LoadProof Video Testimonial – Karen Rodriguez, NFI

great yeah yeah yeah I I know thank you very much for taking the time to join this call Karen I know I mean the know analogy that I would like to use is that you know we build race cars right but we don’t get to drive them you know because you know we we can only make them you guys you guys get to drive them so it’s always exciting for me to you know learn about you know how will you know we are doing a job I mean how well how well we are doing our job and how you know use um user friendly the tool is you know uh that’s that’s really what we’re trying to you know understand here yeah if you could please get get started we can go from there yeah okay so um my name is Karen Rodriguez I’m an operation supervisor for NFI Industries okay um so I oversee um the inbound and receiving department so a lot of what we do obviously we process all of our inbound loads so we get we process standard inbounds as well as return inbounds okay so the way that we utilize load proof is for every inbound load that we get we validate every item we take pictures of every item we we create a load for every load y um and we if we get any damages or anything anything any issues with the the inbounds Y we use load proof to take pictures of the issues okay um that way we document a not only which items did come in the shipment y um B we um are able to document any issues that came with it that way it helps us against claims against us.

great so do you guys run any type of vendor performance process or tool you know um vendor performance right I mean you rate your vendors based on you know the quality infractions they might have and things like that you guys doing anything like that um yes so it it’s more so for the returns aspect of it okay so any repeat offenders that have a tendency of not sending all of the items that they say they’re going to send or sending items that are consistently damaged for example like if we have one store in particular that sends damages constant or one store in particular that’s constantly sending the shortages then we start a documentation process and we send them well I have this load from yesterday this load from last week and this load from a couple weeks ago okay where we have consist we have consistently received shortages from you and these are all of the loads got it and are those stores that are sending product to you guys what stores are those um so it’s different distribution centers okay okay or um so the distribution centers are the ones that send us to returns or in terms of like the standard Freight we get those we typically get those directly from the vendor okay okay got it got it got it got it.

okay um you know so so you know what was the problem that you guys were trying to solve so before we started using load prooof they we didn’t really have a way to other than manually checking off a piece of paper yeah um to validate that we were getting shortages on our loads or um hey this came damaged but we would use like maybe like a cell phone or something to take pictures but um especially since we we have split shifts sometimes the person that took the pictures would go home and not send the pictures to anyone yeah and we didn’t have one standard set in place on how we were going to process it okay so that’s kind of where load prooof came in okay so so um is it is it like U um you guys were taking photos already you know with your smartphone and you know that was just not manageable no it wasn’t because um again you had different Associates going and taking the pictures but then they wouldn’t follow up with the emails they would go home for the night yeah um and usually when they’re hourly Associates you can’t have them send you the pictures or talk ask them for the information because they’ve already gone home for the night yeah yeah um so that’s when we integrated load prooof and we actually um installed it onto a workplace tablet that way if anybody did go home we still had access to the file.

great great great great great so so you guys understood the import of having photos it just you didn’t have a good system that would help you manage the process yes absolutely and that’s where load prooof came in yes okay so so um you know um what are the key benefits that you guys experienced with load prooof you know if you could please list you know hey you know without load prooof we struggled with these four or five things and then with load prooof these are the key benefits that are you know very useful for you guys um so we did struggle with having proof against claim right so um we wouldn’t take pictures of all of the of all of the load that came in so it was hard for us to to challenge back the the vendor that would say no we sent everything and we just kind it was kind of word for like a a statement versus statement if you will yeah yeah so it was hard to validate and then so with the damages that would come in a lot of the times initially before load prooof the vendors would challenge us or the stores would challenge us and they would say no we sent it perfect you guys damaged it upon arrival okay so um those are really like some of the key issues that we ran into shortage claims damage claims just kind of validating the loads that we did get versus what we didn’t get or the condition that we got them yeah um so when we did start using load proof and we did start creating loads for every shipment that we received yeah we documented every unit that we got we validated it on paper as well yeah um but pairing those together we could could essentially double down and say no we this is what we’re missing yeah or you guys sent us an overage of this okay and honestly integrating load prooof was remarkably easy it’s very user friendly and actually I really like that about load prooof.

okay okay great so so what were the claims right I mean if a vendor is shipping you know product to you guys right you are you know checking against your packing slip right I mean you know sometimes there might be an ASN Advance shipment notice or there is you know none uh you know or sometimes be a paper ASN right which is pack list or some kind of a uh you know receiving report or something that you guys are printing in your facility uh you know what is that claims I mean would a vendor submit claims or would a store submit claims to you guys or how does that work um it was more frequent that the vendor um that the stores would send claim sorry so usually on their returns they would State I sent you items a b and c okay and we would only get a and b okay so on paper we would document the shortage but on the on load proof we would take pictures of the units that we did get yeah so we could tell them no this unit you shorted us okay we didn’t pick one unit at random to say that we didn’t get it you did not send item okay so so now we able to go back and say hey either so what happened right because of this photos and now you showed the photos you know did your claims reduce or did people you know um take that and you know cancel their claims or you know what exactly happened when once you started showing photos with your uh stores and the you know vendors yeah so once we actually started validating our claims and having physical documentation of what items we did get versus what we didn’t get okay we because we would get charge back for our claims so the charge back would be the um the price of the unit yeah that they would charge against our facility so when we started documenting it the claim started getting denied and we wouldn’t start getting deemed for the supposed shortages.

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so no no that’s very interesting I mean you guys get get charge backs for returns and also for uh uh receipts from vendors yeah so like if the for example damages okay so um because we I work in a third party logistics company corre correct so um let’s say that the vendor sends us something that’s damaged and we don’t document it properly okay then our customer the customer that we work for oh you are shipping you’re getting it from the vendor and you’re shipping to the retailer someone uh you know on behalf of uh you know the vendor right on behalf of the OEM vendor on behalf of the customer okay customer okay okay so um so let’s say they send us a damaged unit we don’t document it properly and then the customer goes and they um they check that unit or they subsequently gets examined for damages if it’s found to be damaged and we have no proof that it was damaged when we when we received it yeah we eat the cost of the unit got it got it because you did not tell the vendor that hey this was damag and this is how we got it so so you guys have to eat it yes exactly so ever since we integrated load prooof and we started using it for all of our loads for all of the the things that we suspected to be damaged or did receive as being damaged yeah um it’s really helped us against claims okay nice nice so so I mean you could you could be liable for a lot of things if if you.

Don’t pay attention you know especially right the vendor is sitting there and thinking hey we did everything perfectly and you know you guys should have. You are running a 3PL obviously on behalf of OEM or a brand, and you know you’re shipping on behalf of them also to a retailer. It’s very easy for the OEM or brand to turn around and say hey guys you screwed up. That’s a very tough spot to be in. Yes, exactly. That’s one of the things that I really liked about the Load Proof system: how easy it is to create loads. Hold on one second, I’m so sorry. Yeah, no problem. I’m so sorry about that. No, no problem. That’s okay.

So the vendor is shipping to you guys, and you are supporting a brand or OEM. You’re receiving the product on behalf of an OEM and brand and shipping to a retailer, big box retail on behalf of that OEM and brand. If you didn’t pay attention, the vendor is going to say oh, we did everything right, and the retailer is going to reject it. Then you are in trouble because you thought everything is perfect. I’m surprised because ideally, when everything is perfect, you should be able to catch it when you are receiving it, especially if it’s damaged. Is it a pallet flow facility, or is it a pallets-in, pallets-out type of thing where it might get challenging to catch those damages?

It’s typically not on pallets; it is appliances. Think of big kitchen appliances like refrigerators, ranges, or washing machines—things of that nature. They are usually floor loaded and offloaded by clamps. Yes, I know clamps; I’ve seen them. So it is sometimes easy for the fork operator to not notice, especially if the damages are in the back. The box may be torn, but they’re taking it out in packs. Got it, got it. So, how is your life better now with Load Proof? What were some of the challenges you were dealing with before?

Before we started using Load Proof, we did not have photo documentation of every load we received. We typically didn’t have photo documentation of every possible damage. But ever since we adapted it, with every load that we offload, we take pictures. It makes it much easier for us if a driver missed a damage; someone else taking the pictures will catch it. That has definitely saved us in terms of damage claims. When it comes to damage claims, if we don’t catch it right when it’s unloaded, then we end up eating the cost.

These appliances are expensive; a refrigerator could be anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000. If you miss a few dents or scratches, that’s a lot of dollars you have to pay out of your pocket. Yes, exactly, and we do end up paying the full retail price of the unit. So that’s huge! Yes, yes, so if a refrigerator is upwards of $4,000, we have those special bespoke Samsung refrigerators. Some have those special flat screens and all that. Not documenting the processes before, we would eat the cost of all those units, and it would absolutely make or break us sometimes.

I understand how the 3PL business is tough. It’s a lean margin, and you don’t have control over inventory costs. You’re primarily controlling everything from labor costs to overhead like rent. If you have a few instances of that, you could lose your profitability. Yes, exactly. That’s why it’s been so important, and Load Proof has been key in catching these errors. It helps us validate any shortages or overages but, more importantly, catch damages.

Now, what happens if someone issues a chargeback? Does the chargeback go to the OEM or the brand, and then come to you guys? You don’t have any type of accounts payable or receivable relationship with the retailer; it’s with the OEM. Typically, the vendor or the store submits a claim to the customer. The customer reviews the claim, and if they determine it’s valid, they approve it and let us know. They’ll say hey, this person submitted a claim; we went ahead and approved it, and it’s going to come out to about this much.

Do you guys get to keep the refrigerator or do some kind of scrap with it, or is that not available for you guys any longer? It still stays within the scope of the OEM. What we usually have to do is have the inventory department take control of it from that point. They categorize it as either a scratch, dent, or salvage. If it’s a scratch or dent, they’ll arrange for a third party to collect the load of items for second sale or auction. Salvage items are usually sold for scrap metal. Very interesting.

That’s a tough spot to be in, and having a tool like Load Proof is a lifesaver. Hopefully, that gives you some peace of mind and isn’t as bad as it was before. Yes, exactly! The integration was remarkably easy and self-explanatory. You hand the tablet to a person who has Load Proof on it, explain what to do, and they document the load. You do one load with them, and they’re set to go forever.

Did people ask questions about why they had to take extra steps like taking photos? Initially, they do ask questions like hey, this is an extra step. Then I show them the claims we didn’t catch before. I explain how much we paid out for damages, so they understand the importance. Once they see that, they follow through with the process. Approximately, how much money do you save per month using Load Proof?

We catch damages every day. Just yesterday, we caught five microwaves that were damaged. These were over-the-range microwaves, typically retailing for about $700. That’s $3,500 times five, just in one day! And that happens throughout the month. Yes, we’re a 24-hour facility, so that’s a lot of dollars at stake. We were doing poorly in catching damages before Load Proof, and now there’s been a huge turnaround.

Would you recommend Load Proof to someone else in your role? Yes, absolutely! I had the opportunity to work in another building through my company. They weren’t using Load Proof, and I immediately recommended it. I told them it’s a game changer, and they seemed really impressed. I mentioned that you can even use it on your phone. I’m not sure if they ended up integrating it, but I did show them how it works.

There’s another app called Load Proof Viewer, which lets you look at photos directly from your mobile device. That’s so cool! Before, I had to go to a desktop to pull up the loads. The fact that you guys thought ahead and addressed that is great. I’d love to get that for my devices. Is there anything else we can do to make your role easier?

Honestly, I love everything about Load Proof. It’s user-friendly and covers important things while being easy to work with. The one thing I wanted was access to files and pictures on my mobile phone, and you guys already fixed that. So that’s great! Thank you very much for sharing your feedback and thoughts on the Load Proof experience. Feel free to reach out if there’s anything else we can do for you.