Home Chef Saves Over $1 Million By Implementing Shipwell's TMS

About Home Chef

Ranked #1 for customer service, Home Chef is one of America’s leading meal kit delivery services with distribution centers in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Lithonia, Georgia. Providing curated boxes of fresh ingredients for a rotating selection of more than 30 different meal options each week to customers across all of the lower 48 states, their logistics team had their work cut out for them — and with a fifth distribution center opening soon in Baltimore, business was scaling faster than their current processes could manage. As a result, they needed to find a logistics partner with the tools that could help them maintain their excellent service record while keeping costs under control.

Challenges

Improving organization for multiple lines of business

Home Chef managed various lines of business, including retail sales, online customer orders, and supplier management. To stay on top of operations, coordinators would have to search through thousands of emails daily, many of which would be missing vital information. Due to the complexity of their business network, Home Chef required a centralized transportation management system (TMS) that could keep all relevant information easily accessible and well-organized to streamline operations and improve communication among everyone involved.

Because we have so many different lines of business, organization was key… we needed a TMS that’s really able to organize everything.
- Jess Pilarski - Logistics Manager, Home Chef

Ensuring a consistent customer experience while expanding

With four distribution centers in operation, Home Chef recognized the need for supply chain visibility – and to avoid scattered Google Docs and outdated processes that hindered their growth. Plus, with their commitment to sustainability in both their meal kits and the logistics involved in their delivery, they required greater visibility and insights than their previous system could provide. Because of this, they were seeking a partner that would help to build a strong foundation for expansion and maintain a seamless customer experience.

This is going to be a huge year for Home Chef. If we weren’t prepared with this our service would be awful, our costs would be awful… It’s a huge domino effect.‍
- Jess Pilarski - Logistics Manager, Home Chef

Creating better carrier relationships for more favorable rates

Because of the ever-shifting distribution network involved in meal kit delivery, Home Chef relied on the spot market for about 40% of their truck freight shipping, which often would result in high costs. And with the time-sensitive nature of their products, developing strong carrier relationships was crucial to ensure that not only would costs be kept more under control, but that they could count on orders being consistently picked up and delivered in a timely manner.

Why Shipwell

Home Chef evaluated six competing TMS providers before choosing Shipwell as their preferred logistics partner. Having worked on four complex and time-consuming implementations in the past, for Home Chef logistics manager, Jess Pilarski, it was the prospect of working with a partner that could deliver both the solutions and support.

Customized features and tech solutions

Shipwell, being an advanced technology provider with modern capabilities, was positioned to deliver the features and solutions Home Chef needed to address their unique challenges.

Excellent sales support

Shipwell’s sales team and representative responded to questions and demonstrated a deep understanding of Home Chef’s needs, instilling confidence and consistent support in the partnership.

Clear, detailed API documentation

Shipwell provided Home Chef’s IT team with API documentation that they described as “the best we’ve ever seen”, enabling seamless integration with Home Chef’s existing systems.

Established integrations

Home Chef used many different tools and systems in their existing operations, and by leveraging Shipwell’s extended integration network, data migration, sharing, and collaboration was effortless.

Speedy implementation

Contrary to the 13-month timeline provided by others, Shipwell assured deployment within three months, delivering without a single snag — an exceptional accomplishment in the realm of TMS implementation.

Solutions

Customizable, centralized dashboard makes organization easy

Shipwell’s customizable, centralized dashboard provided Home Chef with an easy-to-use platform that greatly improved their transportation processes. Costly accounting errors could easily be avoided, and with features like tags and watches on shipments, identifying and prioritizing hot shipments or specific shipment types became significantly easier, enabling their logistics team to manage multiple lines of business more efficiently. Plus, with the ability to instantly build out reports on performance, pricing, and other factors, they gained immediate and valuable insights into their operations.

Powerful visibility capabilities boost shipment sustainability

Shipwell’s powerful visibility capabilities played a pivotal role in boosting shipment sustainability for Home Chef by delivering insights that allow them to quickly identify opportunities for optimization. For instance, they combine multiple orders being picked up at the same supplier for different weeks. By solving the need for supply chain visibility and insights, Home Chef made informed decisions that improved their sustainability.

In-platform messaging streamlines communication

The in-platform messaging feature offered by Shipwell greatly improved communication for Home Chef. Coordinators could log into Shipwell and utilize the platform throughout the day, finding all the necessary information on a single screen. This allowed them to know when and whom to contact with just a push of a button, eliminating the need to search through various channels or emails. This streamlined communication enhanced coordination and efficiency across their entire logistics process.

Accurate market insights = big savings

The data-driven approach enabled by having instant access to accurate market insights enabled Home Chef to establish and maintain favorable relationships with their truck freight shipping partners while delivering substantial cost savings. With access to real-time rate comparisons, Home Chef is now able to negotiate with their peers and carriers based on market data. Armed with this information, they have effectively requested better pricing from carriers to result in a total savings of over $1M dollars.

Looking Forward

As with any new solution, the possibilities don’t end with implementation. Going forward, Home Chef plans to:

• Enhance the customer experience through carrier scorecards
• Seamlessly integrate a new warehouse into their operations
• Boost sustainability measures with improved visibility tools