The Million-Dollar Secret: How Companies Have Saved BIG With Transportation Tech
Hello readers!?
I can't believe summer is already over and peak season is back again. It feels like just yesterday we were gearing up for summer vacations and travel, and now here we are preparing for the busy fall and winter months ahead.
I'm thrilled to welcome you to this edition of Shipwell's monthly newsletter for August 2023. In this newsletter, you'll find my take on the most relevant topics within supply chain logistics, thoughtful feedback, and commentary from our community, plus tips, ideas, and strategies on how to roll with the punches to keep things moving, and maybe have some fun along the way.
To kick things off this month, I want to highlight an inspiring story of one of our customers, Home Chef who was able to save over $1 million dollars by leveraging our platform to optimize their shipping operations and provide visibility. It's stories like these that remind us of the power of our technology to drive impact for shippers of all sizes. I know it's why I show up every day.
At Shipwell, our mission is to democratize our technology to empower shippers of all sizes. Your success is our success, and we're honored to be your partner.?
This month, I want to focus on the importance of adaptability and resilience. The logistics industry is constantly shifting, and things rarely go exactly as planned. The key is being able to quickly adjust and problem-solve when issues inevitably come up. Our team is always brainstorming ways we can update our platform and services to help our customers navigate challenges. We know you have high expectations for us, and we welcome your feedback on how we can better support you.
Thank you for being a part of the Shipwell community. I look forward to sharing insights and ideas with you this month and beyond. Let's work together to make this peak season a success!
Warm regards,
Karen Sage?—?CMO, Shipwell
This Month’s Topics
How Home Chef saved over $1M with Shipwell
In the world of business, even the smallest accounting errors can lead to disastrous consequences if left unnoticed. And for one of America’s leading meal kit delivery services, this harsh reality almost became a daunting reality. However, with the aid of Shipwell, they were able to spot and rectify a colossal $1.2 million overpayment to one of their carriers within weeks of going live.
Ranked #1 for customer service, Home Chef is one of America’s leading meal kit delivery services with distribution centers in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Lithonia, Georgia. Providing curated boxes of fresh ingredients for a rotating selection of more than 30 different meal options each week to customers across all of the lower 48 states, their logistics team had their work cut out for them — and with a fifth distribution center opening soon in Baltimore, business was scaling fast.?
Of course, the transportation department at Home Chef — like many others — had long been hindered by limited visibility into their accounting processes. This lack of transparency made it challenging to identify potential discrepancies and losses that might be hidden in the financial pipeline. However, all this changed when they decided to partner with Shipwell, a decision that would prove to be an accounting lifeline.
Shipwell's innovative logistics platform opened the doors to seamless collaboration between Home Chef's transportation and accounting departments. Through real-time data integration and analytics, Home Chef was now equipped with the tools to assess their financial transactions with a keen eye, allowing them to scrutinize every payment while automatically flagging potential issues, and uncovering any irregularities that could have otherwise gone unnoticed.
And that’s far from the only benefit that Home Chef saw through the Shipwell platform. Additional improvements to organization, communication, visibility, market insights, and more have set not only their logistics team but the entire company up for a hugely successful year.
To explore all the details around Home Chef’s experience and success with the Shipwell TMS platform, dive into the full case study below.
Top Trends in Food and Beverage…?
and the logistical challenges they bring
Welcome to the exciting world of the food and beverage industry, where trends are constantly shifting and consumer demands are ever-evolving — as are the challenges they bring to those in the industry. From the rise of diverse product expectations to the growing importance of sustainability and the game-changing role of technology, this industry is experiencing a whirlwind of change that is transforming the way we produce, distribute, and consume our favorite food and drinks. So grab a snack, sit back, and dig in!
Greater expectations for diversity
The food and beverage industry is no stranger to shifting trends, but where trends always seem to come and go, it’s normally expected that new options will take the place of at least some of the old — and that isn’t happening today. Today's customers are craving greater diversity in their food and beverage options than ever before, driving the industry to meet their evolving demands.
With these trends, introducing new stock-keeping units (SKUs) from entirely new suppliers means building relationships from scratch, coordinating logistics with multiple parties, and making sure everything flows smoothly, all while continuing to maintain existing networks. Balancing the tried-and-true traditional offerings while adding fresh and diverse options to meet these changing expectations requires careful coordination and more than a bit of logistical magic.
And that’s not all that shippers have to contend with. Trends in sustainability have brought everything from a shift toward more regional “farm-to-table” agricultural structures, an avoidance of single-use plastics, and put the issue of food waste in the spotlight, while a technological revolution has seen massive changes to the way the food and beverage industry manages their shipments.
To explore all of these trends and how they may impact operations in the food and beverage industry this year, grab your fork and knife, put on your stretchy pants, and click the link below!
领英推荐
Examining the push for RNG in transportation
And why you may want to get on board
In an era dominated by mounting concerns about climate change, businesses worldwide are recognizing the urgent need to transition towards more sustainable practices. One key area of focus is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions — and the need to combat this issue is made all the more evident from recent news reports that highlight the urgency of addressing these issues:
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: According to a report by the Global Carbon Project, global greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high in 2021, even after a brief decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report warns that these emissions need to be drastically reduced to avoid catastrophic climate consequences.
Air Pollution in Urban Areas: Many cities around the world continue to grapple with severe air pollution, posing health risks to their residents. For instance, in January of this year, Beijing issued its first-ever red alert for air pollution, as smog levels reached hazardous levels, leading to school closures and restrictions on outdoor activities.
Wildfires and Air Quality: The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires have contributed to poor air quality in several regions. Even looking past the rising trend in poor air quality experienced during the California wildfire season, other areas are now also being hit harder than ever. The US experienced its worst toxic air pollution from wildfire smoke in its recent recorded history on June 7th this year, with people in New York exposed to levels of pollution more than five times above the national air quality standard.
Issues like these have led to the emergence of innovative solutions. And one of the solutions that has risen to the top of the list is carbon-negative Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). But what is it, exactly? How would the average business leverage it? And would it wind up costing them more than it’s worth? Delve into all the details surrounding the push toward RNG in the full article below.
Beyond the Price Tag
Unmasking the Total Cost of Ownership for a TMS
As anyone who’s bought a new car or truck recently can tell you, the price you pay often goes well beyond the initial sticker price. Smart buyers know that all the additional expenses like maintenance, custom features, insurance, fuel efficiency, and the many other costs that go into your investment’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) need to be taken into account if you don’t want to wind up kicking yourself down the road. And whether you’re buying a house, starting a business, or picking out a new sofa, the same holds true for nearly every other investment — and that includes your Transportation Management System (TMS)
From the initial phase costs to maintenance and support, unraveling exactly how much a TMS will actually wind up costing you can be a difficult task. But just like someone who gets stuck with a lemon of a car because it had a low sticker price, plenty of people get roped into ignoring all the factors that go into the TCO of a TMS.
Of course, it’s easy to understand why that happens. The costs that go into TCO calculations encompass all expenses associated with the solution throughout its lifecycle, and can easily be hidden behind a low price tag. But informed decisions can only be made by unmasking them, and digging deeper into what they’ll actually cost you in the end.
And in this article, we’ll help you do just that.
Community topic highlight
Highlights from our customer Q&A
Anyone who knows anything about technology understands that true innovation comes from collaboration, and as those who made it to our recent interactive Q&A session know — Shipwell is all for it!?
From offering an exclusive glimpse into the exciting developments on the horizon to an interactive product demo of our newly developed AI assistant to a wealth of excellent questions, suggestions, and feedback coming in from both sides of the table, it’s sessions like this that really help to steer development in the right direction for our customers.
For anyone who couldn’t attend — what would YOU most like to see from Shipwell?
Have a question? A topic you think worth discussing? Something you’d like us to focus on? Leave a comment and we may feature it right here in the next issue!
We’d love to hear from you!
As always, the discussion about the supply chain doesn't stop here. Every month, the conversation continues right here with new and exciting topics, and we know that a lot of you have interesting ideas and valuable insights that we can all benefit from, so if you're out there, don't be shy! Leave us a comment or send us a message about what you'd like to see us discuss next!
Let us know what's on your mind. Share your tips, articles, industry initiatives, or just any feedback you might have on the newsletter itself. Whether it's via the comments section or a direct message — your opinion matters! Of course, at the end of the day our goal is to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to supply chain issues and upheavals so let's keep it going and make that happen. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter!
Meme of the Month
Logistics Manager at Mailer2Global
1 年So many underestimate the value of automation, I loved the great story on how Home Chef was able to realize so much value immediately in their journey into a TMS. I think those who build TMS systems early to their processes, in the long run, will always be much better positioned for continued growth than those who don't understand TMS value until it becomes obvious it's needed.