If you work in logistics at a company that sells water bottles, there’s no humor when your operations experience a “bottleneck.” Such backups send kinks throughout the supply chain and delay customer deliveries. That’s what Joel McAllister of HydroJug faced on a weekly basis before they started using Amazon Freight.
It’s been a side effect of the popularity of their product. “We’ve experienced 450% year-over-year growth,” says McAllister, HydroJug’s Director of eCommerce. “The sales success has been fantastic to experience but also led to challenges with inventory management and keeping our orders flowing smoothly.”
The company produces water bottles of all sizes and trends. From insulated shakers to can coolers, their bottles meet the growing demands of consumers to have reliable and leak-proof containers to stay hydrated. Much of their business comes from online purchases. McAllister oversees all website sales and fulfillment, as well as off-site digital storefronts including Amazon.com.
Keeping the bottles flowing
The explosion in growth led to increased demands on HydroJug’s freight shipping capabilities. It’s a near constant flow of goods, especially during peak times such as Amazon Prime Day. “When my team is prepping a trailer full of pallets, I typically have four more orders behind it ready to go next.”
When McAllister started using Amazon Freight to get their shipments inbound to Amazon fulfillment centers, the results were immediate. “Within days, our inventory management and backups improved dramatically,” says McAllister. “We could see our stock rates getting better and our processing times at fulfillment centers getting faster – overall all our inflows to Amazon were just smoother.”
Part of that smoothness comes from Amazon Freight’s easy-to-use online portal. McAllister and his team are able to log in, enter their origin and destination, and get quotes up to 14 days out. He can toggle between full truckload and less-than-truckload options, depending on the shipment.
When loads are on the road, he values Amazon Freight’s operations team. They are always at the ready to support HydroJug’s shipments. “We understand disruptions are inevitable in transportation,” says McAllister. “The key is to respond to them swiftly and deliver a resolution, and that’s what the Amazon Freight operations team does.”
At the end of the day, with Amazon Freight, HydroJug is able to rely on a provider who can match their growth. They can tap into Amazon’s 70,000+ dry van trailers and advanced tech to move their loads swiftly and reliably. “I’ve been nothing but confident in Amazon Freight’s ability to execute on our growth.”
Get started
If you want to tap into the Amazon network for your freight needs, just like HydroJug, create an account. You can start quoting loads right away and put Amazon’s trailers and advanced tech to work for your business.
