Key Takeaways
- Red Gold cut appointment lead times from double-digit days to 1 to 2 days.
- Case throughput rose 18% after Red Gold moved dock scheduling online.
- Auto-tendering has automated more than 25,000 Red Gold shipments.
- Red Gold cut LTL costs 17% after expanding from 3 to 24 LTL providers.
Red Gold, the tomato products manufacturer behind brands found in grocery stores, schools, and hospitals nationwide, uses Loadsmart's dock scheduling technology, transportation management system, and brokerage services to modernize its logistics, saving time and money while adding resilience to its supply chain.
- Challenge – Red Gold's distribution center clerks took hundreds of phone calls a day and read thousands of emails a week just to schedule dock appointments. Carriers booked at their own discretion rather than around Red Gold's actual availability, which led to long dwell times, congested docks, and delayed pickups. During peak season, a customer placing an order could wait two weeks for a dock appointment. On the transportation side, loads were tendered by emailing PDFs to carriers, carrier RFPs ran on spreadsheets just twice a year, and Red Gold had access to only three LTL providers.
- Opportunity – Red Gold started with Opendock, moving every carrier to online self-scheduling from the facility's real available times. Building on that success, it adopted ShipperGuide TMS to plan, procure, and execute shipments in one platform, including automated tendering and faster carrier RFPs. Loadsmart's digital brokerage then added LTL services and additional capacity, a combination that tackles the same coordination problems behind detention and poor dock performance.
- Results – Every Red Gold carrier now books through Opendock, covering more than 60,000 appointments a year. Appointment lead times fell 90%, from double-digit days to 1 to 2 days, and case throughput rose 18%. In ShipperGuide, 70% of shipments now run through auto-tender, automating more than 25,000 loads, and the team has run 46 RFPs since launch. Through Loadsmart's brokerage, Red Gold expanded from 3 to 24 LTL providers and lowered LTL costs by 17%.
The rollout was easier than the team expected. When Red Gold introduced Opendock, none of its carriers asked for directions, and its clerks now spend their time on exceptions like reschedules instead of manual data entry. Like this frozen food manufacturer, Red Gold shows how high-volume food producers can take control of the dock without slowing down their carriers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Did Warehouse Throughput Improve for Red Gold?
Red Gold's case throughput increased 18% after it adopted Opendock. At the same time, appointment lead times dropped 90%, from double-digit days to 1 to 2 days, which also helped the team absorb seasonal demand spikes.
How Do Food and Beverage Companies Manage High-Volume Dock Scheduling?
They move appointment booking online so carriers schedule themselves into the facility's real available times instead of calling or emailing. Red Gold now handles more than 60,000 appointments a year this way, and seeing pickup schedules in advance lets its team stage orders for loading and reduce congestion at the dock.
How Much Did Red Gold Save on LTL Freight?
Red Gold lowered its LTL costs by 17% after expanding from 3 to 24 LTL providers through Loadsmart. It also saved $200,000 a year by converting full truckload shipments to partial truckload, while gaining more freight mode options.