Specialty hauler Estes Logistics is reaping the rewards of a 15-year collaboration with logistics technology vendor Descartes Systems Group. Using the tech developer’s cloud-based logistics platform and mobile technology solutions, Estes has grown its dedicated and customized transportation solutions business to more than $500 million in annual revenue from less than $200 million during that time—all while maintaining an on-time delivery rate exceeding 98%.
EARLY ADOPTERS
Estes Logistics is a division of freight carrier Estes Express Lines, and its services include dedicated truckload operations, specialty transportation, and final-mile delivery. Looking to develop that business, company leaders said they needed a scalable, flexible platform that would meet the needs of its diverse customer base, which includes both large retailers and small accounts.
Descartes’ technology offered the perfect solution.
“We were an early adopter of Descartes technology, and we’ve grown together,” Brian James, senior director, pricing and analysis at Estes Logistics, said in a statement describing the partnership that began more than a decade ago.
Estes utilizes Descartes’ Global Logistics Network (GLN) platform—an ecosystem of software solutions that connects hundreds of thousands of logistics, transportation, manufacturing, distribution, retail, government, and e-commerce businesses in more than 160 countries—along with its routing and mobile technology to coordinate and optimize its multifaceted fleet operations.
“Today, the solution manages night-time unattended deliveries, multi-leg deliveries, pool distribution, cross-docking, dedicated deliveries to customer locations, managed transportation from customer distribution centers to stores, and many other services,” James continued. “We can commingle freight for multiple customers on a single truck to drive greater route density, asset utilization, and value-based pricing; allow drivers to scan pictures and signatures and add notes upon delivery; and capture all arrival and departure times to monitor performance and send customers real-time updates on a shipment’s location, status, and progress through the supply chain.”
Estes also uses the solution to model routing for new customer bids—and new business can be onboarded with a simple help desk ticket.
“This level of flexibility and innovation has been critical to our success and ability to compete,” James also said.
COMMITTED USERS
With a fleet of 1,600 drivers nationwide, Estes Logistics uses the Descartes solution to accomplish the following:
- Deliver weekly to thousands of large national customers’ retail stores alongside more than 50 smaller regional customers, on dynamically optimized routes;
- Manage state-controlled liquor delivery from a single distribution center to 440 stores with daily route plans created in less than two hours;
- Execute tens of thousands of weekly final-mile deliveries of commodities ranging from home improvement freight to auto parts and wood byproducts, all with tailored customer workflows;
- Achieve rapid “plug and play” onboarding for new customers as well as new types of business with existing customers, without lengthy IT projects;
- Ensure 100% driver compliance with realistic route plans to consistently meet fleet performance goals.
“Estes Logistics makes broad use of our solutions,” James Wee, general manager, fleet solutions at Descartes, said in the statement. “Their ability to optimize route planning and execution across multiple customers, commodities, and workflows shows the power of technology to manage complex fleet operations. We’re proud of this long-term relationship that has helped to fuel Estes’ growth and set new benchmarks for dedicated fleet performance.”
