How the world's largest family-owned and managed ice cream producer optimized efficiency and cost savings in their reefer and deep frozen RFP

The world's largest family-owned and managed ice cream producer aimed to grow their partnerships with asset-based carriers and identify new opportunities in their 2024 transportation RFP. With frozen perishable goods as their primary freight, time-sensitive delivery is critical for ensuring product quality and shelf life. The location of their facilities also posed a challenge with some being in remote areas where carriers’ capacity was limited.

To address these challenges and achieve efficient and cost-effective transportation solutions, the ice cream producer conducted a comprehensive analysis of their transportation network. They partnered with Breakthrough to leverage their transportation RFP service, which brought straightforward, pragmatic expertise to identify key areas for improvement and execute a strategic, data-driven bid.

Identifying Key Areas for Improvement

The first step in achieving efficient and cost-effective transportation solutions was to identify the pain points in the ice cream producer's current transportation network. Breakthrough's team conducted a thorough analysis of their data and identified the following key areas for improvement:

• Inefficient Routing: Due to the dispersed location of their facilities, their routing guide assignments needed attention. By using data analysis, Breakthrough helped the producer identify the most efficient routes for each shipment. This not only reduced transit times but also minimized fuel consumption and emissions.

• Lack of Capacity Diversity: The producer used a mix of asset-based carriers and brokers, which limited their negotiating power and often resulted in higher costs. With the help of Breakthrough's extensive carrier data ecosystem, they were able to assign more volume to their asset-based carriers and increase their broker network to negotiate more favorable rates.

By focusing on these crucial areas for improvement, they refined their objectives for the RFP process.

Executing a Strategic Bid Process

With the identified areas for improvement, Breakthrough and the ice cream producer collaborated on creating a strategic bid process that would address each pain point effectively. The process included:

1. Developing an accurate baseline by consolidating all transportation data from various sources, including carriers and internal systems.
2. Conducting a thorough analysis of carrier performance metrics to identify areas for improvement and negotiate more favorable rates.
3. Utilizing advanced technology to optimize the application of the waterfall tender process.
4. Leveraging the Breakthrough Ecosystem to improve performance to the industry benchmark.

By executing this strategic bid process, the producer achieved substantial cost savings and enhanced the efficiency of their transportation network. They realized an impressive 5.2% savings, surpassing their initial target of 1-2%. They achieved their strategic carrier mix goal, comprising 73% asset-based carriers and 27% brokers. Lastly, they awarded 86% of the carriers they invited to bid, underscoring the process's effectiveness and efficiency.

On-Site Post-RFP Analysis Sessions

Breakthrough conducted on-site analysis sessions post-RFP to fine-tune the allocation of carriers. These sessions involved close collaboration with the ice cream producer’s team, ensuring that the final allocation was closely aligned with the team’s day-to-day operational knowledge of the network. This pragmatic approach bridged the gap between strategic planning and practical execution, enabling a seamless transition to the new carrier allocation strategy.

Achieve cost savings and efficiency through a strategic transportation RFP process

Through a meticulously planned and executed transportation RFP in partnership with Breakthrough, the ice cream producer addressed critical pain points such as inefficient routing and limited capacity diversity. This successful RFP positions them to meet future procurement and operation challenges with confidence and agility.