CASE STUDY BEST HOME FURNISHINGS Driving Savings The Right Way

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1 CASE STUDY BEST HOME FURNISHINGS Driving Savings The Right Way At Best Home Furnishings, we re big believers that anything worth doing is worth doing right. Steve Wahl, CFO and Treasurer When it came time for Best Home Furnishings to reevaluate their parcel carrier agreement, this was the company philosophy that encouraged them to choose VeriShip as their partner. Best Home Furnishings wanted a company that could provide the data, expertise, and guidance they needed to help them optimize their parcel spend. 1

2 Although their employees had gained knowledge in dealing with carriers over the years, Best Home Furnishings was looking for a way to validate and ensure they were paying fair amounts to their carrier and that every dollar was efficiently spent. In looking at their invoices and different ratings and discounts, they knew there were opportunities within their shipping profile to minimize wasted dollars and optimize their rates; they just needed the data and insights to make it happen. That s when they turned to VeriShip. About Best Home Furnishings In 1962, two men turned their chair expertise into a yet unknown empire. More than forty years later, Best Chairs surpassed all expectations, becoming Best Home Furnishings, a name adopted to further describe the entire product line. Family owned and operated, Best Home Furnishings is growing to become one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the world, with 1,000+ employees and five locations covering more than 1,100,000 square feet. A $250 million company with a $1.2 million annual shipping spend, Best Home Furnishings has a customer base in all 50 states and an international presence in Canada. 2

3 Parcel Audit Prior to working with VeriShip, Best Home Furnishings had enough experience with carriers to know their rates could be better; however, they needed the data to ensure they were paying the correct amounts and not missing opportunities for refunds and discounts. With a simple setup process, VeriShip s technology platform was able to quickly identify and request refunds and uncover other savings opportunities. Afterwards, VeriShip provided ongoing auditing for additional savings over the following year and a half. VeriShip s [parcel audit technology] has put a mechanism in place to allow us to periodically check on our small parcel carriers and make sure we re getting the fairest rates. Wahl Where the Refunds Came From: 67% 22% 9% Service Failures No Proof of Delivery Damaged Packages Since 2015, VeriShip has been auditing our FedEx shipments and finding savings for us. The success of the ongoing audit is what made us feel confident in having VeriShip facilitate our contract engineering project for us. Wahl With the data acquired during VeriShip s parcel audit process, several opportunities were identified for savings, returning more than $19,000 in projected audit savings over the next three years. 3 Reasons Best Home Furnishings Chose VeriShip Expertise Professionalism Customer Service 3

4 Contract Engineering When Best Home Furnishings came to VeriShip for help with their shipping rates, they already were looking for ways to save on their annual parcel spend. As they continued to see success with the parcel audit, they felt more comfortable taking on another project: a complete optimization of their carrier agreement. With guidance and direction from VeriShip, they contacted carriers to begin the negotiation process. First, VeriShip analyzed Best Home Furnishings shipping profile against more than 10 years of benchmarking data from similar shippers, identifying three critical areas to address within their parcel carrier agreement for long-term savings. VeriShip s comparative analysis of the two quotes was one of the most helpful things they did. We could have done it over time, but not as quickly. All we really had to do was sit through the carrier meetings the amount of additional work on our end was minimal because VeriShip was working behind the scenes to make it easier for us. Wahl 1. Service Type Discount Improvement & Minimum Charge Impact Mitigation 2. Surcharge Discount Improvements 3. DIM Weight Pricing Mitigation via Custom DIM Divisor The incumbent carrier, FedEx, told Best Home Furnishings their current agreement was extremely competitive. But VeriShip s data said otherwise. Best Home Furnishings used VeriShip s benchmarking information to guide their discussions with FedEx, which resulted in a minimally improved proposal. Next, VeriShip and Best Home Furnishings agreed to reach out to UPS for a quote that potentially could be used to ensure FedEx s proposed terms and discounts were fully optimized. While the process was stalled at times on UPS s end, VeriShip provided significant value by following up frequently to move the project forward, helping Best Home Furnishings find savings despite potential hurdles. Eventually, UPS responded with a presentation that would mean substantial savings. By using language supplied by VeriShip, Best Home Furnishings leveraged the significant discounts from UPS to improve their FedEx quote. 15% Savings in gross parcel spend Initially, VeriShip identified a 10 12% savings opportunity through the carrier contract negotiation engagement. But once completed, VeriShip provided Best Home Furnishings an estimated savings of nearly $500,000 over a 36-month term about 15% of their gross parcel spend! 4

5 Conclusion Best Home Furnishings brought in VeriShip to evaluate their package shipments and carrier agreement because they wanted to do things the right way. They knew that optimizing their carrier agreement was about having the right data, the right guidance, and the right support when negotiations stall and VeriShip provided all that and more. With VeriShip s deep data, years of expertise, and keen understanding of how to leverage the carriers against one another without damaging pre-existing relationships, Best Home Furnishings was able to drive long-term savings the same way they prefer to do everything: the right way. Once we had the UPS numbers, VeriShip helped us use the right language so we did not damage the pre-existing carrier relationship with FedEx. It ended up being a winwin for everyone: We got our savings, FedEx is further tied to our business as our carrier, and UPS got face time with us they normally would not have. Wahl How Best Home Furnishings Describes Working with VeriShip Productive Customer-Friendly Good Follow-Up MORE THAN $500,000 in Estimated Total Partnership Savings During a 3-Year Term 5

6 VeriShip was knowledgeable, customer-friendly, and offered good followup that led to greater results. They helped us to jump through the necessary hoops and deal with problems when they arose. Somewhere down the road we will go through this process again, and VeriShip will be who we partner with. Steve Wahl, CFO and Treasurer, Best Home Furnishings Optimize Your Carrier Agreement The Right Way. Contact VeriShip Today