Dupré Logistics announced a partnership with SB Specialty Metals to help improve SB Specialty Metals’ service, expand its coverage and grow its business. SB needed a supply chain that would minimize product handling, reduce stockouts and improve service to customers. Their focus was not on reducing their current freight expenses, but rather to more effectively utilize freight dollars spent on third-party less-than-truckload and linehaul shipments.
Dupré provides dedicated intercompany distribution between SB Specialty Metals’ metal service centers and customers in the markets of Chicago, Dayton, Cleveland, Akron, Meadville and Detroit. Dupré says its operation reduces capital investment requirements and provides a scalable, measureable supply chain for SB Specialty Metals and its customers.
The operation utilizes Conestoga Trailers, which provide increased efficiency during loading and unloading while protecting the cargo from the harsh elements experienced in the Midwest. As SB Specialty Metals’ business has grown, so has the size of Dupré’s dedicated operation, and they anticipate adding additional units in early 2012.
“Dupré was the only company that actually understood the type of partnership that SB Specialty Metals was looking for and in turn helped us implement a plan exceeding our expectations and allowing our company to achieve its objectives,” says Ken Roberds, district manager of SB Specialty Metals. “Some see freight expenses as a necessary evil, but we view it as a tool that can work for us.”
