A 20-year partnership with Hercules Forwarding, an asset-based LTL carrier focused on transloading, has grown to the point where American Standard currently transloads more than half of its cross-border shipments.
will ask what we need and be there just for us. They’re cognizant of our needs and that exibility continues to sustain our relationship.” HANDS ON “HANDS OFF” SERVICE Because Hercules is a smaller, regional LTL carrier, it offers a more personalized experience. Harlow appreciates being able to talk with Volpe directly should problems arise. The sales reps that service national carriers sometimes can be harder to pin down. “Hercules is customer-service driven,” Harlow says. “I can call and get them on the phone. I can’t do that with all of our carriers or reps.” Harlow also points to the absence of breakbulk terminals. “If your shipments go through fewer terminals and encounter less handling, the result is decreased or zero damage,” he says. “Larger national carriers often touch your freight three times.” Moving forward, Hercules hopes to expand its coverage map footprint. “We hope American Standard keeps giving us opportunities to grow,” says Volpe. That seems likely to occur. “Hercules feels more like an extension of my team than a vendor,” Harlow says. “We have a very strong relationship.” n
Made of plastic, heavy laminated kraft paperboard, or corrugated berboard, slip sheets are pallet-sized but thinner. “We had to retool our operation to handle freight on slip sheets,” says Volpe. “It required additional equipment and hardware on our forklifts plus training of our dock personnel.” Volpe likens picking up freight sitting on a slip sheet to picking up a pancake on a skillet with a spatula. “There’s de nitely a learning curve but slip sheets offer savings,” he says. VOLUME SAVINGS One could easily assume less weight on a trailer might be one of the savings but in American Standard’s case, Harlow points to volume savings. Given the insulating packing materials required, a toilet box is pretty big. “The slip sheets allow us to put more product into trailers because we no longer have the height of the pallets subtracting space,” he says. American Standard appreciates Hercules’ willingness to adapt. Another example centers around availability. “As shippers, we often have to adjust to a carrier or vendor’s hours or situation and our company happens to work through a lot of holidays,” Harlow says. “Hercules
sinks. These items are primarily made of porcelain and require careful packaging. Despite the packaging, minimal handling does much to minimize damage claims. “Damage doesn’t occur on the initial shipping side of things,” says Harlow. “The LTL side can be a different story.” American Standard uses all kinds of LTL carriers including large providers such as SAIA and Estes that use various terminals where breakbulk handling occurs. If a shipment is going to incur damage, breakbulk terminals where packages are unloaded and reloaded is the more likely spot. “We try to minimize the handling of freight by eliminating breakbulks,” says Volpe. “When we ship to the Paci c Northwest (Oregon, Washington) from Texas, the freight travels without being touched. A lot of our competitors have to go through two or three different terminals to get freight to that destination.” EVOLVING AND ADAPTING When Hercules rst began cross- docking American Standard’s freight at the border, everything arriving from Mexico was palletized. Then American Standard discovered a cheaper and more ef cient way to ship its product: slip sheets.
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