Jim Angel (left) was recruited by Harold Krane (right), vice president of logistics for Atrium Companies, to become the company’s director of fleet transportation. Angel previously was employed by one of Atrium Companies’ third-party logistics providers.

In January 2005, Harold Krane, vice president of logistics for Atrium Companies, faced a critical deadline. In three months, Atrium – one of the largest manufacturers of vinyl and aluminum windows in the United States – would need about 60 trucks to service one of its largest traffic lanes.

Atrium Companies oversees logistics operations for 22 manufacturing and distribution facilities across the country. It assists in services such as developing packaging, monitoring the cubing of freight and the routing of runs, selecting carriers, selecting and maintaining equipment, and weekly reporting and monitoring of each facility’s delivery operations to provide visibility and accountability for management. It also operates some equipment under Atrium Transportation Group, which manages DOT safety regulations, fuel control and other transportation management functions.

Atrium’s two largest manufacturing areas, Dallas-Fort Worth and North Carolina, were using third-party transportation providers or “3PLs” for the usual reasons, Krane says. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Atrium’s contract with its third-party provider was to expire on April 23, 2005. The vendor announced that it would require a significant rate increase to renew its contract.

In late 2004, Krane requested bids through an RFP that covered the delivery from four plants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Atrium’s customers nationwide. To assist in managing the RFP process, Atrium Companies hired consultant Paul Gold, president of Atlanta-based Transportation Consultants Inc., to add his 40 years of experience to Krane’s 40-plus.

“Going into a long-term contract, we wanted to have another set of experienced eyes,” Krane says.

Bids came in from November 2004 through late January 2005. The lowest bid would have increased cost by $800,000 annually – with uncertainty in the area of service improvement, particularly from a new provider.