Bandier also leveraged Boxzooka’s virtual rate shopping program to explore rates and methods and lower its overall shipping cost structure. Working with several shipping services, versus relying on a single one, helps rein in costs. “It’s using technology to get better, cheaper rates,” says Brendan Heegan, Boxzooka’s founder and CEO. In the past, many vendor packages would arrive at Bandier without advanced shipment notices visible. Trying to determine the purchase order and SKUs (stockkeeping units) tied to each package would become “a science project,” Heegan says. Boxzooka helped Bandier develop vendor guidelines so the company receives goods in a way that allows for more ef cient processing. Since implementing these changes, Bandier has cut the number of work orders to vendors by about 40%. “It was a big win,” Lau says. Boxzooka also helped Bandier identify better end-of-life solutions for some returns, including those that are barely damaged—say, a sneaker that’s in great shape, but was returned in a slightly damaged box. Previously, Bandier would sell this merchandise at “an incredibly low recovery rate,” Lau says. Now, Bandier offers the goods to Boxzooka employees at a rate that’s a win for both the employees and Bandier. “They go to people we appreciate,” Lau says. Experience, communication, and a passion for the Bandier brand have been key to the partnership with Boxzooka. “They listen and come to the table with solutions,” Lau says. “You don’t nd partners like that every day.”
When demand for its sports drinks soared during the pandemic, BODYARMOR found capacity by partnering with a 3PL.
BODYARMOR’s demand, and pinpointed areas where it was highest and most concentrated to determine the optimal warehouse locations. They also evaluated the likely impact of any changes to the company’s distribution network. From this, NTG built an optimization model, highlighting where the company’s warehouses were located, where they should be located, and identifying an ef cient transportation network. “We made changes in our current network based on those recommendations,” DeLeon says, noting that BODYARMOR has been able to capitalize on some of the cost savings possible. NTG’s technology also enables BODYARMOR to digitally track shipments, which helps to quickly mitigate any challenges. “NTG tailored a team in place that knows our account and our expectations, and covers our business 24/7,” DeLeon says. They’ve also helped improve the company supply chain structure and brought visibility to BODYARMOR’s networks. Now, the two companies have begun to partner on a “national rework program,” DeLeon says. The objective is to ef ciently rework pallets that shift or are damaged in transit so they can quickly continue to BODYARMOR customers.
a premium sports drink, mostly through retailers. The Coca-Cola Company acquired BODYARMOR in November 2021. “We needed capacity fast,” DeLeon says. He joined the company in 2020, with a goal of building out its carrier network and developing a strategically planned distribution network that would support both current demand and future growth. THROWN INTO THE FIRE DeLeon brought Nolan Transportation Group (NTG) on board in August 2020. “They were thrown to the re,” he says, adding that sales volume doubled soon after NTG joined. NTG and Transportation Insight are divisions of Transportation Insight Holding Company. For its rst assignments, NTG assisted with spot-based shipments. Soon, though, the two companies shifted to a contractual partnership, says Lucas Buchholz, vice president, enterprise sales strategy with NTG. He and his colleagues have helped BODYARMOR create an optimal carrier network and develop the operating processes that provide the logistical support the growing business needed. “We wanted to leverage NTG’s multimodal capacity and create a more agile supply chain and optimized network as we continued to grow,” DeLeon says. NTG analyzed
Growing Capacity? GR!
For several months in 2020, the shutdowns tamped down demand for many consumer products. “Then, the consumer product goods (CPG) market exploded,” says Chris DeLeon, director of transportation operations with BODYARMOR, which offers
112 Inbound Logistics • July 2023
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