At Cornerstone, we focus on solutions and not just preset procedures.  One of our core values is “Never Satisfied – We Will Continuously Seek Improvement” and we take that very seriously.  When our experienced staff is on site, they immerse themselves into the customer’s daily freight program, helping to identify ways to increase efficiencies and save money.  Here are just four examples of how we helped our customers.

• On-site Cornerstone personnel developed a regional shipping schedule for one client, saving them approximately $20,000 per month.
• On-site Cornerstone personnel converted LTL orders into stop-offs in route to truckload carriers, ultimately cutting costs for that customer.
• On-site Cornerstone personnel assumed management of all highway-to-steamship shipments, eliminating unnecessary fees and reducing overall costs for that particular client.
• On-site Cornerstone personnel identified opportunities for roundtrip shipping patterns, thereby improving reliability of transit and overall costs.

Never thought about on-site logistics as an option?  There are many ways having our staff on site will help, but here is a typical day at one of our current customers to give you an idea on how we help them. 

• At this particular customer we review open orders and available product to fill those orders.  Our primary purpose is to plan multiple-stop truckload shipments to save money, compared to sending all orders out via LTL.  We provide the warehouse with a list of orders to ship that day and available material in the system for those orders.  When the warehouse has physically confirmed actual material and staged it for shipping, we release the orders for fulfillment, and allocate the freight to match multi-stop truckload configuration.  The warehouse then prepares the bill of ladings for the shipment, and we dispatch the trucks for pick up.  Next we plan orders for the following two business days, track the departed trucks, and verify deliveries.  Shipping days are planned based on regional fulfillment, so as to maximize consolidation into multi-top truckloads.
• We also capture and analyze their load optimization daily, monthly and long term. 
  • Total cost per pound
  • Consolidation cost per pound
  • Cost per pound for each mode of transport
  • Regional cost per pound
  • Consolidation savings (cost of stop-off vs cost of LTL)
  • Average shipment weight
  • Average truckload weight

The advantages of having Cornerstone personnel on site are endless. Nothing beats being located directly where the action is, day after day.  We maintain familiarity with the product, warehouse capacity, and loading procedures which enable us to maximize the carrier’s service.  Matching not only the best geographical destinations with the carriers who need that destination region, but also the ideal carrier for the type of shipment being produced.  An example of this would be using local carriers to drop and hook select shipments, but then choosing the strongest multi-stop carriers for a live-load shipment out of the same facility. 

While on site, our personnel are able to capture and measure all kinds of data, crunching numbers to analyze performance and cost breakdowns for you.  Here are some examples:

• Carrier Management and Performance, On-Time Performance, Consolidation Efficiencies
• Comprehensive Review of All Product Available to Ship
• Scheduled Shipment Reports Including Schedule Conflicts and Transportation Mode
• Monthly Summary of Total Spending, Savings and Transportation Mode

Our on-site personnel handle customs paperwork for both imports and exports to and from Mexico and Canada on a daily basis.  While we do not produce these documents, we are familiar with the requirements.  Therefore, we are adept at identifying any missing information, and facilitating communication between our clients, their customs brokers, and the carriers.  That includes waterborne shipments between the U.S. and Mexico.