The facility of a third-party logistics company (3PL) is a busy place: trailers coming and going, forklifts beeping back and forth, and the constant flurry of customer orders being fulfilled. It might seem chaotic, but there’s a purposeful choreography behind it.
That’s the typical scene at OL Warehouse. The New Jersey-based 3PL primarily handles consolidated import goods from overseas. Most of their customers are e-commerce sellers and manufacturers in China, exporting goods to be sold in the United States.
OL Warehouse’s shipping needs revolve heavily around Amazon and getting tuckloads inbound to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. “Our clients send their products to our warehouse, and we take care of the rest of the logistics including warehousing and distribution domestically,” says Hugo Tan, OL Warehouse’s Chief Operational Officer.
The good news is OL Warehouse has been growing. “The past two years have been the busiest time for our business,” says Tan. Orders have increased exponentially, but with business growth comes shipping complexity.
At the start of the growth period, Tan recognized that there was an opportunity for OL Warehouse to greatly improve their logistics channels for their needs and their clients’ needs. In other words, they needed a freight provider that could scale with them.
So, they turned to Amazon Freight.
“Always picking up the load as scheduled”
In 2020, OL Warehouse began tapping into Amazon Freight’s advanced technology and network of more than 60,000 trailers and carriers. “Amazon Freight has addressed the challenges of the trucking industry…to improve visibility and streamline operations,” says Tan.
What has resulted is steadfast reliability, a precious commodity in transportation when loads need to be shipped safely and on time. “Amazon Freight can always pick up the load as scheduled and secure delivery appointments soon,” says Tan. “The loads that are delivered by Amazon Freight seldom get rejected, which is the biggest concern for us.”
Being able to get early appointment times when OL Warehouse requests a shipment has also made its warehouse “work smoothly” with fewer delays and greater certainty when scheduling loads into the future. And when it comes to tracking their loads, they appreciate the end-to-end visibility and control of their shipments.
Like any shipper, controlling costs is an ongoing concern. Because of how the Amazon network operates and the technology it leverages, Amazon Freight can give shippers confidence they are getting a competitive, transparent, and current rate. According to Tan, Amazon Freight’s pricing and performance help OL Warehouse “optimize their supply chain, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.”
On-demand support
Being able to get help on their shipments when they need it has also been critical.
Early on, their Amazon Freight account manager set them up on dedicated lanes from their warehouse to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. That hands-on service has led to cost and time savings since “all the information we need to provide to book a shipment is less than what we need to provide to the other partners.”
When he has questions about a shipment, Tan has appreciated the ongoing support he has received. Their Amazon Freight account representative has been a valuable resource, “identifying issues and giving valuable insights that help us understand the situation.”
It’s all resulted in a fruitful, long-term collaboration between OL Warehouse and Amazon Freight. In the words of Tan, Amazon Freight understands the needs of their business, and the partnership “has driven OL Warehouse’s success.”
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