Export Management

Client

A manufacturer of chemical products selling worldwide.

Challenge

The customer was producing products at eight separate factories in the United States, much of which was marketed for export. The factories were spread across the country, complicating their freight management among several carriers, locations, and providers. These complications often led to underutilization of contracts and shipment delays, as there was no central way for the shipment teams across all factories to manage their freight concurrently.

Solution

J.M. Rodgers created a single, unified platform for all the customer’s plants on a custom-built website, allowing all locations to create, view, and track shipments. The customer relied on several direct contracts with carriers, the terms of which were programmed into the website and then linked with an ordering system. This allowed a single interface where employees could log in to the website and book a shipment for their specific site. This order would trigger a pickup from the trucker and the carrier, making space available. Once booked, the containers could be tracked directly from this website. The data feeds for live carrier updates were implemented directly into the tracking site as updates became available. Reports of shipments and delivery confirmations for payment purposes can be easily pulled from the sites.

Results

The customer could save considerably on freight costs by maximizing their direct carrier contracts, avoiding the more costly freight-forwarder market. They could also save time by having only one platform to manage all their shipments across the country, and had increased visibility and ease of shipments due to the consolidation.