Case Studies: How These 3 Businesses Successfully Manage Their Freight Shipping

Businesses’ shipping needs are as unique as the goods they sell. However, many have found that most standard freight management options fall short of their expectations, whether it’s cost, reliability, visibility, or cargo safety. 

Enter FlockDirect^® Shared Truckload (STL) shipping— a freight shipping solution where multiple shippers share space in a single truck, offering cost savings, faster transit times, reduced damage and loss, and environmental benefits.

Below are three businesses that partnered with Flock Freight to improve their overall shipping process. By using STL, each company lowered freight shipping costs, improved on-time delivery performance, and reduced freight damage rates.

For a full list of STL success stories, see our case study overview.

Case Study #1: Waiakea Water

Founded in 2012, Waiakea Water is the world’s first Hawaiian volcanic water company. Headquartered in Hilo, HI, the company’s mission is to provide a healthy, sustainable, and ethical product while doing no environmental harm. The midsize business has since expanded its offerings to include volcanic coffee, grown with an 80% smaller energy and carbon footprint.

The problem

Because Waiakea Water ships from Hawaii to the mainland United States, delivery expenses per case are already higher than average. At more than 15,000 pounds per typical shipment, traditional LTL weight restrictions often forced the company to ship via full truckload (TL)—costing even more in outbound shipping and wasted truck space.

When the company shipped via LTL, limited visibility was a major issue, as its retailers often have mandatory delivery dates and on-time, in-full (OTIF) stipulations.  “With LTL, no one can tell you where your shipment is. We send our LTL shipments early and pray that they’ll arrive on time,” said Tyler Wright, Director of Warehousing & Logistics.

The company’s mission to offer ethically and sustainably produced goods also extends to its shipping choices. As a certified CarbonNeutral^® business, it was critical to find a solution that lowered carbon emissions while also cutting costs.

The solution

Waiakea Water utilized Flock Freight’s FlockDirect^® Shared Truckload (STL) service, which matches shipments with optimized freight routes. Rather than paying for unused truck space, Waiakea Water would only have to pay for the space they actually needed. Their goods would be combined with other shipments going in the same direction, with minimal stops and no on- and off-loading at terminals—all of which reduces the risk of damage and late deliveries, as well as the amount of emissions required to get their shipments to their retailers.

The results

By shipping FlockDirect^®, Waiakea Water lowered its outbound shipping costs by $388K over the course of a year. And because STL shipments stay on one truck with one driver for the entire route, Waiakea Water’s shipments skipped over 4,000 terminals, resulting in a damage-free rate of 99.9% with visibility throughout the entire process. Shipping FlockDirect^® also saved 729 metric tons of carbon emissions by avoiding circuitous routes and multiple trucks on the road.

Read Waiakea Water’s full case study here.

Case Study #2: Dirty Labs

Dirty Labs is an eco-friendly household products company. Their chemically innovative cleaning products utilize natural bio-enzymes to clean without employing harmful petrochemical agents or harsh synthetics. With safety and sustainability as pillars of their brand, Dirty Labs is a small business on a mission to “raise the bar for performance, safety, and sustainability.”

The problem

In addition to shipping direct-to-consumer, Dirty Labs uses Amazon distribution for more than half of its products. However, getting their goods over to Amazon proved difficult. Despite utilizing Amazon’s own carrier network, Dirty Labs frequently experienced frustrations with Amazon’s appointment system. Delayed pickups led to significant revenue loss, stock outages, and unexpected (and unnecessary) warehousing fees. Deliveries also took longer than necessary; when partnered with a large LTL carrier, Dirty Labs’ shipments took around 10 days to deliver to Amazon.

According to Carlos Estrada, Dirty Labs’ Director of Operations, “Late Amazon deliveries pose risks to our business, specifically by slowing down sales and costing us potential revenue.”

The solution

Flock Freight’s terminal-free FlockDirect^® service offered Dirty Labs lower rates plus better efficiency for shipping their products to Amazon’s distribution centers. Because Shared Truckload shipping optimizes and combines shipments along the same route, small shipments can move as soon as they are ready. This reduces warehousing costs, damage risk, and unpredictable pickups and deliveries.

The results

Shipping via Shared Truckload helped Dirty Labs avoid $200K in estimated revenue loss over 12 months and reduced transit time by 70%. Rather than deliveries taking an average of 10 days, FlockDirect^® lowered that to just 2-3 days between shipment and arrival. The company can reliably deliver its goods on time, meet strict appointment slots, and avoid costly backlogs and product shortages.

By skipping around 175 LTL terminals and traveling on a direct route via one truck, Dirty Labs has also prevented around six metric tons of carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere, furthering its commitment to environmental sustainability and safety.

Read Dirty Labs’ full case study here.

Case Study #3: Orgain

Founded in 2008, Orgain produces organic food and beverage products that promote clean and healthy nutrition. Their protein and collagen powders, protein bars, and nutrition drinks include hand-selected, cleanly-sourced ingredients without sacrificing on taste. Its plant-based protein powder has grown so widely in popularity that Orgain has become one of the top protein brands in the United States.

The problem

Orgain often ships midsize freight of more than six pallets, but not enough to fill an entire truck. When trying to ship via less than truckload (LTL), they ran into carriers imposing linear foot caps, thereby limiting how many pallets they would carry. This forced Orgain to pay for full truckload shipping, despite not needing that much space.

When they were able to meet LTL carriers’ space requirements, their goods were often delayed or damaged upon arrival, with some deliveries getting lost entirely. Limited visibility into the process led to unreliable transit windows and unpredictability all around.

The solution

The FlockDirect^® hubless STL service was ideal for midsize shipments like Orgain’s. By pooling the company’s 6+ pallets with other shipments to create a full truckload, Flock Freight could save Orgain from paying for a half-empty truck themselves. Rather, they would only pay for the space they used. And by shipping directly without terminals, the previous issues of damage and loss would be significantly mitigated.

The results

With FlockDirect^®, Orgain saved an estimated 22% in shipping costs, as they no longer needed to book full trucks for midsize shipments. The hubless Shared Truckload routes have avoided 1,685 terminals during transit over the course of 12 months, resulting in a 100% damage-free delivery rate and preventing approximately 537 metric tons of carbon emissions from harming the environment.

Additionally, Flock offers Orgain more optionality for their shipments. In instances where they prefer partial truckload (PTL) or LTL shipping, Flock helps connect them to reliable drivers from our network to meet those needs.

Read Orgain’s full case study here.

Summary: Innovative shipping solutions for any business

From small businesses to large, each of these companies’ shipping needs is unique—and the solutions should not be one size fits all. FlockDirect^® has helped all three companies optimize their processes and increase efficiencies, from cost savings to damage reduction and more. Flock can help address your business’s pain points and deliver reliable results you can count on.