Case Studies

“Our primary role in the organization is to provide our clients with transportation solutions which help support their supply chain requirements to and from our warehouses and throughout their network,” says Todd Lanter, Director of Transportation Services for Henningsen. 

Prior to his current role, Lanter had experience with a proprietary transportation management system (TMS) and Oracle. When he started with Henningsen, transportation was largely managed using a series of spreadsheets. To update this method, Henningsen subscribed to the TMS program in October 2012 through a software provider that 360data acquired in 2015. 

“In my opinion, out-of-the-box TMS applications, are not typically built with third party functionality in mind and tend to be rigid,” Lanter says. “The platform was able to demonstrate a reliable rating engine for both buy and sell, among other things. More importantly, when we approached them with desired enhancements to the platform, the programming team approached the ideas with a can-do attitude that made all the difference to me.”

Tools of the Trade

Henningsen stayed with 360data through the software provider transition and continues to use the TMS platform today. With 360data, the transportation provider manages nearly all aspects of the business. Key areas of functionality for Henningsen include: 

• Load tender/acceptance
• Buy/sell rate management
• Freight audit payment/billing
• Data set query and export

 “The 360data TMS has allowed Henningsen’s associates to work more efficiently and effectively,” says Lanter. “With the available tools, we set up daily carrier update request notifications and internal exceptions reporting, which drives coordinator/carrier communication to keep our shipments progressing toward on time pick-up and delivery, which is at the core of our business success.”

The Customer is Always Right

While many Tier 1 TMS providers often provide less flexible features and standardized support, 360data tailors its solutions directly to the needs of its clients. Customer service is a key focus for 360data, and it has not gone unnoticed. 

“The 360data team is the primary differentiating factor of the program. In instances when the system is not responding as expected, the support staff is at the ready to diagnose and address the issue. They also go further and educate the user as to why the system responded as such, which affords the user a deeper knowledge of the system for better future execution,” Lanter says. 

Henningsen’s main business involves providing tailored solutions to its own customers, which means their TMS must be flexible enough to accommodate these varying needs. Fortunately, the 360data support team is always prepared to configure the solution in any way Henningsen needs. 

“Given our ‘client solutions’ value proposition, configurations to the TMS may be necessary to support the client’s requirements,” says Lanter. “Correct translation of business requirements into system configuration requirements are paramount to success. The 360data support team is proficient in this critical area. Whether it be EDI communication, carrier notifications, special mileage or fuel agreements, or user interface changes, the 360data support team’s can-do attitude is essential.”

Transportation Management System from 360data

Since its implementation in 2012, the 360data TMS has become a critical tool in the daily operations of Henningsen Transportation Services. The platform’s capabilities and flexibility set it apart from many other competitive solutions, while the superior customer service provided by the 360data team make them an ideal technology partner. 

“I would recommend 360data, and I do,” says Lanter. “My recommendation is based on my experience with the 360data resources and program. Each company has their own requirements for a TMS and only they can communicate those goals. However, when the conversation around TMS is on the table, I’m quick discuss the benefits of 360data from my perspective.” 

For more information about the 360data TMS or our other solutions, please contact us online or call us at 920-707-3601.

M2 already had a Transportation Management System (TMS) in place, but it was an older brokerage-style model that didn’t offer as much functionality as the 3PL’s growing operation required. To solve this problem, M2 Logistics shopped around the Tier-1 TMS market and decided on 360data. They had already had dealings with WSI, 360data’s sister company, and respected the organization’s reputation as a strong partner.

 “We did consider several other TMS platforms,” said Joe Klim, senior vice president of supply chain operations at M2. “360data provides the same baseline capabilities as Tier 1 providers—however, they do it a significantly lower price.”

 M2 Logistics also found the 360data integration process to be an agreeable one, and even with a few changes and shifting realizations about requirements along the way, full implementation was achieved in under two months.

 “At first, we were evaluating the system as a ‘middleware’ solution, providing a single-entry point for all our customers. Second, we wanted an integrated data repository that would collect data from all our systems in one database. We decided to use the TMS functionality of the system as it became evident that another TMS would take longer to implement and be very costly,” Klim said.

 In addition to the financial savings M2 has seen, one of the greatest benefits of choosing 360data has been the trusted team that comes along with it. The 360data team is dedicated to ensuring they meet the needs of all their partners.

 “They are customer service focused,” Klim said. “Always willing to help. We have suggested many improvements to the system, and rather than nickel-and-diming us as many providers would do, they saw the value of the enhancement and made the changes. They take a true partnership approach and do more than give lip service to the term ‘partnership.’”

One of the nation’s top greeting cards producers, with thousands of vendors, numerous manufacturing facilities, multiple distribution centers and tens of thousands of retail locations, faced a need to streamline its outdated transportation systems to keep up with current order volume. 

Using the 360data TMS, we established a cloud-based community for the client. The client gave glowing reviews of the 360data TMS, including the minimal expense needed for implementation. The client also appreciated that no internal IT support is required for the TMS. After 360data implemented the TMS, the client was able to eliminate its legacy system and quickly respond to changing rules. When the client wants the functionality of the 360data TMS enhanced, the 360data team will roll out product upgrades to all parties and vendors using the software. 

360data “delivered” the hosted solution the client desired, along with web expertise, carrier communication links and extensive industry experience. Implementing the 360data TMS ultimately achieved compliance, reduced manual labor expenses and established cost savings for the client.

So, the client employed 360data’s cloud-based Transportation Management System and an external routing and scheduling software. 

The combined solution exceeded the client’s desires, cutting the $/lb freight delivery cost by more than 50 percent, for a savings of nearly one million dollars a year. The 360data TMS greatly contributed to this combined savings, offering vastly improved cost visibility and control. The route optimization, enabled by the combination of 360data and external routing software, cut routing and dispatch labor hours by more than 40 percent.

When a chemical distributor decided to replace its existing technology with 360data’s B2B Integration platform to improve connectivity and streamline communication, it was not a decision made overnight. 

The company’s IT manager recognized shortfalls in the organization’s internal solutions and processes. These shortfalls included poor customer connectivity, slow rate of connecting new trading partners and high costs to support these processes. In addition to its internal technology, the company used a contractor’s services to onboard new trading partners.

"We were heavy on manual processes; we had no consistency with how orders were received among all our trading partners; and we had bottlenecks for bringing on new ones," the company's IT manager said. "And then there was the issue of cost. We needed to streamline."

Trial period yields impressive results

After evaluating vendors, the client conducted a trial period with 360data’s B2B Integration platform to onboard one of its newer customers. After the smooth and successful completion of the trial, the client decided to transition fully to 360data B2B Integration. 

From a cost perspective alone, the client eliminated its internal servers, as well as the need for contractor services. Its overall IT budget reduced 10 percent. Internally, the client eliminated manual data entry, improved efficiency of adding new trading partners and documents, and improved accessibility to its data. The significant value delivered by 360data B2B Integration exceeded the client’s requirements and expectations. The B2B Integration delivered cost savings and was easy to use. 

When a leading third-party logistics provider's internal team began experiencing issues with the company's three transportation management systems, plus an internal system, it needed a proficient solution. The provider handles several thousands of shipments daily for dozens of customers and using hundreds of carriers. The diversity of their TMS programs, combined with their large carrier base and shipment volume, often resulted in the incorrect TMS receiving carrier data and tracking and payment updates. 360data implemented its B2B Integration platform, connecting all of the client's carriers to the 360data B2B platform. The 360data platform cleans and matches all incoming carrier data and communications before passing them along to the client's TMS programs. The 360data B2B Integration platform also queues unmatched documents from carriers, providing the client complete visibility for all carrier documents, as well as the ability to search them. Additionally, the 360data B2B Integration implementation includes a unique portal to route carrier activity for all of the client's TMS programs. This portal executes carrier-side shipment activities, like shipment acceptance and status updates. The client's TMS handles all shipper interactions.

360data streamlines processes, scales with company growth

The 360data B2B integration vastly simplified the process of adding or removing a TMS as the client grew or terminated vendor relationships. The company gained a customized technology platform to scale with its growth and enhance its processes as the business evolves.