A national beverage client engaged CRA to source solution for an warehouse consolidation program that could support their plant for year-round business as well as seasonal builds. The client had been flexing in several buildings over the past few years with different 3PLs and paying a premium for the warehouse and shuttle costs.
As a single source solution to our clients, CRA identified all direct lease space and 3PL space in the market place and worked with our client’s logistics team to evaluate the best sites to minimize shuttle costs from the plant and optimize deliveries to key distribution points. CRA evaluated client operated, client leased/3PL operated, 3PL leased/3PL operated, and 3PL public warehouse scenarios to provide our client with benchmark financial analysis across all the options available in the market. Through CRA’s efforts, our client was able to secure a long term lease on an building before it ever hit the market.
CRA’s procurement process lead to a solution that provided a 14% reduction in transportation costs and a 21.5% reduction in offsite warehousing costs to support this plant (over $300,000 in annual savings). The ability to leverage real estate and 3PL solution simultaneously in the marketplace provided our client the leverage needed to secure the lowest economics and the best warehouse to support their operations for years to come.