Client
A global supplier, importer, and exporter in the medical device industry
Challenge
In March 2020, a J.M. Rodgers customer sought assistance managing an unprecedented consumer volume surge for health care products they sold as the global coronavirus pandemic began to hit its peak. This demand surge and global supply chain breakdowns resulted in increased costs and complexities in coordinating the timing of their deliveries to their customers.
Solution
Members of JMR’s senior import operations team reviewed the current routing process and began to examine every possible solution to get the A/F cargo to the customer faster and more cost-effectively. Due to the cargo’s final destination being in a remote location, the customer had always routed cargo into a smaller airport hub for years. Little did the customer understand that the load wasn’t flying to this airport but was instead being flown into a major airport and then consolidated and trucked to the air cargo holding hub at the smaller airfield location.
J.M. Rodgers negotiated with a different airline in Asia to secure a lower rate on the promise of volume, then dealt directly with a line haul trucker that made frequent moves to the remote location.
Results
This new supply chain created much quicker delivery times and, on average, saved five days on door delivery due to controlling the right at the first port of entry and not having to wait for the airline to consolidate and push to a separate airport. Additionally, the rate negotiation with the airline and the trucking company directly led to significant savings of around $2,500 per shipment, resulting in over $125,000 in total savings for the customer.
