A global leader in high-value thermoformed and flexible packaging was experiencing a series of critical operational failures with its previous logistics setup. These issues threatened product quality, carrier reliability, and customer satisfaction across their manufacturing network.
Key Issues Faced:
- Excessive Freight Costs: Disproportionately high freight costs for local and regional facility-to-facility movements.
- Carrier Unreliability: Poor communication and unstable tender acceptance from incumbent carriers.
- Product Integrity Risk: High rates of transit damage and contamination to sensitive, food-grade and healthcare-grade packaging products.
The customer needed a strategic partner capable of rapidly stabilizing operations, protecting highly sensitive freight, and driving down total logistics spend.
The RXO Solution
- Cost Reduction through Optimized Shuttle Services
- From TL to Dedicated Shuttles: RXO engineered a local carrier network to establish a dedicated, predictable shuttle service for short-haul movements.
- Mode & Rate Optimization: Successfully transitioned high-cost, ad-hoc Full Truckload (TL) shipments into a streamlined, lower-cost localized loop—slashing freight spend on regional movements.
- Specialized Handling & Contamination Protocols
- Targeted Terminal Training: RXO implemented specialized handling training across all key carrier terminals to reinforce strict protocols designed to prevent product contamination and minimize waste.
- Protecting Made-to-Order Cargo: We educated the carrier base on the critical nature of the customer’s custom thermoformed products. We established clear, non-negotiable rules against stacking and dropping, making it clear that transit damage was unacceptable.
- Eliminating Expedited Fixes: Since these packaging products are made-to-order, we aligned carriers to understand that expediting a replacement was not an option for failures—making Day-1 damage prevention the primary focus.
- Strategic Dedicated Carrier Assignment
- Specialized Service for Tier-1 Customers: RXO assigned a dedicated carrier fleet specifically to service the customer’s largest and most sensitive accounts.
- Mitigating Operational Risk: This specialized fleet ensured consistent drivers, tighter communication loops, and highly specialized handling for critical, contamination-sensitive shipments.
The Results
- Substantial Damage & Claims Reduction: Claims for transit damage and contamination were practically eliminated due to specialized carrier training and dedicated fleet assignments.
- Maximized Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction rates dramatically increased—particularly with high-priority buyers of food-grade and healthcare-grade packaging—who now receive reliable, contamination-free deliveries.
- Minimized Operational Risk: Streamlined communication, consistent tender acceptance, and proactive exception management eliminated daily operational friction for the customer’s logistics team.