James Hardie, a world leader in fiber cement technology with operations in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, is the only manufacturer that maintains a research and development center devoted solely to fiber cement technology for siding, backerboard, and pipe. That investment has helped make James Hardie the fastest-growing manufacturer of siding for use in new homes and remodeling projects in North America. The company has been growing at a rate of 15-20% per year - a rate more than three times greater than that of the nearest competitor's entire business in this market segment. The company also recently launched a new colored line of fiber cement siding that will ultimately result in smaller, more frequent orders and a more complex distribution channel.

The company managed its approximately 2200 weekly outbound loads manually using a highly customized ERP system, paper reports, and order milestones. Many of the company's nine U.S. plant locations independently managed their own transportation and negotiated rates and capacity. Decisions were often based on personal preferences and cost was often not considered.

"When shipment execution is de-centralized, there is no way to truly understand what types of subjective decisions and personal preference choices are being made. There's no good way to measure true cost and carrier performance." - Transportation Manager, James Hardie.

With a combination of specialized, flatbed, and dry van transportation, the company ships interior and exterior building product lines to multiple business channels including distributors, direct to builders, and DIY retail stores. In fact, James Hardie product is shipped direct to every one of the 1800 store locations of America's largest DIY home improvement retailer. Although a good portion of the shipments moved full truckload or intermodal, a high percentage of the retail store deliveries were being shipped through LTL breakbulk facilities, whereby full truckloads would be shipped to the LTL carrier's regional breakbulk facility and would then be de-consolidated for distribution to the individual store locations by the LTL carrier - an effective, yet expensive, option from both a cost and time perspective.

(Source: Supply Chain Market)