How Pregis Used Their Data to Drive Operational Improvements

"We were a regionally based logistics organization that was reliant on our carrier base to provide us data and analytics.

Fast forward to today, we have meaningful data tracking, good understanding of where the market is, much better visibility to market pricing, and a strategically aligned carrier base.”

- Brandon Kirk, Director of Logistics, Pregis

Challenge

High growth business expanding manufacturing footprint into new geographic markets with a decentralized, manual logistics operation that provided little visibility into network performance.

Result

Through the implementation of Coyote managed supply chain solutions, Pregis was able to:

Maintain customer service in a tough freight market
Establish and track KPIs
Optimize their carrier base
Automate their tendering process
Gain insight to both their network and the truckload market.

Outgrowing Their Supply Chain

Pregis knew they had outgrown their supply chain operation. As a leading manufacturer of packaging solutions delivering hundreds of just-in-time shipments into enterprise distributors and retailers every day, their outdated processes were no longer cutting it.

When Director of Logistics Brandon Kirk arrived at Pregis in 2017, he was tasked with sourcing a solution that could bring their freight network to the next level.

At the time, Pregis ran their supply chain with a combination of a rating engine integrated to their SAP instance and Excel spreadsheets. The shipping manager would have to manually choose which carrier to use, then call or email the carrier to confirm capacity.

Tendering, tracking and settlement were all manual. There were no system tools to ensure user compliance or check against user error. Analytics were limited to a few basic reports on aggregate spending and lane history.

Pregis' business growth had outpaced its manual supply chain operations.

Sourcing a Solution

After making the decision to invest in a TMS platform, Pregis began a comprehensive bidding process, eventually narrowing it down to a few finalists.

The Pregis network has some unique features; many shipments are extremely time-sensitive and require specialized equipment (vented trailers).

As such, flexibility was a priority, and they ultimately decided that Coyote was the right choice.

We’re demanding because our customer base is demanding. We landed on Coyote because of their flexibility.

According to Brandon, "We landed on Coyote because of flexibility. We knew our business process isn’t the easiest. We’re demanding because our customer base is demanding.

We didn’t really fit into a box that most other providers were trying to push us into.

We felt Coyote gave us the ability to customize more than the competition and ultimately enhance service to our valued customer base.”

Saving Customer Relationships through Better Shipping

Coyote began integrating the customized supply chain solution in 2018, right when the truckload market was entering a period of record rate inflation.

Though it was not an ideal time to implement a new supply chain solution, Coyote helped Pregis mitigate rate inflation, increase tender acceptance, and reduce exposure to an expensive spot market.

According to Brandon, "In terms of operational management, 2018 was an extremely tough market. I think everybody suffered in terms of pricing and service.

If it wasn't for the Coyote operations team, I don't think we would have been able to get product to our customers like we did — we probably would have lost customers without Coyote supporting us during tough times."

"We probably would have lost customers without Coyote supporting us during tough times.”

Implementing Shipper of Choice Tactics

Here are some of the tactics Coyote implemented to help Pregis navigate a volatile freight market:

KPIs: We worked with Pregis to establish the most important network metrics and used our platform to start tracking them.

Carrier Scorecards: With KPIs established, we used them to create weekly carrier report cards for carriers, Coyote and Pregis.

Reason Codes: We helped Pregis start tracking reason codes on delays to discover the “why” behind service failures.

Carrier Strategy: We used KPIs and scorecards to discover which carriers were committed to Pregis’ network and which weren’t, then strategically reduced primary carrier base from 110 to 30.

Automated Tendering: Using Coyote’s technology, Pregis employees were able to reduce redundant, manual tasks and focus on value-adding activities.

Visibility: Coyote’s proprietary platform allows Pregis employees to quote and build shipments, track individual loads, settle payments, review accessorials, and read carrier facility reviews.

Network Optimization: Coyote ran three optimization analyses to explore the potential cost savings for alternative shipping schedules and routes.

Reporting: Pregis employees now have access to a whole suite of customized reporting tools to view network health.

Steering Committee: We host monthly meetings review operational improvements and provide context and action items for network data.

Market Insights: The Coyote team regularly provides analysis of truckload market and how it will affect Pregis’ supply chain.

People, Systems and Procurement

In addition to proprietary technology and a dedicated team of supply chain specialists that act as an extension of Pregis’ team, Coyote also sources critical truckload and LTL capacity to keep their network moving.

Additionally, Pregis often requires drop trailers at destination, so Coyote has configured custom capacity solutions with leased trailers and power only carriers.

Reducing Annual Freight Spend by 17.5%

Cost control and carrier compliance were Pregis’ main focuses during 2018 — the implementation of Coyote’s managed supply chain solution empowered them to significantly improve both.

By reducing the carrier base and gaining operational efficiency, Pregis was in a position to reap the rewards in 2019.

Coyote conducted their 2019 network RFP, bringing Pregis a 17.5% reduction in annual transportation spend.

Continuous Improvement

With the foundation in place, Pregis and Coyote shifted the focus to operational excellence. Now that Pregis can measure and report on core KPIs, we use data to drive improvements.

Coyote's procurement team also ran Pregis' 2020 RFP, and through June of 2020, has helped Pregis reduce their year-over-year transportation spend by another 11.7%.

The Coyote team is constantly working to make Pregis better through several continuous improvement projects.

Pregis and Coyote flow chart