Superior Service, Seven Days a Week
Receiving great logistics service, communications, and pricing is no game for the leading provider of LCD monitors to the global gaming industry.
THE CUSTOMER: Wells-Gardner Electronics Corporation, McCook, Illinois
Founded in 1925, publicly traded Wells-Gardner Electronics Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of premium video displays, including: LCDs, LCD flat-panel displays, digitally controlled monitors, analog monitors, and support parts.
THE PARTNER: Geodis Wilson, Headquartered in France; worldwide presence
With 5,500 people and a global network, Geodis Wilson is one of the world’s largest freight forwarders and 3PLs, serving customers with integrated supply chain solutions that deliver cargo by air, ocean and ground via their numerous warehouses located strategically throughout the globe.
The high-tech, high-value products Wells-Gardner Electronics makes and ships require special handling in several regards. Before hiring Geodis Wilson, Wells-Gardner was using a provider that did not own offices in all the ports Wells-Gardner’s products were shipped to and from, which added extra expense and time to the shipping process.
Wells-Gardner hired Geodis Wilson three years ago. Owning offices at every origin and destination point Wells-Gardner needed allowed Geodis Wilson to help the company avoid duty and taxes. It also improved communication, service, and shipment visibility; reduced shipping times; and cut costs.
Geodis Wilson now handles approximately 15 less-than-containerload, full containerload, and airfreight shipments of LCD flat-panel monitors and related parts each month for Wells-Gardner. Geodis Wilson is the sole provider for shipping product from Hong Kong to destination ports just outside of Sydney, Australia, and Montreal, Canada.
“Geodis Wilson has been excellent to work with,” explains Bob Urban, Wells-Gardner’s director of global logistics. “They openly exchange ideas to improve service and reduce costs wherever possible, consistently and immediately notify us of rate changes, and demonstrate ingenuity when providing back-up shipping solutions when we encounter problems.”
Geodis Wilson has come through for Wells-Gardner in memorable ways. “An urgent shipment for one of our largest customers was picked up in Montreal Friday morning for delivery in Chicago Monday morning,” Urban recalls. “We had always used a broker specializing in North American cross-border clearance for the infrequent occasions when we import from Canada. The broker never told us our account had a value limit, and this shipment far exceeded that figure. So, the driver was turned away in Windsor late Friday night.
“The trucking company told me we could submit a new power of attorney to increase our value threshold on Monday, meaning the goods would be delayed until Tuesday,” he continues. “I contacted the Geodis Wilson operations team. Immediately, they arranged to take the shipment, submit a new entry on our behalf, and ensure the shipment arrived on Monday as planned.
“All this ‘above and beyond’ service was provided on Saturday,” he adds. “Geodis Wilson was the only one of four freight forwarders that also do brokerage that was willing to work on Saturday.”
Geodis Wilson’s Customer Service Benefits:
- Communications. Geodis Wilson’s Chicago branch operations manager serves as the key, accountable contact and manages all of Wells-Gardner’s needs related to communications, reporting, scheduling, and more. She provides daily reports to Wells-Gardner and communicates with its import and export logistics teams.
- Price. Fees are lower for shipments to both Canada and Australia because of Geodis Wilson’s competitive pricing structure and because the company has its own offices in all relevant ports.
- Speed. Geodis Wilson has reduced transit time to Canada by one week.