A Top 25 freight carrier reduces costs and improves service with a DATAMARK transportation document processing solution.

1. Top 25 Freight Carrier
Reduces Costs and Improves
Service With DATAMARK
Transportation Document
Processing Solution
Freight Carrier
Case Study
www.DATAMARK.net

2. CASE SUMMARY
This Top 25 U.S.-based freight carrier serves the continental U.S. as well as
Mexico and Canada. The recent economic downturn presented a number of
challenges for this carrier, including increased competition due to excess
capacity, lower tonnage per shipping lane and volatile fuel costs. The company
needed ways to reduce and control its operating costs while maintaining its
ability to deliver best-in-class service to its clients.
The carrier turned to DATAMARK for a transportation document processing
solution. DATAMARK used its business process re-engineering and Lean Six
Sigma expertise to streamline workflows and eliminate wasteful process steps.
DATAMARK also leveraged its global delivery centers to reduce costs while
maintaining strict quality control standards.
The business process management solution was implemented using
DATAMARK's proven Evolution Solution™ and Process Migration Methodology™
to seamlessly transition to an outsourced process.
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
The company was experiencing the following issues:
• Errors in critical fields in documents required for load factoring and
billing as well as Haz-Mat instructions and accessorial charges
• Limited training materials coupled with complex services made it
difficult to maintain a competent, yet cost effective, work force
• Inbound and Outbound “cut times” were not being met
• Near round-the-clock processing requirements mandated staffing
multiple shifts, which introduced additional costs and unplanned
overtime
The company realized that it had to address these issues
immediately to effectively manage its operating expenses while
meeting or exceeding customer expectations.
Critical Need: Faster Turnaround Time
The company’s key service delivery and performance metrics are based on
efficient bill processing on a daily basis. Delays have a negative downstream
impact on several functions, including delayed customer invoicing, increased
terminal time for drivers, delayed loading and unloading of trailers, unnecessary
dock personnel overtime, and missed hot shipment guarantees.
THE SOLUTION
The company partnered with DATAMARK to implement a transportation
document processing solution leveraging a blend of skilled onshore and
offshore bill entry resources to solve the company’s critical billing issues.
DATAMARK used its
business process re-
engineering and
Lean Six Sigma
expertise to
streamline
workflows and
eliminate wasteful
process steps.
DATAMARK also
leveraged its global
delivery centers to
reduce costs while
maintaining strict
quality control
standards.
2 ©2012 DATAMARK, Inc www.DATAMARK.net

3. DATAMARK employed a team of business process re-engineering specialists
to examine the carrier's transportation document processing workflow to
identify wasteful steps, bottlenecks and quality issues. After documenting the
company's "as-is" process, the team used Lean Six Sigma efficiency and
quality control methodologies to design an improved process.
The new process was implemented using DATAMARK's Evolution Solution™
and Process Migration Methodology™ (PMM) to maintain quality and
customer service during the transition to the DATAMARK-managed process.
RESULTS
1. Resource efficiencies
DATAMARK quickly employed a blend of global resources whose transactional
throughput steadily improved beyond the carrier's established guidelines.
DATAMARK employed groups of personnel working first and second shift in the
U.S. and India to process transportation documents 24/7. Using personnel on
first or second shift reduces errors and unnecessary overtime.
2. Turnaround-time improvements
DATAMARK employs a “Clean Desk” policy in all of its operations to ensure work
is completed the day it arrives. The company had hard business stops for
accounting purposes that required flexible staffing due to daily volume
fluctuations and a variety of bill types. Prior to DATAMARK, these fluctuations
were handled with part-time personnel or overtime, which DATAMARK
eliminated. DATAMARK also instituted an activity-based compensation program
anchored by quality, which rewarded employees for higher production. As long
as quality is within tolerance, then speed is measured for eligibility in this
program.
3. Error rates reduced by more than 10 percent
At transition, error rates at the customer’s end were far above industry norms.
DATAMARK’s compensation, coupled with its extensive analysis and corrective
action program, steadily reduced error rates over the first six months of the
project and still do so today. The PMM transition methodology includes the
development of a unique training curriculum that certifies DATAMARK staffers
as they advance to more complex steps in a business process. During this phase,
trainees are 100 percent audited and only placed in production roles after
meeting strict quality and throughput criteria.
4. Company’s expenses reduced
Improved accuracy and throughput reduced the company’s
business costs as it eliminated billing errors that led to
DATAMARK was
able to quickly
employ a blend of
global resources
whose transactional
throughput steadily
improved beyond
the carrier's
established
guidelines.
DATAMARK
employed groups of
personnel working
first and second shift
in the U.S. and India
to process
transportation
documents 24/7.
3 ©2012 DATAMARK, Inc www.DATAMARK.net

4. wasted trips and shipment charges, wrong address delivery,
driver layover time and dock personnel overtime.
5. Improved productivity
The carrier's process for generating unloading manifests was inefficient, and it
was common for dock personnel to be idle while waiting for a manifest that
would allow them to unload incoming trailers and load outgoing trailers.
DATAMARK re-engineered the process to reduce significant delays in receiving
required documents, which improved the productivity of dock personnel.
6. Customer satisfaction and bottom line revenue
impact
The net result for the company is that it has been able to focus
on its core business while offering customers greater value through faster
turnaround and nearly error-free billing. The company views this partnership
with DATAMARK as a key competitive differentiator because it improves
customer service and directly supports their customer loyalty programs.
Equally important, this partnership has already delivered six-figure cost savings
and significantly reduced the number of revenue adjustments.
TRANSITION OPTIONS
Although most executives understand the benefits of outsourcing non-core
business processes, it is often difficult to make that decision because of the
possible negative consequences of employee layoffs. While outsourcing is often
associated with downsizing, it doesn’t have to be. DATAMARK offers transition
options that allows experienced and talented staff to retain their positions,
rebadged as DATAMARK employees.
To learn how DATAMARK helped a Fortune 100 company realize the
advantages of outsourcing while avoiding mass layoffs, download the case
study at:
http://info.datamark.net/Compassionate-Outsourcing-Case-Study.html
About DATAMARK
Founded in 1989, DATAMARK is the strategic business process outsourcing
partner for Top 10 companies across several industry sectors, including
transportation and logistics, healthcare, insurance, banking and financial
services. With onshore and offshore centers, DATAMARK delivers process
optimization, technology and Enterprise Content Management solutions to
help organizations achieve efficiency and profitability in all back-office
business functions.
The company views
this partnership with
DATAMARK as a key
competitive
differentiator
because it improves
customer service
and directly
supports their
customer loyalty
programs.
Equally important,
this partnership has
already delivered
six-figure cost
savings and
significantly reduced
the number of
revenue adjust-
ments.
4 ©2012 DATAMARK, Inc www.DATAMARK.net