The conversation began in 2012 when TIC, impressed with C.H. Robinson’s handling of their global freight operations, asked C.H. Robinson to propose further solutions for their domestic shipping activities. TIC was interested in the data solutions C.H. Robinson could provide; the manufacturer sought broad visibility into their current shipping timeframes as well as the ability to forecast different scenarios. “We were looking for a way to reduce cost while increasing customer satisfaction,” says Jim O’Day, director of supply chain management at TIC. “Trying to fulfill all orders as quickly as possible just wasn’t a sustainable model, but at the same time, we needed to continue to support our customers.”
After comprehensive research and documentation of TIC’s existing logistics network, C.H. Robinson provided a transportation optimization analysis that detailed opportunities to balance cost savings and customer satisfaction. “Taking care to ensure that service metrics would not be impacted, we analyzed TIC’s order shipping patterns, frequencies, and destinations to determine the potential for cost avoidance based on holding freight for certain amounts of time,” says Scott, general manager, transportation at
C.H. Robinson.
A natural extension in the business relationship between the two companies, the analysis indicated that through daily dynamic order optimization, TIC could reduce transportation costs and significantly increase service.
Implementation began in Houston, Texas, at TIC’s main distribution center (DC). Because this DC handles roughly 60% of TIC’s North American freight, it was vital to demonstrate that a consolidated solution could work at a high-volume facility.
Using Navisphere®, C.H. Robinson’s single global technology platform, C.H. Robinson dynamically reassessed and adjusted TIC’s freight load plans. Through detailed, near real time analytics and a complex network of contract carriers, consolidation of TIC’s LTL operations merged several orders, moving in similar lanes, into the lowest number of LTL shipments or multistop truckload movements. This strategy reduced overhead and streamlined shipping through intricate, responsive calculations; now, four times every day, the system automatically uses the latest order information and carrier availability to combine and optimize orders for maximum cost savings.
C.H. Robinson worked across multiple departments at TIC to ensure execution of this new dynamic order optimization proceeded smoothly. With C.H. Robinson developing new process flows and coordinating across affected parties in IT, analytics, project management, customer service, and more, TIC was able to draw on C.H. Robinson’s expertise not only for logistics technology but also in change management.
Under the new model, C.H. Robinson also began to work closely with TIC to develop new insights into comprehensive, multimodal solutions, testing and evaluating different shipping scenarios to find opportunities for even greater efficiency. This allowed TIC to reinforce their decision making with concrete evidence: “Whenever we have a request for data,” Jim shares, “we’re very confident that the information we get from C.H. Robinson is accurate.”