Our Studies

Major food processor uses ELM rail capabilities to open East Coast Market

Our client, a major Midwest food processor, needed flour storage facilities on the East Coast to serve their processors more effectively in the area; however, they were reluctant to invest their own facility to do so. Since most of the client’s flour is transported by rail, they needed a 3PL alternative with rail siding.

ELM provided the perfect customized solution. To accommodate this account, ELM obtained the necessary pesticide licensing and trained all employees on use of these hazardous materials. ASI certification was also obtained so as to meet the rigid sanitation requirements of a food grade warehouse. ELM’s WMS computer system provided the necessary lot control the client needed to manage movement of goods by manufacturing date, and ELM managed the JIT needs of the local facilities by coordinating the scheduling of both inbound rail and outbound local trucking.

The end result was that the client was able to open the east coast market with almost no additional capital investment. Inventory turn times and speed to market increased dramatically, and sales have grown 10 fold now that the company is able to distribute locally.

Spanish fragrance company uses ELM to manage its US launch

Our client, a Spanish fragrance company, utilized ELM storage and value added services to manage logistics for its US launch.

Shipments received from overseas need to be assembled for distribution to the retail channel – each customer requiring a different configuration of product and labeling. ELM unboxes all product, assembles the company display racks, configures product in clamshell packages, affixes UPC and security tags specific to each customer, and fills the display rack with the finished product. This entire “turn key” display rack is then shrink wrapped for shipment to the retailer.

By utilizing ELM’s services in this way, the company has gone from start-up to over $30M in US sales in just 2 years with no up front capital investment and no overhead.

Major camera manufacturer utilizes ELM reverse logistics to manage its returns

A major overseas camera manufacturer needed NY area capabilities to manage the disposition of merchandise that customers had returned to the store as defective. ELM’s value added team set up a process where all goods are received and put through a series of factory specified tests. Items that are not defective are repacked and sent back out for resale. Items that fail inspection are then sent for repair. Once the items have been repaired, ELM will then repack and send back for resale.

ELM’s services have had several benefits to the customer. First, they do not need to concern themselves with returns as ELM completely manages the process. Secondly, they get their high-ticket items back into the channel quickly so they can be sold.