A Managed Transportation Solution for a National Produce Customer

The Challenge

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In the produce supply chain, temperature-sensitivity, short shelf-life and seasonal unpredictability make shipping a challenge. It is of the utmost importance that produce arrives to the end consumer on-time and undamaged, but the reality is that not all produce suppliers have the operational strength to handle the strict requirements.

For one Capstone produce partner, communication and visibility issues led to long dwell times, high carrier turnover, and stagnant growth. One major pain point was the partner’s lack of visibility on inbound product from Mexico. In some cases, communication lapses caused trucks to wait upwards of four days for cross border product, severely impacting dwell time and reducing overall profit.

A second pain point for the partner was the high number of brokers in their network. With too many brokers working on the same business, demand for capacity increases beyond supply. This cannibalization of capacity tightens the marketing and increases outbound prices.

The third major pain point was the decentralized structure of the partner’s operations. Each division utilized their own carrier network, which resulted in a missed opportunity for improved pricing and deeper relationships with carrier partners across all divisions.

The Solution

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Understanding what was at risk, Capstone provided JIT logistics solutions to get inbound shipments from the supplier to the Manufacturer as soon as they were needed so that production could continue and output volumes would remain steady. On top of that, they kept transportation costs down by contracting the Manufacturer’s freight to a reliable carrier network. This guaranteed capacity at a fixed price, regardless of volume, and gave theManufacturer added flexibility and stability when transit timeframes were tight

Partner Profile:

A produce marketing company based in Los Angeles, California providing a variety of fresh products to stores across the U.S.

Project Snapshot:

Capstone worked with a produce shipper as their Managed Transportation Partner to reduce dwell time, and losses and
create a more streamlined asset-focused network.

To address these operational challenges, the customer looked to Capstone Logistics to be their fully outsourced Managed Transportation partner. In this role, Capstone analyzed their supply chain and implemented tailored solutions that helped our partner become a Shipper of Choice.

Key Metrics. Capstone worked with the partner to determine key metrics to hold vendors accountable. These metrics include OTD%, rejection %, time from rejection notification to re-delivery, and dwell time at shipper and receiver.
Personnel Management. With the partner, we worked to improve operational processes in terms of personnel and
implemented a dedicated team with boots on the ground during peak season.
Transparency. We enforced full transparency from the partner on what was bought, including all carrier rates and
margins.
Streamlined Operations. We deployed our best-in-class processes in their network, providing end-to-end supply chain guidance. To reduce broker exposure, we filtered out poor performers to find better service-oriented carriers and created an integrated carrier network to use across all divisions. Through continuous improvement analysis, we looked at their full processes, identified bottlenecks, improved efficiencies, and provided data-driven analysis
Introduced our Proprietary Technology. Using LoadDex, we created a custom platform that collected and connected data from all divisions to create efficiencies.

The Results

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After implementing Capstone’s recommendations and services, our partner reduced dwell times. This improvement helped make them a more attractive partner for their carrier network. It has also motivated them to onboard more new customers; they know they can trust Capstone to handle their freight, so they feel comfortable taking on more business. Read about more improvements in the boxed section below.

THE BENEFIT OF HAVING BROKERS IN YOUR NETWORK

Capstone Logistics helps partners achieve lowest total cost of transportation by providing end-to-end supply chain guidance—from warehouse to last mile. We leverage technology, supply chain expertise, and best in class warehouse management experience to create a new managed transportation service.

What We Do: