With a network of more than 450 farmers and four distribution centers across the country, Musco Family Olive Co. needed to streamline its logistics strategies. The solution came from implementing freight bill audit and payment and order fulfillment solutions from AFS Logistics.
to exchange les and messages with other external trading partners, such as carriers. Now, when orders drop, Musco no longer needs to manually disseminate information across the company and enter it into the system, Lin says. Over time, the relationship between Musco and AFS has expanded to include imported containers as well. On these international shipments, AFS acts as Musco’s advocate in the market. Musco’s network of warehouses also underwent analysis as part of the new partnership with AFS. By reviewing the network’s costs and services, Musco determined it could consolidate some facilities, reducing overall inventory levels. The two companies continue to periodically tweak the network. “Quarterly business reviews are a great opportunity to esh out other opportunities from a service or from a cost standpoint,” Lin says. This also enables Musco to redeploy employees who’d previously been dedicated toward freight, he adds. ENJOYING PROCESSDRIVEN RESULTS By implementing more ef cient processes and technology, Musco lowered its total transportation spending by more than 10% in the rst year of its partnership with AFS. It also
identi ed additional opportunities for cost reduction, leading to another $50,000 in savings, also during the rst year. Subsequent reviews have led to warehouse network optimization opportunities that Musco is currently pursuing, Lin adds. LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR GAINS Musco also was able to double its carrier mix. And through the partnership, Musco has leveraged technology that helps it adopt a process-driven approach. Becoming more aggressive about pursuing different shipping options is the next big frontier for Musco, Lin says. This could mean reducing the number of containers or even taking trucks off the road by shifting from a less-than- truckload to a multi-stop approach. “We’re peeling back the onion and asking, ‘What exactly are we doing? And is there a different way versus just being ef cient with what we’re doing?’” Lin explains. Whatever strategies Musco decides to pursue, Lin says AFS is key to achieving their goals. “The AFS operations team is in constant communication with us when things are good, and they’re in front of it when there are hiccups,” he says. “We get talented people who know what they’re doing and can drive value in our decision making.” n
In addition, because Musco hadn’t been rigorously auditing its less-than- truckload, truckload, or intermodal freight, management couldn’t ensure billing accuracy. And with limited visibility into freight costs and load status data, it was dif cult to dispute claims on issues like on-time in-full, as well as customer deduction claims. As a result, Musco was at risk of overpaying accessorial charges. GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT AUDITS To help Musco exert more control over fees and surcharges, AFS implemented an invoice audit process across all transportation modes. By providing a comprehensive review of every bill, Musco can recover many overcharges and minimize the risk of overpaying. Without this information and process, ghting nes and fees often becomes time consuming and cumbersome, Lin says. The invoice audit process also consolidates Musco’s weekly bills into one invoice, providing timely insight into transportation costs. Musco also worked with AFS to streamline its order ful llment process. Now, Musco sends order details to AFS via an SQL (structured query language) download, which then feeds into the AFS TMS. AFS also provides a gateway
January 2024 • Inbound Logistics 211
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