Customer’s problem

A worldwide washing machine manufacturer had always used 2-3 logistics service providers in an attempt to balance and leverage those 3PL’s operations and cost structures. OOCL Logistics was one of the selected logistics services providers with only a small percentage of total volume.

An operation sequence had been given to all logistics services providers for daily preparation of empty containers and deliver to factories utilizing a JIT (Just-In-Time) process. Unfortunately, there were uncontrollable factors that caused operational delays and extra expense for staff overtime. The operation delays caused trouble in scheduling trucks to meet loading times. Many trucking service providers increased their rates to cover these scheduling issues, or under-utilized trucks.

Solutions

To support more flexible of shipment loading, OOCL Logistics proposed a “Drop & Pull Operation”. Chassis with empty containers and a truck stand by for shipment loading at all times. Fully loaded containers are switched to another shuttle truck for delivery to ports and an empty container arrives at the factory with shuttle trucks back trip.

Customer’s Benefit

With some containers on standby, our customer has more flexibility to load containers whenever goods are ready. The trucking service providers have more utilization and more trips and the process eliminates unnecessary overtime expenses for customer’s warehouse staff.