The Challenge: Remote Locations & Broken Processes
The client produces PVC and PE pipe products—a market characterized by thin margins and high service expectations from customers, including major home improvement retailers and active construction sites.
While the client’s strategy to locate production facilities far from major metropolitan areas allowed for expansion and ample outdoor inventory storage, it created significant transportation hurdles:
- High Costs & Low Coverage: The remote locations required carriers to travel long deadhead distances. Combined with a need for specialized flatbeds with tarps, the freight was unattractive to many carriers.
- Toxic Carrier Relationships: The plant’s previous strategy prioritized the lowest possible rate above all else. This approach, coupled with mass email blasts to hundreds of brokers, alienated quality local carriers and led to a "toxic" relationship where carriers only accepted loads at astronomical rates when the plant was desperate.
- Operational Inefficiencies: On-time delivery hovered at a poor 75%. Peak season volume surges (doubling freight needs) were unmanageable.
- Financial Leakage: The facility struggled to collect Proof of Delivery (POD) documents, leading to lost profits from unresolved customer deductions and settlements.
The Solution: The "Outside the Yard" Approach
SimPL Freight Solutions conducted a deep-dive analysis, interviewing plant staff, analyzing historical data, and speaking directly with carriers who had refused to service the location.
The diagnosis was clear: The internal team needed to focus on production and safety, while SimPL needed to take over the external logistics. We designed a unique Managed Services solution:
- Carrier Relationship Reset: SimPL took over all carrier negotiations and selection. We moved away from the "lowest rate" mentality to build trust with reliable partners, utilizing scorecards to award freight based on performance.
- Full-Service Dispatch Management: We handled the entire lifecycle of the load—from carrier selection and tracking to obtaining PODs and managing claims.
- SimPL TMS Implementation: We introduced a centralized Transportation Management System (TMS) for booking full truckload, LTL, and intermodal shipments, ensuring data visibility and document retention.
- Transparent Pricing: We established a cost-plus pricing structure, providing the client with complete visibility into true carrier costs.
- Proactive Communication: Sales teams and consignees received consistent tracking updates, restoring confidence in the delivery process.
Implementation
The transition was swift and decisive. Implementation was completed just 4 weeks after management approval.
SimPL Freight Solutions immediately began repairing damaged carrier relationships and establishing new operational standards. By maintaining a log of carrier arrival and departure times, we provided independent measurement of loading efficiency, helping plant management better allocate labor.
The Results
The impact of SimPL Freight Solutions’ intervention was felt immediately and sustained over the long term.
- Substantial Cost Savings: In the first year alone, the client realized 15% savings on freight spend, totaling over $600,000.
- Restored Reliability: Within one month, coverage improved to over 85%. Eventually, coverage reached 99%, even as plant output increased by 25%.
- Service Excellence: At one peak point during the year, the facility achieved 1,000 consecutive shipments picked up and delivered on time.
- Operational Efficiency: The new processes led to a 50% reduction in overtime for shipping and yard employees due to better scheduled loading and improved labor allocation.
- Dispute Resolution: The consistent collection of PODs and paperwork virtually eliminated losses from customer deductions.
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