3PL Enhances Competitive Advantage and Strengthens Non-Asset Line of Business with Tier 1 TMS

ODW’s transportation service began as an asset based solution in the 1980s. Over the last decade, ODW’s non-asset based transportation execution has seen phenomenal growth. However, the company’s transportation management system (TMS) was not able to support its goals to acquire new business and offer differentiated services.

The TMS was built in the 1990s for a truckload business, and although ODW tried to make the technology work in a LTL and brokerage environment, it was not a sustainable solution.

In addition to a TMS applicable to the non-asset sides of the business, ODW sought a solution to leverage its in-house database and development expertise.

“We wanted a TMS to take advantage of our knowledge and experience from an IT perspective and to keep our business at the cutting edge,” explained Bill Grannis, director of information technology at ODW Logistics. “And to be honest, we didn’t know if a TMS like that existed in the market.” ODW’s success was built on its competitive advantage that set it apart from the commoditized world of 3PLs: Customized services delivered quickly and in a flexible way that allowed customers to adjust to changing market demands. It was essential that a new TMS support and strengthen these differentiators.

“The TMS had to allow us to deliver our unique services, like creating custom integrations with our carriers. We wanted a solution with a strong rating engine, optimization and open APIs,” said Grannis. “If it forced us to do something the same as everyone else, then we’d be just like every other 3PL. We didn’t want that.”