Freight Consolidation Case Studies: Benefits of Working with a 3PL

Faster Shipping, Serious Savings  

Shipping out orders as they're received will only go so far. As operations, customer base and shipping volume grow, so will less-than-truckload (LTL) costs. For one major foot care provider, cost per pound had risen to $0.46 cents. Meanwhile, customers were waiting longer for their orders due to the inherent inefficiencies of LTL shipping at scale. The brand engaged ODW to develop a solution.

Recognizing that an effective freight consolidation strategy is designed and executed from the ground up, ODW conducted a Transportation Network Study to identify opportunities for improvement. We then negotiated LTL rates on behalf of the client while building a freight optimization network. Soon, we implemented pool distribution and multi-stop truckloads, ultimately leveraging our network to consolidate the client's shipments with other similar orders. 

Freight consolidation not only sped up shipments by an average of 1.2 days, but also led to 12.4 percent freight savings including a reduction of LTL costs from $0.46 cents to $0.39 cents and $430,000 in chargeback savings. See our five steps to success.

Reversing the Trend, Reducing the Spend

Leading paper food packaging manufacturer SOLUT! saw its LTL rates increase by 31 percent in a six-month span with its previous 3PL provider. The immediate and urgent need was for a supply chain partner that could strategize on how to bring those costs down as quickly as possible. However, this needed to be done with scale and long-term growth in mind.

Tapping into our network of 30,000 carriers, we were able to negotiate new LTL rates as a first step. The next phase involved freight optimization to eventually allow for multi-client consolidation. This enabled savings and retail compliance to make LTL rate increases a thing of the past. SOLUT! praises the reliability of our freight consolidation services. See what the company's president says about partnering with ODW.

Setting Goals Amid Growth

Explosive growth is one of the most exhilarating experiences in business. As the excitement is unfolding, it's important to manage and steer that growth with the big picture in mind. A well-known food producer showed excellent leadership in seeking a 3PL to meet the specific objectives of controlling transportation spend, improving speed to market, and adding flexibility to packaging operations. 

ODW won the bid and showed measurable results in each of the brand's focus areas. We not only controlled transportation spend but reduced it by 40 percent in the first six months through our freight consolidation services. Full truck load shipments replaced one-off LTL shipments, while our LTSLink logistics portal gave the client full visibility of every order. The 40 percent reduction amounted to $315,000 in savings. Speed to market increased to 98.5 percent, and we also solved a complex packaging challenge resulting in 50 percent reduction of cost-per-case. Read a full breakdown of each feat.

A Proven Consolidated Freight Services Provider

Consolidated freight doesn't happen overnight, and few businesses have the personnel and resources to take freight consolidation in-house. Time and time again, ODW has shown its ability to exceed expectations with strategic, scalable freight consolidation. It's just one part of our complete transportation management services. Learn more.