Floor & Decor is a specialty retailer of hard-surface flooring materials with stores nationwide. Their previous logistics model involved using brokers and transactional shipping, which led to unreliable and inconsistent delivery schedules. Norbert Dentressangle took over Floor & Decor's distribution and delivery operations in Texas, implementing a dedicated fleet to guarantee delivery times. This improved reliability and reduced delays caused by traffic. Floor & Decor recognized these benefits, awarding Norbert Dentressangle the "Vendor of the Year" award just 10 months after their partnership began.

1. Our Customer:
Floor & Decor is a leading specialty retailer of hard-surface flooring material. Founded
in 2000, and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Floor & Decor provides both contractors
and consumers access to a wide variety of products sourced directly from their
manufacturers. Products include tile, stone, wood, laminate and vinyl flooring, as well
as the materials needed for installation. Nationwide, their transportation runs primarily
on a transactional/ brokerage-based model.
Laying the Groundwork for a Strong,
Long Lasting Partnership with
Floor & Decor
Results:
Less than one year after taking
over their Texas delivery network,
Floor & Decor’s retail stores
have taken note of the significant
improvements in their delivery
schedules. Our customer has
taken over the management of
their distribution center, moving
operations away from a competing
logistics provider, helping to
regulate the outbound schedules.
With all of these improvements to
their network, Floor & Decor is
already seeing the gap in pricing
close from the non-competitive
transactional/ brokerage model to
the forecasted savings of their new
dedicated network.
Floor & Decor awarded Norbert
Dentressangle with their “Vendor
of the Year” award in January
2015; just ten months after our
partnership began.
Our Solution:
Floor & Decor’s transactional model meant
that their retail stores were not guaranteed a
set, stable delivery time. Stores were at the
mercy of brokered trucks being available
and running on schedule, and drivers who
were not approaching their hours of service
limitations. Additionally, the high traffic
and congestion found in the metropolitan
Texas areas often contributed to delays.
While we knew the proposed dedicated
fleet would benefit our customer, we were
not entirely aware of how severely traffic
congestion, particularly in the Dallas metro
area, impacted drive times. In response to
the traffic problem, Norbert Dentressangle
hired additional drivers and made visits
to our customer’s retail stores. These
visits allowed us to identify which stores
required a live unload and which stores
were capable of accepting drop-and-hook
shipments. Once we had that data, we were
able to map out a delivery schedule that
ensured that our initial plan was able to
become reality.
To assist in our revised plan, Floor &
Decor granted the Norbert Dentressangle
team enhanced access to their web-based
delivery appointment system, allowing
our team first-pick at the available pick-
up times. Our team then worked to adjust
our leave times to miss the heaviest of
traffic times. By identifying stores that
accept the drop-and-hook shipments,
Norbert Dentressangle has been able to
reduce the overall delivery schedule to the
Dallas areas stores by more than an hour
and has been able to realize the backhaul
capabilities we originally identified.
Currently, our fleet consists of nine (9)
trucks, branded with the Floor & Decor
logo, and 13 drivers. The additional
drivers allow us to slipseat, ensuring
we can adhere to our schedule, even if
traffic causes problems with maintaining
compliance with Hours of Service
regulations.
SUCCESS STORY
1275 NW 128th Street Clive, Iowa 50325
800.636.6171
www.norbert-dentressangle.us
The Challenge:
Norbert Dentressangle’s US-based Transportation Logistics Services division initially
engaged Floor & Decor in conversation, looking to add some transactional lanes in the
Texas region. During our early meetings with them, we opened the door to the possibility
of a dedicated contract carriage model, illustrating for them the potential to remain cost-
competitive while improving reliability in terms of both service and capacity. The Texas
market, including Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, is an area where Norbert
Dentressangle already has a strong presence, and by adding a dedicated fleet in that region,
Floor & Decor would be able to benefit from backhaul opportunities from our other
customers. We also forecasted out cost savings that our customer would come to realize as
the dedicated model took hold and matured. We were awarded the business in April 2014,
and began dedicated delivery of 100% of Floor and Decor’s Texas-based freight out of
their distribution center.