To help food manufacturers deliver on time and avoid fines, RLS Logistics unveiled day-specific temperature-controlled, less-than-truckload (LTL) service to select grocery warehouses nationwide.
According to RLS vice president, business development, John Gaudet, “RLS is raising the bar for temperature-controlled LTL distribution by offering a service other carriers and transportation providers won’t because they’re not willing to risk it or upset their established schedules. By committing to day-specific service, we’re making a commitment to our partners and putting skin in the game.”
Accomplishing the feat of picking up perishable products nationwide, moving them safely across the country and delivering them to retailers on a set delivery day is an achievement that has been years in the making.
According to Gaudet, “We’ve been building our model since the early ’90s. The network built over that time has allowed us the sheer volume to be able to do it. It’s also a product of our cold chain experience and knowledge—and our technological advancement has been a huge factor as well.”
As the retail industry strives for more efficiency, RLS is banking on day-specific delivery.
“This is where the industry wants it to go, and there are many other retailers out there that are establishing similar policies,” Gaudet says. “It took some time for the big ship to turn, but you’re going to see more and more retailers and foodservice organizations go that direction—including smaller ones.”
For growth-minded manufacturers, day-specific delivery is becoming the price of entry for landing and maintaining lucrative contracts with large retailers. Rather than just providing a new cost of doing business, RLS’s service provides a value that supports the manufacturer’s bottom line. In addition to reducing the cost of late penalties and fees, RLS’s day-specific service is priced competitively.
“It’s not going to cost more than traditional LTL,” Gaudet explains. “So, when you couple in the reasonable price with the value, it’s a no-brainer.”
Through the planned expansion of its day-specific service to more foodservice and retail distribution centers throughout the United States, RLS is on track for raising the bar for temperature-controlled LTL service standards for the entire industry.
