MidWest Distribution Co.: $180K Saved in Year One
How a mid-size 3PL slashed annual logistics spend using AI route optimisation — with full payback in month two.
Company Background
MidWest Distribution Co. is a third-party logistics provider based in Chicago, managing freight for 40+ manufacturing and retail clients across the Midwest. With $4.2M in annual freight spend and a 35-vehicle fleet, they were leaving significant money on the table through manual routing and suboptimal carrier selection.
The Challenge
Route planning was done manually by a team of three dispatchers using spreadsheets and Google Maps. The process took 2–3 hours each morning and produced routes that left an average of 18% of vehicle capacity unused. Carrier selection for LTL shipments was based on habit rather than live market rates, resulting in consistent overpayment.
The operations team knew they were paying too much — they just didn't have the tooling to prove it or fix it systematically.
The Solution
AI Route Optimisation
Multi-stop route planning with live traffic, delivery time windows, and vehicle capacity constraints. Planning time cut from 2–3 hours to 12 minutes.
Dynamic Load Planning
Automated load consolidation increased average vehicle utilisation from 82% to 96%, cutting the number of daily trips by 11%.
Carrier Rate Benchmarking
Real-time LTL rate comparison against current market rates. First-month audit revealed 11% average overpayment across key lanes.
Performance Dashboard
Live KPI tracking for cost-per-mile, on-time delivery, and carrier performance. Exception alerts replaced manual end-of-day reporting.
Implementation
The engagement began with a $500 Supply Chain Audit, which identified route optimisation and carrier consolidation as the top two savings opportunities — together representing over $200K in annualised potential.
Full implementation took 6 weeks from contract signing to live operations. The dispatch team went from sceptical to advocates within the first week, once they saw routing suggestions that improved on their manual plans.
"Jandojegs cut our annual logistics spend by $180,000 in the first year. The AI route optimisation alone paid for the engagement in month two. I wish we'd done this three years ago."
VP of Operations
MidWest Distribution Co.
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