This content was originally published on SupplyChainDive.com. 

Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight doesn’t require a full truckload, but it does require a full understanding of just how complex it can be to combine several smaller shipments to fill one truck. Transportation providers with that knowledge and experience can do much more than haul LTL freight – they can add value by offering a cost effective and flexible shipping solution.

Staxi is a global company with a global footprint that makes nestable transport chairs for medical facilities, airports and other public places where people who are temporarily immobile or distance-challenged require assisted transportation within the facility.

Challenge

The standard LTL transportation plan Staxi had in place with another carrier was failing. The company needed a better plan and a more suitable system for its chairs. Staxi needed a transportation provider that specialized in simplifying the complexity of LTL shipping and creating customized solutions to meet customer challenges.

The small quantities shipped at a time, coupled with the product’s weight, make Staxi’s transport chairs a challenging commodity to ship. Because of the varying quantity of chairs shipped in each load, a full truckload is usually not required. Sometimes shipments contain just a single chair for smaller facilities such as clinics. At other times, a single shipment may include 40 chairs to be delivered to larger medical and airport facilities. While the chairs can nest together at customer locations for easy storage, to avoid damage they cannot be stacked during transport.

Staxi needed better, more insightful market intelligence in order to develop, produce and deliver its unique products to customers.

Solution

Staxi engaged Landstar as its logistics provider for LTL shipments. Landstar’s streamlined LTL solution began with a comprehensive freight analysis and implementation of an LTL transportation management system (TMS). Landstar provided Staxi with immediate cost savings through better visibility of loads and rates and access to capacity for every shipment. The team at Staxi says they saw instant improvements both in terms of service and cost.

Landstar’s LTL solution empowered Staxi to learn how to make its shipments more cost effective and timely. LTL freight is classified differently than truckload freight. In the LTL world, lighter freight is a higher freight class and costs more to ship. The company was able to reclassify freight into a lower LTL freight class which they expect to result in 13-15% savings.

Using the TMS technology to accurately quote its customers reassured Staxi that the team was providing fair and accurate pricing. Staxi says its customer shipments now arrive on time and it is now able to track its expenditures, better manage its purchases and stabilize costs without expanding resources.

When you don't need an entire truck, Landstar will find the LTL solution that is right for you. Landstar’s market and industry intelligence along with our detail in execution allows us to deliver flexible LTL solutions to every customer’s challenges and drive them forward.