MFF Case Study

Challenge:

A large food manufacturer’s transportation strategy relies heavily on an outsourced dedicated fleet with high fixed costs, to guarantee capacity and underutilized round-trip pricing when compared to alternative methods. Over time, this resulted in unsustainable long-term costs and inefficient use of the fleet.

Action:

The SCS Team was given the opportunity to manage their freight operations, improve their experience, and cut down on potential inefficiencies. 

Their efforts included: 

a.   Implementing formal business processes to both improve service and minimize potential errors. 

b.  Develop a strategic method of moving on from the high-cost, underutilized dedicated fleet while addressing a transition plan. 

c.   Overseeing the transition of consistent volume being redistributed to a core group of reefer truckload carriers with contracted on way pricing and primary capacity requirements in lanes of choice.

Result:

With the new system changes in place, service and efficiency improvements were seen across the board and business costs had dropped even lower than with the prior system.

Benefits:

• Enhanced service reliability and operational improvements boosted customer satisfaction and solidified the company’s market position. 

• Reduced operational costs by $1 million dollars. 

Lesson Learned: 

Flexibility and strategic carrier partnerships are crucial in logistics. Moving away from an inefficient dedicated fleet to a diversified carrier base ensured resilience and scalability, highlighting the importance of adaptability and strategic planning for long-term success.