for conversion to a new warehouse management system, as well as for on-going annual physical inventory.
Industry: Discount Retail

Transportation Management Program Design, In-sourcing & System Selection:
For a $825M manufacturer of water heaters, we conducted an exhaustive assessment of their transportation management (TM) program, including processes, staffing, systems, and third-party services. It was revealed that the client could substantially lower costs by “in-sourcing” or taking back TM from a major national third-party logistics provider (3PL). However, it would require TM process redesign, staffing changes and enhanced systems capabilities. Therefore, we redesigned the TM process from order release to delivery, defined staffing requirements, helped to hire and orient a new transportation manager and supported TM system selection. Simply in terms of the cost of managing transportation with internal staff versus outside service fees, the client was able to slash expenses from $1.7M to $320k. The TMS was implemented with ROI in 4 months.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

Transportation Spend Assessment:
For a $150M chemical manufacturer, we reviewed freight operations and financials to assess costs, freight data quality, carrier rates, and management. Analysis revealed opportunities to lower freight costs through LTL rate negotiation, low-cost carrier assignment and inbound shipment consolidation, as well as substantial missing and incorrect data which raised questions about freight bill audit integrity. Action plans were created to build a complete and accurate freight data set, prepare for LTL RFP and implement routing guides. Implementation was carried out by the client.
Industry: Chemical 

Customer Freight Policy:
For a $775M manufacturer of electric motors, we evaluated customer freight policies and practices to reveal non-billed charges and excess allowances of $5.6M from system setup errors. Incentive options were developed to motivate freight-efficient orders. Control procedures were defined to track delivery performance and customer billing. Further, we assessed customer revenue contribution relative to freight expense to identify high-cost customers. The client used these findings and recommendations to re-evaluate freight policy, control compliance to terms and leverage freight as a bargaining tool in customer contract negotiations.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

Truckload Utilization:
For a $825M manufacturer of water heaters, we analyzed truckload utilization using optimization software which revealed average utilization of 65%. With a target of 80% utilization, we developed solution options to improve loading planning and product stacking. These measures yielded $3.3M in savings.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

3PL Contracts for Last Mile Delivery:
For a $1.7B telecommunication provider, we selected and negotiated contracts for last mile delivery of telecom infrastructure equipment to switching offices and construction sites in New England with four 3PLs. To simplify 3PL management and bill auditing, we drafted contracts to standardize services, terms, and pricing across all 3PLs.
Industry: Telecommunications 

Private Fleet Competitiveness:
For a $775M manufacturer of electric motors, we evaluated private fleet competitiveness on a total cost per mile basis to discover a $1.2M gap against $6.3M in spend. Solutions were developed to improve its cost structure by increasing load utilization and repositioning the fleet on high-cost lanes.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

Carrier Assignment and Compliance:
 For an $825M manufacturer of water heaters, we conducted freight analysis to assess carrier consolidation, rate competitiveness, and compliance to routing guides. In addition to widespread noncompliance, analysis revealed over-billing by core carriers and lowest rates by lane with an opportunity cost of $2.4M against $24M in outbound spend.
Industry: Industrial Durables

Shipment Visibility Tool Development:
For a $15B household goods retailer, we designed and contracted database programmers to develop a truckload visibility tool to track critical shipments from port of entry to retail distribution centers. The database merged status notices from multiple carriers and incorporated alerts to warn the retailer of potentially late shipments. This allows the retailer to save time by referring to one shipment tracking tool and provides query capabilities to quickly find a shipment in response to a customer inquiry.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandise 

Transportation Management Process & Systems Evaluation:
For a $1.5B manufacturer of air filtration systems, we evaluated transportation management processes and systems for plants, distribution centers and corporate transportation services. Our evaluation served to assess the effectiveness of existing processes and systems, compare processes to industry standards, and determine the right course of action and options to address a long list of gaps and technical issues. We developed recommendations and a roadmap for selecting and implementing best of breed transportation (TMS), warehouse (WMS), and shipping management systems (SMS). Actions to pursue performance issues related to on-time shipment, labor productivity, and standardization across facilities were also provided. The client is currently implementing a tier 1 WMS and has plans to replace legacy shipment systems with a tier 1 TMS.
Industry: Automotive – Supplier Tier 1 

Warehouse and Transportation Management Systems Integration:
For a major nationwide consumer products retailer, we managed teams of consultants and clients in process redesign and integration of a tier 1 WMS and TMS in 8 nationwide distribution centers (8+ million sq.ft., 4,000+ users).  Each site’s implementation project included data conversion, system testing, interface and equipment testing, and bill of material optimization. We recommended the initial configurations of the physical inventory system to enable radio frequency and barcode controlled receiving, replenishment, kitting, selection, and loading with specific requirements for interleaving. Additional site changes included labor and inventory control, capacity and load planning, and JIT cross-docking and yard management. We documented processes, system use, daily management requirements, and reports. Managers and union labor received training on the new processes. Additional operational support was provided at each site through stabilization.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandiser 

Warehouse Layout & Order Fulfillment Productivity:
For a $275M (division) manufacturer of industrial cutting tools, we identified performance gaps in warehouse operations, reconfigured the warehouse, specified new equipment and re-slotted products to increase picking productivity. The 5-year target for picking productivity was set at 60%.  After one year, the productivity increased by 120%. We are supporting the client to evaluate additional opportunities in Receiving and Packaging, as well as WMS implementation, to further improve delivery performance, shipment accuracy, labor productivity, and management information.
Industry: Manufacturing, Metal Cutting Tools 

Distribution Operations & Systems Optimization:
For a major nationwide consumer products retailer, we defined distribution performance requirements, assessed variability in processes and system configuration, and identified high-performing operations. We facilitated week-long working sessions with nationwide distribution leaders with the intent of rationalizing processes and system configuration. The client used decisions made in working sessions to standardize operations, policies, and systems across nine distribution centers. Supported the client with pilot implementation.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandiser

WMS & TMS Evaluation & Selection:
For a middle-market mail consolidation start-up business, we defined business requirements for both warehouse and transportation operations, which was followed by a selection process. We led the client through conference room pilot, gap analysis and mitigation, license and maintenance negotiation, and selection of a middle-market supply chain system with integrated warehouse and transportation management capabilities (WMS and TMS). The evaluation included definition of technology infrastructure to support the data center, scanning equipment and communications. The client is planning for implementation in the next quarter.
Industry: Printing / 3PL Services 

Transportation Management Process & Systems Evaluation:
For a $1.5B manufacturer of air filtration systems, we evaluated transportation management processes and systems for plants, distribution centers, and corporate transportation services. We assessed the effectiveness of existing processes and systems in comparison to industry standards, and determined the right course of action and options to address a long list of gaps and technical issues. We developed recommendations and a roadmap for selecting and implementing best of breed transportation (TMS), warehouse (WMS), and shipping management systems (SMS), as well as actions to pursue performance issues related to on-time shipment, labor productivity, and standardization across facilities. The client is currently implementing a tier 1 WMS and has plans to replace legacy shipment systems with a tier 1 TMS.
Industry: Automotive – Supplier Tier 1 

Supply Chain Systems Audit:
A $300M manufacturer and commodity trader of feed, fertilizer and sulfur struggled with user adoption of Oracle ERP and questioned the need for greater systems capabilities for supply chain operations. We evaluated their operational requirements and system use, and interviewed both managers and system users to understand their difficulties and practices. We provided data to indicate the shortcomings of current practices, especially the inability to measure performance and track orders with data resulting from weak integration of system transactions with processes. We also developed several strategies for management to address these weaknesses as a starting point. We recommended postponing consideration of more advanced functionality until ERP is stabilized. The client immediately implemented several recommendations. We are currently monitoring their progress.
Industries: Poultry and Dairy Feed,  Fertilizer, Sulfur Processing 

Warehouse and Transportation Management Systems Integration:
For a major nationwide consumer products retailer, we managed teams of consultants and clients in process redesign and integration of a tier 1 WMS and TMS in 8 nationwide distribution centers (8+ million sq.ft., 4,000+ users).  Each site’s implementation project included data conversion, system testing, interface and equipment testing, and bill of material optimization. We recommended the initial configurations of the physical inventory system to enable radio frequency and bar-code controlled receiving, replenishment, kitting, selection, and loading with specific requirements for interleaving. Additional site changes included labor and inventory control, capacity and load planning, and JIT cross-docking and yard management. We documented processes, system use, daily management requirements, and reports. Managers and union labor received training on the new processes. Additional operational support was provided at each site through stabilization.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandiser 

Warehouse Management System Implementation:
For a major U.S. automobile maker, we supported a large team to implement a tier 1 warehouse management system (WMS) in their key national automotive parts distribution facility (3.1 million sq.ft., 1,000+ users). Their unique demands for material handling and integration of outside facilities required significant systems customizations. We worked with the system vendor to design and test customizations. The enhancements were completed and system implemented in one year.
Industry: Automotive 

Shipment Visibility Tool Development:
For a $15B household goods retailer, we designed and contracted database programmers to develop a truckload visibility tool to track critical shipments from port of entry to retail distribution centers. The database merged status notices from multiple carriers and incorporated alerts to warn the retailer of potentially late shipments. This allows the retailer to save time by referring to one shipment tracking tool and provides query capabilities to quickly find a shipment in response to a customer inquiry.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandise 

Shipment Visibility Tool Development:
For a $15B household goods retailer, we designed and contracted database programmers to develop a truckload visibility tool to track critical shipments from port of entry to retail distribution centers. The database merged status notices from multiple carriers and incorporated alerts to warn the retailer of potentially late shipments. This allows the retailer to save time by referring to one shipment tracking tool and provides query capabilities to quickly find a shipment in response to a customer inquiry.
Industry: Retail – Discount Merchandise 

Supply Chain Audit:
A $300M manufacturer and commodity trader of feed, fertilizer, and sulfur wanted an outside expert to evaluate the capabilities of their supply chain operations. They had a number of concerns including network efficiency, transportation management effectiveness, delivery performance, systems capabilities and adoption, and the necessity of maintaining a private fleet. We evaluated strategic plans, operations in each business unit, supply chain systems, and private fleet operations. The analysis culminated in a 70-page supply chain audit report with the following sections:  

  1. Corporate supply chain strategy & organization structure
  2.  SC network design, facilities location & material flow
  3. Supply chain information systems
  4. Private fleet operations and overall corporate strategic fit
  5. Domestic and international transportation management
  6. Inventory control and warehousing
  7. Order management and customer delivery performance
  8. Purchasing & Supplier performance
  9. Roadmap for Improvement

The client is preparing to roll out initiatives following the year-end financial close and board meeting.

Industries: Poultry and Dairy Feed,  Fertilizer, Sulfur Processing 

Supply Chain Design & Acquisition Integration:
To support a $1.7B telecommunications acquisition (buyer), we quickly evaluated the seller’s supply chain operating infrastructure and identified missing elements and improvement opportunities. According to our evaluation, we designed the supply chain network and processes. After defined staffing requirements, we conducted interviews with potential candidates, and participated in the drafting of 3PL contracts. We initiated key supplier sourcing and transitioned 1,900 fleet vehicles and 600 mobile tools. We set up nationwide programs for fuel, tires, and environmental monitoring. The definition of business requirements supported our configuration and testing of Oracle ERP, including purchasing, inventory, and fleet modules. The client closed the acquisition in 10 months with supply chain network, staff, and systems in place.
Industry: Technology – Telecommunications 

Supply Chain Network Design for Market Entry:
For a $2.4B global food producer for the food service and grocery industries, we developed the initial logistics design and business case for entering a specialty baked goods category in the United States. Analysis addressed the location of new production plants and distribution network configuration options to supply product to key customers, taking into consideration transportation options, handling requirements, existing 3PLs, customer demographics, volume expectations, facilities costs, and margin requirements. The effort to implement this plan is currently in progress.
Industry: Food & Grocery – Food Production 

Distribution Network Design for On-Time Delivery:
For a $460M newspaper printer, we supported several projects to consolidate operations, reconfigure distribution networks and improve on-time delivery from plants to distribution centers. By applying supply chain thinking to integrate processes across departments, re-configuring routes, sequencing truck loading, and implementing process controls from editorial close to distribution, the client was able to shorten the production to distribution window by 20% and improve on-time delivery from 60% on-time to 92% in four months. In response to a plant closure, we assessed press capacity and scheduled production. We located and outfitted four distribution centers, established truck routes and adjusted customer delivery routes with uninterrupted service and 10% cost savings. Lastly, we re-aligned distribution territories to comply with advertising zones.
Industry: Printing & Publishing 

Post-Acquisition Supply Chain Stabilization:
Following the close of a $1.7B telecommunications acquisition, the client added 3,000 new employees including the entire Network Engineering organization at acquisition cut-over. They simultaneously launched a $200M network construction initiative to expand geographic coverage of broadband and wireless services, as well as to satisfy agreements with public utility commissions. The client needed support to integrate the new Engineering organization with Supply Chain for telecommunication material planning, new technology sourcing and requisitioning, and material logistics to support field operations. We facilitated cross-functional working sessions with Supply Chain, Engineering and Finance. Through these sessions, we were able to align processes and shore up gaps, define roles and responsibilities, shift resources to deal with urgent construction needs, leverage third-party services for material consolidation and field delivery, initiate material forecasting, and establish new metrics for performance measurement. Within three months, the effort resulted in substantial improvements in requisitions backlog (down 65%), material delivery, inventory on-hand (down 25%) and past-due invoices, as well as vastly reduced friction between the Engineering and Supply Chain departments.
Industry: Technology – Telecommunications

Business Plan for 3PL Services:
For an $8.8B global contract electronics manufacturer, we evaluated logistics capabilities and market potential to expand the company’s business services scope to include third-party, value-added warehousing and distribution. Site visits were conducted to major facilities to evaluate services, operations, pricing, margins, customer relationships, and 3PL relationships. Final deliverables included an operational and systems gap assessment, five-year revenue projection, ROIC/EBIAT impact, competitive landscape, market positioning strategy, organizational structure plan, and implementation roadmap. Executives signed off on the plan and the client hired a leader to pursue this new business.
Industry: Technology – Consumer Electronics Equipment

Operations Due Diligence for Investment:
For a $1B mezzanine investment firm, we provided due diligence support to validate the operational capabilities, growth potential, and risks associated with investment in the acquisition of a $300M European value-added warehousing and distribution business serving the high-tech consumer electronics industry. Market intelligence included an industry overview, key trends, market size and growth potential estimates, margin expectations per segment, and risk factors.  Support included business plan reviews with the executive management team and site visits, as well as the evaluation of operational performance, process quality, and customer service delivery. Technology capabilities, key customer relationships and contracts were also included in the assessment. The group agreed to commit in excess of $100M to fund the acquisition.
Industry: Financial & Private Equity 

3PL Business Strategy:
For a $2B household moving and storage business, we assessed corporate logistics capabilities and market potential to expand third-party logistics services. We provided research to identify key market segments and their growth potential and profitability. Centralized support services and several key agency operations were evaluated to determine operational and systems capabilities, assess key customer relationships, evaluate sales promotion programs, and identify organizational obstacles, including competing interests, compensation programs, and service requirements. The initial business case was accepted, and a detailed plan was initiated.
Industry: Logistics 3PL/LSP 

Business Development Strategy:
For a $1B India-based information technology services company that wanted to penetrate the 3PL market, we provided a 3PL market segmentation, trends driving growth, IT competitor analysis, and a market positioning strategy to support business development in the 3PL vertical. Research included a competitor analysis of services portfolios, key client relationships, 3PL-generated revenue estimates, and strengths within vertical segments. We estimated revenue potential and identified a list of 40 targets for business development. The client is experiencing strong growth in this segment that should be reflected in annual results.
Industry: Technology Services 

3PL Start-up Business Plan:
For a $900M health and fitness publisher and products distributor, we developed the business case to establish a 3PL business based on market demand and distribution capabilities. Market analysis was conducted to determine the size, segmentation, margins and growth trends in the 3PL vertical.  We evaluated client distribution operations, staff and systems capabilities, capacities and cost structure. We defined the 3PL service offering and SKU profiles to leverage existing capabilities and benchmarked industry pricing creating a pricing model. We defined the competitive landscape and positioning strategy. A sales and promotion strategy was recommended alongside an initial list of 635 potential customers to pursue. We aided in the drafting of the business case to gain executive approval. The business case was approved, and the client brought their first 3PL client online in the next quarter.
Industry: Printing & Publishing

3PL Acquisition Search:
For a $300M private equity fund, we provided a 3PL market overview and guidance to define a candidate profile, and conducted a search to identify third-party logistics companies for acquisition. With fairly narrow criteria, the initial search produced 36 potential investment targets. We provided detailed business profiles on the targets, contacted them on behalf of the client, and made introductions. The client is pursuing these leads toward acquisition.
Industry: Financial & Private Equity 

Global Logistics Services Expansion Plan:
For a $30M third-party logistics (3PL) company with warehousing and blanket-wrap trucking services, we provided advisory services to the president to address a series of business development questions regarding international logistics services expansion, such as entering bonded warehousing, operating in an FTZ, offering freight forwarding services, and becoming an NVOCC. The client followed our recommendation to pursue freight forwarding and is currently offering the service.
Industry: Logistics 3PL/LSP 

Business Plan & Start-up Implementation Strategy:
We worked with three national printers with a combined revenue of $700M to develop a detailed business plan to create a jointly-held third-party mail consolidation service. The effort focused on business infrastructure and cost estimation, including facility location and detailed design for processing equipment and material handling, as well as warehouse and transportation management systems selection and conference room pilot, and technology architecture. Detailed revenue projections, cost estimates, facility layouts, and systems and hardware specifications were presented to the combined executive management team.  The partners proceeded with contractual agreements to form the new entity with the intent to launch the business.
Industry: Printing / 3PL Services 

Supply Chain Network Design for Market Entry:
For a $2.4B global food producer to the food service and grocery industries, we developed the initial logistics design to support business plan development for entering a specialty baked goods category in the United States. Our analysis addressed the location of new production plants and distribution network configuration options to supply product to key customers, taking into consideration transportation options, handling requirements, existing 3PLs, customer demographics, volume expectations, facilities costs, and margin requirements. The effort to implement this plan is currently in progress.
Industry: Food & Grocery – Food Production 

Business Plan Evaluation for Fleet Operations:
A $300M manufacturer and commodity trader of feed, fertilizer, and sulfur acquired a trucking fleet as part of an acquisition. The fleet hauled molten sulfur to supply parent company sulfur processing operations and also for outside customers as a common carrier. With $4.3M in annual revenue and losing money, the parent company wanted to evaluate fleet operations and make a strategic decision to maintain it or sell. We conducted an analysis of fleet operations, financial performance, expansion proposals and the business plan. Our investigation revealed numerous areas of weakness in operations management and the business plan, which were summarized in a report with the following sections:

  1. Competitive Landscape & Positioning Strategy
  2. Fleet Dependability & Safety
  3. Fleet Utilization & Rate Competitiveness
  4. Financial Results
  5. Justification of Expansion Proposals
  6. Recommendations to Bridge Gaps in the Business Plan

The client tasked the divisional president responsible for the fleet with business plan revisions. The decision to maintain or sell the fleet is pending recommended revisions to the business plan.
Industries: Poultry and Dairy Feed,  Fertilizer, Sulfur Processing 

Outsourced Material Consolidation and Last-Mile Delivery:
To support a $1.7B telecommunications acquisition (buyer), we identified the need for specialized delivery services for heavy equipment, lift-gate unloading, and in-room delivery. We visited several regional 3PLs and drafted contracts with four 3PLs for receiving, temporary storage, site delivery, hoisting, moving, unpacking, and refuse removal. We drafted contracts standardizing terms and pricing across 3PLs to simplify management and bill auditing. The 3PLs were available to service the client on the acquisition close date.
Industry: Telecommunications 

Dedicated Fleet Competitiveness:
For an $825M manufacturer of water heaters, we evaluated third-party, dedicated fleet competitiveness on a total cost per mile basis to reveal a $900K gap against $4M in spend. We developed solutions to improve the fleet’s cost structure by re-positioning it on high-cost lanes and generating additional back-haul revenue in the short term. The client is on track to realize $750k in annual savings. The client subsequently followed our recommendation to not renew the service contract in the next year to capture the entire savings by shifting the volume to common carriers with contracted rates.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

Private Fleet Competitiveness:
For a $775M manufacturer of electric motors, we evaluated private fleet competitiveness on a total cost-per-mile basis to discover a $1.2M gap against $6.3M in spend. We developed solutions to improve its cost structure by increasing load utilization and re-positioning the fleet on high-cost lanes. The client improved the fleet’s load utilization to capture partial savings, but generally used the findings as a negotiating lever with union drivers.
Industry: Industrial Durables 

Outsourced Transportation & Logistics Strategy:
For a major U.S. dedicated carrier, we facilitated working sessions with major customers to develop a business strategy for providing value-added logistics services as a means of competitive differentiation and business development, and to increase returns on investment for collaboration partners. The carrier was particularly interested in defining supply chain metrics to measure business improvement and cost savings. We developed scoreboards of Key Performance Indices (KPIs) and shared with major customers.
Industry: Logistics 3PL/LSP

Carrier and LSP pricing and charge-back structures:
We utilized Activity Based Costing and Activity Based Management techniques with carriers, users and Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) to price services. Pricing structures have been used directly as carrier/LSP tariffs and pricing systems, while shippers have developed their own tariffs and pricing structures. Shifting from Vehicle Mile pricing to menu and work-based pricing led several companies to identify particular scenarios and contracts where they were not earning a profit.
Industry: Logistics 3PL/LSP 

Transportation Program Development & Interim Freight Arrangement Services
A frozen food manufacturer with North American transportation and distribution requirements lost their logistics manager at the onset of their peak season and one week into the ‘go live’ date for a new freight audit and payment service. The client expressed a need for someone with background in transportation management to perform audit, transactional and tactical duties, including working knowledge of procedures and processes for managing outbound transportation to 3PL cold storage facilities and distribution to retailer customers. Additional requirements included sourcing of regional refrigerated warehousing 3PLs and carriers, as well as rate negotiation and contracting. 

Operational Tasks:

  • Expansion of the database of rates, mileage and charges for all TL and LTL transportation.
  • Management of exceptions in the freight auditor’s system.
  • Review/audit of all 3PL warehouse services, Canadian and domestic transportation services, and customs invoices.
  • Optimization of shipments for co-loading partials to increase cost savings.
  • Sourcing capacity from regional public cold storage facilities.
  • Maintaining the rate database for auditor to multiple origins for 3PL warehousing.
  • Routing of IB shipments based on production needs and rates.
  • Arranging transfer of finished goods inventory from production to remote cold storage facilities-rates, routing, warehouse notification.
  • Assisting Accounting with document capture from warehouses to invoice customers and inventory adjustments.
  • Quoting new lanes with service providers, assign carrier to lanes, alter carrier routings on existing lanes based on service requirements and rates.
  • Working with Customer Service to improve on-time delivery and Sales to develop delivered cost estimates, especially for priced-in freight.

Accomplishments:

  • Discovered rate/mileage errors in a manual audit resulting in a $10K+ refund from a single carrier.
  • Expanded the rate database from less than 100 lanes to over 600.
  • Automated audit exception management to reduce manually resolved transactions from over 1000 per month to less than 50.
  • Developed, standardized and maintained complete LTL rate matrix based on trailer space utilization for the same lanes.
  • Developed IB routing program for all vendors, improving on-time delivery and costs and reducing partial shipments, resulting in savings of $300+ per week on average.
  • Sourced a new LTL carrier to the routing program, reducing existing LTL cost and improving service to largest customer. Annualized estimated savings of $500K.
  • As pilot program was successful, steps are now being taken to expand LTL program to other customers.
  • In lieu of purchasing a TMS, developed shipment optimization program to prevent shipment of partials as TL, improving service and reducing costs. In addition to the transportation improvements, program is now being piloted as an alternative rating method for the auditor. Savings estimated at $2,000 to $5,000 weekly.
  • Developed an advance accessorial authorization/reporting program (lumper fees, detention, re-consignment). Savings in labor hours of 1-2 hours weekly. Enhanced the database used by Sales to adjust pricing for customers with lumper and detention history.
  • Discovered accounting errors in resolving an inventory discrepancy at a remote warehouse and eliminated overbilling to the customer for $32K.
  • Sourced a specialty carrier to provide service locally to customers from remote warehouses. Savings over 3-month project estimated at $17K.
  • Identified lanes not captured by auditor and assigned rates, resulting in increasingly better EOM/Q/Y accrual accuracy. Savings in labor hours: 10-15 hours monthly.
  • Established a “Shipment Rescue-Resolution Program” to avoid delays in transit by providing alternate carrier, avoiding production down-time. The impact was witnessed by upper management on the trial run of a new product.
  • Sourced public cold storage facilities in 5 different remote locations during peak national demand.
  • Established a program for lot number recording practices and paperwork transfers, and implemented reporting procedures.
  • Developed a method for auditing accessorial charges using ‘threshold’ maximum charges with buy-in from the auditor (pilot program in progress). Savings in labor hours: 7 hours weekly average.
  • Eliminated service providers with substandard practices and delivery performance by providing alternative carriers/routings. Estimated savings of 7-8%.