A unique supplier base—in this case, a diverse collection of hundreds of small companies—calls for a unique supply chain solution. And, that’s what Tree of Life, a major distributor of natural, organic, specialty, ethnic and gourmet food products, got from DSC Logistics.

Tree of Life knew their LTL shipping in the Northeast was inefficient and costly. They wanted to gain control of their supplier base and bring discipline to the order process. They recognized the need to begin inbound consolidation but didn’t have the ability to do it themselves. So, they decided to partner with DSC. During the inbound consolidation process, DSC reports on what’s happening—“order not ready in time,” “not enough product on hand,” “order cancelled,” any sort of exception or problem—and why, so Tree of Life can better manage orders, supplier compliance and cost efficiency.

In DSC’s creative, individualized solution, all inbound product is brought to DSC’s Logistics Center in Allentown, PA, and shipped out to 11 Tree of Life Centers for distribution. In this cross dock operation, the freight never really goes into inventory. It is held in one section of the warehouse and then sent out in consolidated truckloads from there, coming in and going out in the same form.

To manage the regional TL business, DSC leverages a fleet leased exclusively to DSC, and DSC’s Transportation Center coordinates the partner carriers and manages the customer relationship. DSC’s fleet delivers the inbound full truck loads throughout the week, and the outbound loads, handled by partner carriers, ship out on a pre-set weekly sailing schedule. And, since the trucks carrying the inbound loads for Tree of Life leave the Logistics Center loaded with outbound shipments for other customers, it’s a highly efficient operation.

Tree of Life and DSC see application for this solution in other geographies. In fact, the partners are collaborating on expanding the operation to California. As Tree of Life well knows, this particular solution might be unique to DSC but our responsiveness to our customer’s needs is simply part of our day-to-day business.