Non-ferrous Metal Distributor Realizes LTL Cost Savings Backed by AIT's Unrivaled Customer Service

Published on: Apr 15, 2013

 

The Challenge:

A mid-size Denver, Colorado area company specializing in the tight tolerance sawing and distribution of non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, brass, copper and stainless steel had developed a good business relationship with AIT Worldwide Logistics utilizing overnight air, dedicated flatbed and hotshot services.

Many of their day-to-day shipments, however, were sent using LTL service from another provider. Though more cost-effective than expedited options, the customer was not receiving ideal LTL rates and the other provider’s customer service support did not measure up to the standard that had been established by AIT.
 

The Solution:

The customer’s AIT account executive knew he could help since AIT is a logistics provider offering a complete range of customized services to address the transportation demands for just about any industry. He visited with the customer and demonstrated AIT’s MyAIT transportation management system (TMS).

After quickly entering the basic information for some real life shipment examples (origin and destination ZIP codes, freight class, weight, dimensions, etc.), the customer was instantly presented with numerous LTL options showing transit times, carriers and costs. Within minutes, it became apparent that AIT’s competitive rates could save the customer an average of $40 with each shipment – nearly $10,000 per year at their current volume. Moreover, these rates were available without any commitments or contract requirements.

Best of all, every LTL option was backed by AIT’s world-class service and support. Though previously acquainted with AIT’s attentive service, once the customer began shipping with MyAIT, they discovered that ease of use went far beyond the quick and convenient TMS. For example, they learned that AIT’s dedicated corporate auditors investigate any chargebacks appearing on LTL invoices and handle disputes directly with the carriers.

Perhaps the most remarkable value added service provided by AIT came in response to the customer’s request for two day turnaround with their LTL billing. Of course, with a reputation for tailoring service to fit the needs of the customer, AIT was prepared to meet this requirement.

But AIT’s operations expert in the Denver office realized many of the initial bills were arriving with discrepancies between estimated and actual charges, causing delays in the billing cycle while unexpected variances were researched, disputed and reconciled.

Seizing the initiative to address the issue with the true spirit of integrated partnership, the operations specialist began to build relationships with the customer’s vendors who were supplying the inbound raw materials. In doing so, AIT discovered that the root of the discrepancy lied with some of the vendors tending to ‘guesstimate’ the shipment weights and dimensions used to generate LTL quotes.

Working well beyond the scope of most forwarders, AIT’s Denver office acted as an extension of customer’s staff and leveraged the new relationships by proactively gathering precise shipment details from the vendors, thus ensuring accurate quoting and all but eliminating the discrepancies.
 

The Result:

After the customer started using MyAIT exclusively for their LTL cargo, all supply chain services were fully consolidated with AIT as their comprehensive global logistics partner. This one-to-one relationship makes the customer’s transportation affairs much easier to manage, thanks especially to the knowledge that AIT’s staff is keeping close tabs on financial aspects.

More impressively, the operations co-workers at AIT demonstrated their commitment to customization and customer service by integrating themselves and forging relationships with the customer’s vendors to improve accuracy and billing speed.

Free to devote fewer internal resources to transportation matters, the customer can now spend more time focusing on the core of their business rather than shipment concerns. While pleased to benefit from improved rates with MyAIT, the non-ferrous metal distributor has been particularly delighted to cement their relationship with a customer-centric partner like AIT Worldwide Logistics – a company whose consultative approach is at the foundation of its business philosophy.