Moran Transportation opts to Buy not Build – Realizes Rapid ROI

LTL carrier is seeing countless benefits with transportation and freight management software from Carrier Logistics Inc

Carrier Logistics Inc. (CLI), a 40-year pioneer of transportation software to LTL, TL, package delivery and non-asset and asset light providers today announced that Moran Transportation Corporation, an Illinois-based 225 truck fleet, is realizing immediate value after implementing the FACTS transportation and freight management system.

“With FACTS we are quickly seeing significant benefits for our staff, the company and our customers,” said Michael D. Moran, president of Moran Transportation. “FACTS does the thinking for you so we can focus on exceptions that impact operations and customers. The CLI solution is already producing savings because it enables better operations management and captures data we can use to fix anomalies. FACTS has a compound effect because it helps increase revenue and decrease cost.”

Moran reports multiple areas where the company is seeing projected savings as a result of FACTS, including reduced administrative time of 15 to 30 minutes per day per CSR for phone calls by connecting with customers on a regular basis electronically. There is also the ability to cut 50% of the labor cost for billing and invoicing functions by integrating FACTS via APIs with shipper and 3PL customer systems. Additionally, he cites the potential to reallocate personnel to focus on other parts of the business, such as sales and maintenance cost management.

“With data from the FACTS dispatch module we can also improve productivity,” Moran explained further. “For example, by actively reassigning trucks and load schedules, in one week we could save significant time in waiting delays per day for each of our 75 Chicago-based drivers. Those drivers make eight to 20 stops per day so that adds up to $700,000 in reduced expenses per year or about $4 per hour more we can pay drivers, something that could help with the driver shortage we’re experiencing like everyone else.”

FACTS replaced three legacy solutions that have formed Moran’s main operating system for more than 30 years. The applications, used to manage dispatch, invoice and billing and rating functions, were pieced together on a DOS-based platform and had become difficult to use and impossible to upgrade or connect to from remote sites.

Moran Transportation started looking at enterprise systems from a variety of providers five years ago and then made the decision to custom develop a new system. About 18 months ago, after spending nearly three times what it had budgeted for the project and realizing it was not even halfway to accomplishing its goal, the carrier went back to the market.

“CLI was the top vendor we identified both times,” Moran stated. “In the intervening years, they had made significant information, data and functionality upgrades to FACTS that we felt could drive efficiencies, and their rating profiles allowed for looking into new business opportunities. In addition, CLI now offered a subscription-based model meaning a much lower upfront cost, no capital investment for hardware and an ability to more easily manage the software cost, especially for capabilities we needed like EDI. Part of our decision to adopt FACTS was financial, but that’s a byproduct of gaining new functionality at a better price.

“CLI also asked for our feedback and made changes we needed, and today they continue to invest in their technology,” Moran added. “Also, there are expected challenges when you close with an old system on a Friday and open with a new one on Monday, but CLI started training us early and was there to support our staff. After we went live, we quickly wished we had implemented FACTS months ago.”

Moran Transportation Corporation is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Through a system of multi-terminal networks, the carrier provides regional less-than-truckload (LTL) and less-than-container load (LCL) service in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.

“Moran Transportation has a well-deserved reputation for providing its customers with exceptional, value added service,” said Ben Wiesen, president of CLI. “We are pleased they have decided that our FACTS transportation and freight management system is the technology they need to manage the needs and requests of their shippers and consignees, and to improve the productivity and efficiency of their operations and business processes.”

The FACTS transportation and freight management system can be deployed across a network as a single database to manage all administrative and operations functions. With its complete financial suite, FACTS includes Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable modules and a complete General Ledger. FACTS Deal Management pricing and rating module, another key component of the software, provides LTL freight operations with the ability to accurately price and rate shipments reducing errors and increasing savings. 

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