The customer
A Fortune 500 manufacturer with plants and customers across the country. Its products move in high volume on tight schedules, shipping by the pallet and truckload to customers that expect every order on time and complete.
Services: Warehousing & Storage · B2B Distribution
The situation
The manufacturer had been working with a larger logistics provider in the St. Louis market. On paper, that provider had everything: size, a national network, and a low rate.
In practice, the service didn't hold up. [Orders shipped late or incomplete. Inventory counts didn't match. When something went wrong, problems got passed between account reps and nobody owned the fix.]
When those problems started reaching the manufacturer's own customers, it went looking for a new partner and put the business out for a competitive bid.
What was at risk
For a manufacturer this size, the warehouse is part of the supply chain its customers see. A late truck holds up a customer's production line. Bad inventory data means promising product that isn't there.
The manufacturer also had to make the switch without interrupting shipments. Moving inventory from one 3PL to another while orders keep flowing leaves very little room for mistakes.
Choosing a smaller provider was a real question for them. They needed to be sure Clark could handle the volume.
What Clark did
The manufacturer's team toured Clark's St. Louis facility as part of the evaluation. They saw a clean, organized operation and met the people who would actually run their account, including ownership.
Clark won the business and planned the transition with the manufacturer's team so shipments kept moving throughout.
Since then, Clark has:
Received and stored [X] pallets of the manufacturer's inventory
Shipped [X] outbound loads a [week/month] to the manufacturer's customers
Kept inventory accurate with RF scanning at receiving, putaway, picking and shipping
Met the delivery windows and paperwork requirements of the manufacturer's customers
Given the manufacturer real-time inventory and order visibility through the client portal
Kept one consistent team on the account, with a direct line to management when decisions are needed
The result
[X] years and counting since the switch
The manufacturer's problems with late shipments and inventory errors [stopped after the move]. The relationship has [grown/continued] every year since.
[X] Years as the manufacturer's partner
[99.X%] On-time shipments
[99.X%] Inventory accuracy
[X] Pallets handled each year
In the customer's words
"We were with a bigger provider, and we were just another account. At Clark, we know who's running our business, and when something comes up, it gets handled the same day."
[Title], Fortune 500 manufacturer
The takeaway
The size of a 3PL doesn't tell you how your product will be handled. What matters is whether the people running your account take ownership, and whether you can reach someone who can make a decision.
This manufacturer could have chosen any provider in the market. It chose Clark and has stayed.