This company is a leading national provider of 12-volt power solutions, specialising in lithium batteries, solar panels, and portable generators designed for off-grid, 4x4 and outdoor use. Their products serve both retail and commercial clients, delivering dependable energy for caravans and four-wheel drives. Distributing across Australia, they faced the challenge of managing Dangerous Goods (DG) shipments, such as lithium batteries, which require careful handling and compliance with strict safety regulations, all while meeting customers' expectations for timely deliveries.

Before partnering with CFS, this company faced several logistics challenges that hampered their efficiency, growth, and ability to meet customer expectations. Their operations involved complex freight management processes, high costs, and limited visibility, especially when dealing with Dangerous Goods (DG) shipments like lithium batteries. Below are the key issues they encountered:

• Managing Multiple Freight Providers
  The company was using several different freight providers, resulting in a complex and overwhelming freight management process. Juggling numerous bills, contracts, and communications became a significant operational challenge.
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• Frequent Consignment Redirections
  The customer’s end users are often on the move, particularly in remote and rural areas, requiring frequent redirections of consignments. These customers may change their location after placing an order, expecting the delivery to be rerouted to new destinations, such as caravan parks or temporary accommodations. This created logistical challenges in managing last-minute changes, ensuring smooth redirections, and maintaining timely deliveries despite the evolving nature of their customer base.
  
  High Freight Costs
  Relying on multiple providers prevented the company from negotiating bulk rates or receiving better pricing, resulting in unnecessarily high freight costs across their operations.
  
  

• Lack of Centralised Freight Tracking
  With so many carriers involved, the company struggled to efficiently track freight, leading to delays in deliveries, wasted time on manual follow-ups, and customer dissatisfaction due to a lack of visibility.
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• Freight Dispatch Bottlenecks
  The customer was processing more than 40 freight consignments per day, and the inefficient system limited their ability to scale and meet demand for over 100 jobs daily, resulting in bottlenecks.
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• Difficulty Managing Dangerous Goods (DG) Shipments
  Handling DG freight, such as lithium batteries, presented challenges in terms of regulatory compliance and carrier availability, causing further delays in shipments and added complexity to their freight processes.
  
  Limited Freight Visibility
  Without a centralised system for managing and tracking freight, the company had no real-time visibility into the movement of their shipments, making it difficult to update customers or address issues in a timely manner.
  
  Inconsistent Carrier Performance
  Different carriers provided varying levels of service, leading to missed delivery windows, poor accountability, and frustrated customers when freight was delayed or mishandled.

To address the complex freight challenges, we implemented a comprehensive and tailored approach for the customer. By optimising their carrier network, automating freight compliance, and centralising tracking, we were able to significantly improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. Our proactive customer service team and ability to handle Dangerous Goods freight ensured that the company could meet customer expectations and expand into new markets without disruption.

• Carrier Diversification and Optimisation
  We introduced a range of specialised carriers, including those with expertise in Dangerous Goods (DG) freight. This allowed the customer to leverage the strengths of multiple carriers, improving delivery times and expanding coverage to remote areas.
  
  Automated DG Compliance and Freight Integration
  By integrating their transport management system with product SKUs, we automated DG freight compliance. This eliminated the need for manual paperwork and reduced processing times by linking DG information directly to their bookings.
  
  Centralised Freight Tracking System
  We implemented a centralised freight tracking solution, providing real-time visibility into all freight movements. This allowed the customer to easily monitor shipments, update their customers, and improve overall transparency.
  
  Cost-Saving Initiatives and Carrier Rate Negotiation
  Through careful analysis of their freight routes and volume, we negotiated better rates with carriers and identified opportunities for cost savings. This included introducing regional carriers for specific routes, reducing their national freight costs.
  
  Enhanced Customer Service Support
  We provided a dedicated customer service team to act as the single point of contact for all freight queries, covering multiple carriers. This streamlined communication, resolved issues faster, and reduced time spent on manual follow-ups with carriers and customers.
  
  Dynamic Route Optimisation for Remote and New Delivery Areas
  We continually evolve our service offering to ensure optimal routes are identified for all delivery areas, including remote and newly serviced locations. As the customer takes orders from consumers across the country, any new order could require delivery to an unfamiliar region. To address this, we proactively monitor and adjust routes, ensuring that we utilise the best carriers for every area. If existing carriers aren’t sufficient, we quickly source and integrate new partners to maintain seamless service and cost efficiency, no matter the destination.

• Improved Delivery Accuracy
  With the optimised carrier network and enhanced tracking capabilities, delivery accuracy improved by 60%, ensuring consignments were delivered to the correct final destinations more reliably.
  
  Reduced Manual Freight Processing
  The integration of automated DG compliance into the transport management system reduced manual freight processing by 90%, streamlining the workload and saving significant time for the customer’s operations team.
  
  Increased Business Output
  Thanks to streamlined operations and faster freight processing times, the customer saw a 45% increase in business output, enabling them to handle a higher volume of orders with greater efficiency.
  
  Fewer Freight Queries
  The implementation of a centralised freight tracking system and improved visibility for both the customer and their clients reduced freight-related queries by 50%, freeing up customer service resources.
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Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
The streamlined freight process, improved delivery accuracy, and reduced manual effort led to faster responses and fewer issues, boosting overall customer satisfaction. This helped the customer retain loyal clients while improving their reputation in the market.

Improved Freight Route Optimisation
By dynamically adjusting routes and sourcing new carriers for remote and newly serviced areas, we ensured that freight was always handled by the most efficient and cost-effective option. This resulted in consistent service delivery, even as the customer’s delivery locations expanded.

Better Visibility and Reporting
The centralised freight tracking system provided the customer with real-time visibility into all shipments. This not only improved operational transparency but also allowed for better decision-making and reporting capabilities, helping the customer stay on top of their logistics performance.

Flexibility for Consignment Redirection
With their customers frequently changing locations, we introduced flexible consignment redirection processes. This allowed for seamless changes in delivery addresses, reducing potential delays and ensuring customers received their orders without hassle, even when on the move.