Managed Solutions Case Study
Managed Solutions: Reducing Administrative Burden + Improving Efficiency
An industry-leading automotive company decided to evaluate its supply chain to reduce inhouse admin burden, increase efficiency, and drive down costs. Their network consisted of four US distribution centers, with three carriers for each distribution center, and an annual container import volume of 5,000-10,000. Additionally, the company wanted to explore increasing its supply chain visibility through best-in-class tech.
Solution
ITS proposed a comprehensive Managed Solutions package to:
- Manage all carrier and container pool operations for the company.
- Save the company $5M in supply chain costs in the first year.
- Establish 100% supply chain visibility through the integration of ContainerAI.
ITS began the project by onboarding the customer’s carrier network and integrating them through its proprietary container management and visibility platform, ContainerAI. This integration provided the customer with complete supply chain visibility, including ocean, rail, and steamship line data.
This allowed for 100% visibility in their supply chain, which reduced the amount of time spent on email updates, gave the customer a single source for supply chain visibility, improved communication with carriers, and dramatically increased the accuracy of shipment updates. It also gave ITS and the customer the ability to make informed decisions and plan a clear path forward to improving operational efficiency.
ITS began managing commercial relationships with the retailer’s existing carriers, including setting rates, managing payables, and ensuring compliance. ITS provided the company’s incumbent carriers with additional loads to improve the financial health of carriers and reduce rates, ultimately leading to a more stable and efficient carrier base. ITS also used its extensive carrier network to provide regional capacity to the customer as needed without additional onboarding.
The team at ITS also managed NVO and ocean carriers, ensuring imports ran smoothly with minimal accessorial fees or customs holds.
Altogether, ITS reduced the administrative labor burden on the company while delivering $5M in savings within the first year and an additional $2M in savings the following year.
Results
After choosing ITS as their managed solutions provider, the automotive company was able to reduce its administrative burden by 50% while handling a 10-15% increase in volume during peak seasons. ITS’s solution saved the company a total of $7M over the first two years of the project and ultimately improved the company’s relationship with its incumbent carriers.
- $7M in savings realized in the first two years.
- Increased regional capacity without additional carrier onboarding.
- A 50% reduction in administrative burden.
- 100% supply chain visibility from a single source.