Frozen Baked Goods and Desserts Manufacturer and Wholesaler Sweetens their RFP with Third-Party Support from Breakthrough

The need to drive efficiencies and make improvements in today’s complex and volatile supply chain continues to be a top focus for transportation professionals. Metrics including industry benchmarks, service, and compliance by lane are being monitored to provide greater visibility into the $700 billion transportation industry. Whether in a tight or loose capacity market, shippers are seeking opportunities to produce the most optimal transportation strategy to get their goods to market.

An over $500 million dollar snack, bakery & dessert shipper, is rising as a leader in transportation network strategy across the food & beverage industry. In 2021, they partnered with Breakthrough to implement a fair and accurate fuel reimbursement mechanism, Fuel Recovery.

A year later, the shipper desired further transparency and fairness with their carrier partnerships. They quickly found value in Network Intelligence, a strategic transportation management solution that identifies opportunities representative of their network priorities. With the expert support of the Breakthrough team, the Director of Logistics was able to act on recommendations to improve and advance their network before, during, and after their RFP.

End-to-End RFP Support Leads to a More Effective and Efficient Bid Event

The frozen baked goods and desserts manufacturer and wholesaler revolutionized its 2022 RFP event with lane-level industry benchmarks, market knowledge, and greater visibility into its transportation network. The Director of Logistics looked to Breakthrough for end-to-end, unbiased bid support. As a third-party resource, Breakthrough provided a network-wide carrier search, market rates, and support and guidance to align with the plan.

Prior to the shipper’s RFP bid event, Breakthrough recommended 61 new carriers that aligned with their network priorities. Network priorities can range from cost, capacity, and service to even sustainability. Once priorities are identified, Breakthrough identifies carriers that match their goals from a network of over 23 million annual shipments flowing through the FELIX platform. By lane, carriers are given a score between one and five, five being the best fit and one being the worst fit. From the recommendations, the shipper found 49% of the recommended carrier partners better fit their network and reduced their transportation spend by 3%.

One Marginal Mistake Can Cost Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

Post-RFP event, the frozen baked goods and desserts manufacturer and wholesaler was able to focus on its broader strategy while Breakthrough monitored deviations from the RFP plan. In one instance, Breakthrough identified the TMS was sending shipments with the wrong mode of transport on a lane. The monetary impact of this occurring for one year could have been a surplus of over $172,000. Fortunately, the shipper used Breakthrough’s Network Intelligence solution to address deviations from plan, drive efficiencies, and make improvements in their transportation network.

The frozen baked goods and desserts shipper continues to make life’s moments a little sweeter across North America. Keeping a strong transportation network moving forward is an important factor in meeting consumer demand. Breakthrough’s Network Intelligence solution acts as their strategic partner in transportation management with smart technology, robust data, and expert support guiding them to the most optimal transportation strategy.