DC Velocity - March 2009

Management, enables CNH to select and schedule inbound and outbound carriers. The system oversees all of the equipment manufacturer’s motor carrier shipments—both TL and LTL. (CNH currently uses about 115 motor carriers in North America and a similar number in Europe.) The Oracle application also manages CNH’s rail shipments in North America and in Europe. (For an idea of the volume and scale of the operation, consider that CNH’s overall transportation bill generally amounts to $300 million in North America alone.)

The Oracle TMS notifies carriers of any special equipment requirements—an important consideration for a company like CNH that often needs specialized trailers to deliver its heavy machinery. The TMS also provides in-transit visibility for intra-continental moves, another critical factor for CNH since dealers like to know when their equipment will be arriving. Although CNH uses the Oracle application to track shipments moving within a continent, it does not use the software to provide visibility into air and ocean shipments moving between the United States and Europe. For that, CNH uses a different transportation management system— one provided by GT Nexus.

Today, the company has a staff of 15 full- and part-time load planners who use the Oracle TMS. Although CNH had to hire additional staff when it brought transportation management back in house, it quickly recouped those costs. In fact, the company reports that the switch from a 3PL to an online TMS paid for itself in less than two years through reduced freight expenditures. When asked if his company would make the same decision today, Czerniejewski doesn’t hesitate before answering yes.

Closer to carriers

Along with lower freight costs, better shipment visibility, and easier access to data, the company has realized several other benefits from the switch. For example, Czerniejewski notes that a side benefit of the move has been newfound opportunities for training and career development. At CNH, the load planner’s job has become an entry-level position that serves

as a training ground for new hires, giving them a chance to learn the transportation business and then move up within the company’s logistics organization. “We would not have had this flexibility with the 3PL,” he says.

Another benefit has been stronger

relationships with its carriers— something CNH had hoped would result from the move. “We wanted to get closer to our carrier base and be able to sit down and talk strategically with them and review tactical issues,” says Czerniejewski. “That’s been very beneficial in the difficult times we’re in.”

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