Case Studies

M. Watson Law
Uncommon Goods
Replacements, Ltd.

M. Watson Law

Problem

M. Watson Law is a full service law firm that strictly represents mortgage lenders and servicers. The services the firm provides range from foreclosure, bankruptcy representation and evictions to REO closings and title insurance.

M. Watson began experiencing service shortfalls with their incumbent air service provider FedEx; however, due their particularly high shipment volume it was impossible for them to accurately assess their carrier performance. The extremely time-sensitive nature of mortgage and closing documents made it imperative that this situation be addressed promptly.

PMAC's Solution

Initially, PMAC was commissioned for the shipments inclusive of M. Watson’s 06.02.09 invoice date. Our evaluation demonstrated a service shortfall equal to 14.6% of Watson’s overall shipment costs (refer to graph). PMAC reconciled these late refunds for M. Watson as credits on their invoices.

M Watson Law Chart Showing Carrier Service Improvement The Result

Since the onset of a comprehensive audit of M. Watson’s shipments, the carrier’s service performance has never dipped below a 1.6% failure rate. M. Watson’s customers, mortgage bankers, brokers and lenders are experiencing a huge improvement in the timely delivery and receipt of their extremely time-sensitive documents.

Holding carriers to a high standard of service delivery commitments ALWAYS improves shipper service levels and customer satisfaction.

UncommonGoods

Problem

UncommonGoods, an online marketplace offering creative merchandise at affordable prices, was considering UPS Basic service for the shipment of its products to customers. They first needed to determine whether they could qualify for the UPS Basic service, which ships packages to the nearest local United States Post Office for final delivery. If they qualified, UncommonGoods required assistance renegotiating its current contract to include UPS Basic service.

PMAC’s Solution

To evaluate whether UncommonGoods would qualify and benefit from UPS Basic service, PMAC started by performing a detailed analysis estimating the total volume of shipments that would be eligible. Next, PMAC calculated the projected savings as a result of substituting their current UPS Ground shipments with UPS Basic. Lastly, PMAC measured the net impact of a new contract, taking into account the anticipated loss of incentives due to the change.

The Result

Thanks to help from PMAC, UncommonGoods saves thousands of dollars each year on their shipping.

Client Feedback

Dear Rich,

We get a lot of sales pitches full of promises. All too often, the promises are empty. We selected Parcel Management Auditing and Consulting because we believed you would be different. That you really would personally be involved in our account and help resolve any challenges we faced. Today, we had a time-sensitive research issue that we were struggling to answer on our own. You stepped in, no questions asked, and quickly gave us all the information and insight that we needed to make our decision. I wish we had more vendor partners like you.

Sincerely,

David Bolotsky
Founder and CEO, UncommonGoods

Replacements, Ltd.

Problem

Replacements, Ltd. sells one the world's largest selections of old and new dinnerware through the Internet and their 415,000 square foot facility in North Carolina. The company ships over a half million packages each year, many fragile in nature, and wanted to recapture every credit possible for service failures, damaged merchandise, incorrect billings and overcharges.

PMAC's Solution

PMAC provided auditing services through weekly updates of shipping data from the carrier, and provided access to its proprietary Parcel Ally web application so that Replacements, Ltd. could gain detailed visibility into service performance. PMAC also assisted Replacements, Ltd. in negotiations with their carrier to secure more favorable rates.

The Result

The result of PMAC’s intervention was a cost savings of thousands of dollars.

Client Feedback

Dear Mr. Michals,

This letter is to let you know how extremely pleased we have been with the outstanding service you and your team has given us here at Replacements Ltd. The wonderful tools and guidance that you have provided has assisted our company in saving thousands of dollars. PMAC is the best auditing and consultant firm that Replacements Ltd has worked with over the past several years. My department was responsible for shipping over 600,000 packages during the year of 2008. Your company was a tremendous help by providing cost savings tips and billing analysis which has assisted us with contract negotiations and quarterly meetings with many different shipping carriers throughout the USA.

Mr. Michals, both you and Joanna have monitored our carrier invoices and provided excellent advice concerning our shipping systems and tools. With your guidance, we've been able to align our shipping methods and processes with new and upcoming technologies currently on the market. As mentioned before, we've saved thousands of dollars because of Joanna's tenacity and diligence in her pursuit to obtain credits due to our company for service failures, incorrect billings, and overcharging.

In today's environment of too much to do and not enough time to accomplish all that we want and need to do; it's wonderful knowing that PMAC is taking most of the pressure off of us in this area. On a weekly basis we receive many invoices, but knowing that PMAC is on the job, I just wait and write the check. Your hard work has not gone without notice and gratitude is felt by me and my staff on a daily basis.

I personally want to thank you Rich, Joanna, Jonathan and the rest of your team on the outstanding job you have done for us. We are truly pleased with your company and the service you provide to us. Keep doing what you're doing and keep working on behalf of all your customers; I'm sure you will continue to uncover many more savings down the road.

Michelle A. Davis
Supervisor - Order Processing
Replacements, Ltd.