Retail case study
Regional Retail Chain: 38% freight cost reduction
Eleven monthly supplier shipments consolidated into two planned containers with a single clearance each.
The challenge
What was going wrong
The retailer bought from eleven suppliers across three sourcing markets, shipping each order separately as soon as it was ready. Every consignment carried its own freight minimum, clearance fee and delivery charge, and arrival dates were unpredictable enough that stores routinely ran gaps on promoted lines just as marketing spend went live behind them. Finance could see the total freight bill each month but had no reliable way to forecast it, because the shipment count and timing varied supplier by supplier.
38%
lower freight cost
0
demurrage days incurred
2
planned sailings per month
The solution
How the programme was built
01
Origin consolidation
Bromley Logistics received supplier cargo into origin consolidation points against a fixed weekly cut-off, then loaded it into planned containers rather than shipping each supplier order the moment it was ready.
02
Single clearance per consignment
Classification was codified per SKU during onboarding, allowing entries to be lodged before arrival and release issued against the berthing window rather than after discharge.
03
Store-level distribution
Arriving cargo was cross-docked and distributed to branches on retailer delivery windows with proof of delivery per store, replacing the ad-hoc collection arrangements the retailer had used previously.
04
Ongoing account governance
A monthly performance review between the retailer's supply chain team and their Bromley Logistics account manager tracks freight cost per unit, on-time arrival and any exceptions, so the programme keeps improving rather than settling for the initial gain.
“We went from chasing eleven shipments to reviewing two. The cost saving was the headline, but the predictability changed how we plan promotions.”
Supply Chain Manager, Regional Retail Chain
Services used
What this programme combined
RetailIn operation
Inside the operation behind this result
The Regional Retail Chain programme ran on the same operating model used across Bromley's client base: named account team, transparent costing and one accountable point of contact.
Sea FreightProgramme results
What the numbers reflect
38%
lower freight cost
0
demurrage days incurred
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