“Cost was our major issue,” says Harlow. “If you don’t have options, you’re stuck with whatever capacity and/or pricing you get from the larger carriers. You don’t have a lot of control.” Door-to-door (D2D) shipping isn’t the only recourse. When American Standard relies on U.S. trailers to ship its product out of Mexico, the order of operations proceeds like this: 1. U.S. trailers are loaded in Mexico. 2. Shipments are transported to the border and are cleared by a customs broker engaged by American Standard. 3. Shipments are dropped in a U.S. carrier’s yard to be delivered within the carrier’s capacity. Depending on the time of year and capacity constraints, this means a shipment can sit in a designated U.S. carrier’s yard for far longer than American Standard often prefers. And the carriers in question are typically larger and thus more expensive. “Working with Hercules gives us much more exibility,” says Harlow. EXPANDING THE OPTIONS Hercules’ cross-docking operations give American Standard more options in regard to choosing carriers to transport shipments from Laredo to its distribution centers (DCs). Hercules typically handles 20 to 25 American Standard truckload trailers daily. “We load a Mexican carrier’s trailer at our plants,” Harlow explains. “It travels to the border where our customs broker clears the load. Then the trailer gets dropped at Hercules’ facility on the U.S. side.” American Standard then works with Hercules to transload shipments onto U.S. carriers. Theirs has been an ef cient and long-running partnership. “Transloading has meant better pricing and better service,” says Harlow. The relationship isn’t static either. It has evolved to include Hercules participating in American Standard’s LTL needs on the shipping lanes Hercules can service. “We’re not a nationwide carrier so we can only service them in certain lanes,” Volpe notes. The relative fragility of American Standard’s product line in uences shipping decisions as well. The company manufactures bathroom xtures in its Mexican plants—mainly toilets and
CASEBOOK STUDY Plumbing the Depths CHALLENGE
Plumbing fixture giant American Standard sought options to move fragile products eciently and eectively from their Mexican manufacturing plants to distribution centers in Texas, Ohio, California, Canada and other locations. SOLUTION American Standard partnered with Hercules Forwarding, an asset based less- than-truckload (LTL) carrier focused on providing transloading solutions. Hercules performs cross-docking operations in Laredo, Texas and, as a regional carrier, fulfills LTL shipments in certain lanes. RESULTS American Standard went from 100% engagement in direct cross-border or door-to-door (D2D) shipping to 48% direct and 52% transloading. By incorporating transloading, the company reduced shipping times, achieved considerable cost savings and minimized damage claims. NEXT STEPS The two companies plan to continue their long-running partnership. Hercules hopes to expand its coverage map footprint and provide American Standard with more breakbulk-free shipping routes.
To minimize shipping damage to its main product line—toilets and sinks—American Standard eliminates breakbulk handling so freight travels without being touched.
202 Inbound Logistics • July 2024
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