Import and export distributor

The distributor carried $28,000 a month in LTL and FTL freight and had never benchmarked its brokers against the wider market. Telecom, office supplies, and packaging had crept up on top of that.

• LTL and FTL freight
• Cellphones
• Internet and landlines
• Office supplies
• Packaging materials
• Utilities
• Waste removal
• Insurance

• Freight was the standout. A national broker network beat the incumbent mix by more than 7%.
• Two freight brokers consolidated onto one national network. Shipping lanes stayed the same.
• Cellphones moved to a competing carrier. Internet and landlines consolidated from three providers onto one.
• Packaging was rebid. Office supplies moved to a program-priced supplier.

Freight (LTL, FTL)

7% savingsTwo brokers consolidated onto one national network

Packaging materials

8% savingsRebid to a competing supplier

Cellphones

34% savingsMoved to a competing carrier

Telecom (internet, landlines)

34% savingsConsolidated three providers onto one

Office supplies

7% savingsMoved to a program-priced supplier

Freight alone

$25,000/yr

Total recurring

$47,500/yr

5-year value after fees

$190,000

1. 01

   Freight was the whale

   At $28,000 a month, a modest improvement from a national broker network outweighed every other category combined.

2. 02

   High-volume categories still got scrutiny

   Cellphones and internet were not the biggest dollar lines, but a 34% cut on each still added meaningful annual savings.

3. 03

   The supply chain never changed

   Every recommendation was a vendor swap on cost, not a change to sourcing, lanes, or product.