How AMMEX gained reliability and reduced damages with FlockDirect®
By choosing Flock, AMMEX Corporation was able to significantly limit damages and save on chargebacks with a reliable shipping partner.
For over 30 years, AMMEX Corporation has sold exam-grade, premium industrial-grade, and lightweight industrial-grade disposable gloves used in medical and industrial environments. With FlockDirect®, AMMEX is able to experience more on-time and damage-free deliveries of these essential products to their end customers and continue improving workplace safety through disposable hand protection.
Key wins
On-time delivery with FlockDirect®
95%
TL costs avoided since 2019
$760k
Terminals skipped
1,670
Emissions avoided
212
metric tons of CO2e
1988
Kent, WA
200+
Workplace safety products
The search for a more reliable shipping solution.
Prior to 2019, AMMEX struggled with unreliable shipping solutions that caused delays and large chargebacks.
“We have many customers with very specific needs, and there are certain criteria they’d like to be adhered to,” says John Martensen, Director of Warehouse & Transportation at AMMEX. “They want their product delivered a certain way and at a certain time, sometimes within a 30-minute window. In this industry, that’s very small.”
If the shipment arrived late, some clients would refuse delivery or apply a chargeback for failure to meet delivery dates and times. The cost of noncompliance was cutting into AMMEX’s revenue, and didn’t align with their customer-first ethos.
“It’s very important to us that customers are happy with our service. We want to exceed their expectations,” says Martensen.
Flock’s team acted fast to find and fix AMMEX’s biggest pain points.
When AMMEX and Flock Freight’s partnership began in 2019, Flock quickly assembled a team to focus on their accounts and manage everything directly, from claims to time in transit. This made a big impression on Martensen.
“From the get-go, Flock has been very proactive,” he says. “The Flock team would provide regular updates in the form of presentations, KPIs, and business reviews as needed. They went above and beyond to ensure that we were informed and that they responded to all of our needs.”
Soon, AMMEX was seeing significant improvements shipping with FlockDirect® — Flock Freight’s terminal-free Shared Truckload (STL) offering — instead of LTL when they needed to meet strict delivery appointments. The corporation started reducing incidents of late and damaged delivery, achieving 97% OTP and 95% OTD.
This translates to big savings on fees related to delivery requirements at the final destination. “Because of Flock’s ability to meet strict delivery requirements, that allowed us to save significant revenue related to claims, fees, fines, and chargebacks,” says Martensen.
“Because of Flock’s ability to meet strict delivery requirements, that allowed us to save significant revenue related to claims, fees, fines, and chargebacks.”
Director of Warehouse & Transportation | AMMEX
On top of that, AMMEX achieved truckload-style service levels without having to pay to reserve a full truck. According to Flock's internal data, AMMEX has saved $760k since 2019 by shipping FlockDirect® instead of paying for a full truckload.
Flock Freight provides terminal-free shipping with STL, finding and filling empty spaces in truckloads so that businesses always get the most efficient routes and never pay for empty air. Shipments stay safe and in a single truck throughout their journey, driven by a single driver all the way to their destination.
But for Martensen, Flock’s hands-on approach has made a significant impact on the business beyond just the numbers.
“It's not only a matter of being on time or having the cheapest rate. When we give Flock our orders to deliver, the ownership and pride in the way they deliver our freight is a good reflection on us as a company,” he says.
“When we give Flock our orders to deliver, the ownership and pride in the way they deliver our freight is a good reflection on us as a company.”
Director of Warehouse & Transportation | AMMEX
AMMEX’s efficiency and sustainability gains go hand in hand.
In addition to maintaining excellent service for their customers, AMMEX is keenly focused on avoiding unnecessary environmental impact within their supply chain. This is one of the reasons AMMEX opts for FlockDirect® service.
By filling trucks to capacity with pooled freight and putting them on the most efficient routes, FlockDirect® shipments skip the hub-and-spoke system and slashes unnecessary carbon emissions. Since beginning to ship FlockDirect® in 2019, Flock estimates that AMMEX has avoided 553.5 metric tons of CO2e emissions — and that has a real world impact.
In the last year alone, AMMEX’s avoided emissions* are equivalent to:
47.3
Passenger vehicles taken off the road for one year
253
Acres of U.S. forests preserved for one year
9,194
Trash bags of waste recycled instead of landfilled
20,864
Gallons of diesel that weren’t consumed
AMMEX’s Flock Freight experience.
Rather than risk damage or delays by moving freight through the LTL system, when the AMMEX team knows they need reliable service, the choice is simple — they ship FlockDirect®. With Flock, AMMEX meets strict delivery requirements and avoids claims without the high price tag of truckload service.
Scaling up during the pandemic ↘
AMMEX scaled significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, making significant gains in market share that led to an increase in their transportation needs. “Orders increased frantically because of the pandemic,” Martensen says. “We were growing exponentially, and little problems could have become much bigger.”
Flock’s team mobilized to help AMMEX meet those escalating demands during the crisis. The team scheduled check-ins and made suggestions for improvement at every step, molding their services to fit AMMEX’s changing needs.
“[Their attentiveness] stood out light years, because there was nobody else at the time that was able or willing to go the extra mile. Oftentimes we would have conference calls and there would be a room full of Flock associates listening to our needs, problems, and providing ideas and solutions,” says Martensen.
Predictable delivery times and undamaged shipments ↘
According to Martensen, Flock is one of the best of the freight providers they use in terms of reliability. He knows that when one of his warehouses books through FlockDirect®, the team will work to ensure that the cargo arrives on time, undamaged.
On the rare occasions when a shipment does have to be rescheduled due to weather or other unavoidable issues, Flock’s team is proactive. They call the AMMEX team ahead of time to alert them and begin working on solutions immediately.
“The customer doesn't know or care that the carrier isn’t AMMEX. What they do care about is that their order arrives on time, as scheduled, and as promised. Flock doesn't give excuses. They simply deliver on their commitments.”
A partnership AMMEX can rely on ↘
From early in the partnership, knowing that Flock was making AMMEX’s deliveries a priority gave Martensen confidence that they could trust Flock with their brand.“As a manager of that part of the business, it’s one less ball that we have to juggle,” he says. “I know that Flock is taking care of things, and whenever I work with a company like that, it reduces the odds of having an unhappy customer.”
“With Flock, we always get the feeling that we’re their number one customer. It's nice knowing that they're going to take care of us, which in turn allows us to take care of our customers.”
Director of Warehouse & Transportation | AMMEX
