LoadProof Video Testimonial – Jenny Halsor, Colorado District Attorneys’ Council

 

We’ll get started. Yeah. So, Jenny, thank you very much for taking the time to join this call. So, you know, see, we we you know, this is the analogy that I always use. You know, we build race cars, but but you guys are the ones that are, you know, users of the race car and the beneficiaries of the race car.

So we wanna understand. Right? I mean, we don’t get to raise them. You know, we only get to build them. So we wanna understand from your perspective, you know, what has gotten better, you know, with load proof and how was it before versus, you know, how is it now?

And if you could please introduce about, you know, yourself, you know, your role and then, you know, we can get started there. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. So I’m Jenny Elser, and I’m the customer service manager for Quinoa Corp.

So we, manufacture quinoa, pastas, cookies, bake baking mixes. And, you know, both brands have been around for 35 years. And we ship both from one three p l location in Reno, Nevada. Sure. And we found that we were getting a lot of customer disputes about what was actually shipping on orders, when orders had left, what was included in loads.

K. And because our large distributors use very different shipping methods Yeah. In terms of who’s picking up, who’s organizing the freight, a lot can get lost in translation, especially when we’re dealing with independent carriers. Yeah. And without that documentation, it was creating a lot of havoc for us financially and logistically.

Okay. Okay. Great. Great. And and so what were the problem?

Is it, you know, freight claims or retailer chargebacks? Or is it, like, all kinds of, you know, overages, damages, shortages? You know, what was the, you know, what were the problems you guys were looking to solve at the time? It was all of that. But it was just a lot of, items that they’re being, received in incorrectly.

Yeah. Having a mixed pallet structure often creates a lot of confusion on the receiving end. Yeah. And so we needed documentation to show what left, but it also allowed us to see where, operational holes were on our side. Because once you can know what is actually a legitimate dispute, and what is not, that lets you see what what items you need to be working on to improve on your side as well.

Great. Great. Great. Okay. That’s so so, you know, obviously, that was the problem.

So how did, you know, you guys run into load proof? And if you could, you know, tell that story, how did that solve that? Yeah. Yeah. So, private prior to moving to our new location, we had someone who was just physically sending over scanning and then sending over those VOL as needed.

It was may be a few a month, but we took on a pretty ambitious warehouse move. And at that time, it was a new staff. It was a new process for us, and we just had such a high number of disputes, questions, issues, that our warehouse actually recommended that they had, you know, the capacity to use load proof. And is that something we would be interested in? And we said, yes.

Definitely. Yeah. So pretty much immediately, you know, they started working on getting those previous documents scanned in Yeah. But also keeping those up to date for us. And what that did is it allowed us to have this repository Yeah.

Where we could be disputing those things, you know, those charges instead of waiting for someone. We had that capacity really available at the ready where we could respond to those within a capacity really available at the ready where we could respond to those within a matter of, you know, minutes or hours rather than days weeks. And that was incredibly instrumental in not having those charges hanging around out there Yeah. But also eliminating a lot of the labor on our side of there Yeah. But also eliminating a lot of the labor on our side.

It it eliminated a lot of back and forth. Yeah. Another area that it’s been a huge improvement is in our Amazon program. Typically, with Amazon, you dispute chargebacks by just, you know, arguing with Amazon. But now we’ve actually streamlined that further, and we’re able to just provide the BOLs immediately.

So that reduces the step with them as well. Great. Great. Great. Great.

Okay. So so, you know, how has, you know, life been now? Right? Before it was chaotic and you’re doing with you know, dealing with all these things and after load proof, you know, how is how is how are the, you know, processes now when the situation is now? As I mentioned, it’s just you know, it’s freed up a lot of time on our side.

But like I said, it has also allowed us to see what is actually a problem and what is not, which is, I think, current very concerning to us when you start getting a lot of chargebacks or incorrect shipments. It is very concerning to think, you know, what if these are all legitimate charges and we really need to address this either through our ordering side or our warehouse processing side. But now we can see, okay, our efficiency rate is actually pretty good in what we’re shipping. It’s an issue that customers need distributors and customers need to address in confirming how things are received in because we do have this documentation and that’s been incredibly beneficial. Great.

Great. So so, you know, when you guys were obviously introduced to load proof, right, there was this, you know, they probably talked about it. Hey. This is this extra step that we have to do now. Right?

Capturing photos and, you know, that’s gonna take some time and all that. So was it worth it at that time? You know? Like, oh my god. You know?

We gotta do this extra step. That means, you know, is it gonna slow down everything and, you know, did you guys have those concerns and how, you know, how are, those concerns addressed now, and how is that situation now? Sure. I think initially, yes, there was a little bit of, okay. Now we have to go back and scan in months.

But once we got past that initial process, it is, you know, I think it’s a pretty seamless part of the warehouse processing. And, you know, as I mentioned, it’s just it’s much easier to have that built into your processing time Yeah. Than to get a list of 50 BOLs that you need and have to have someone stop what they’re doing, compile all those, look for issues. And, you know, it’s allowed us as the customer of the r three p o to have instantaneous access to that. So, yes, there is scanning work that happens on the warehouse side Yeah.

But that is still much more efficient than someone having to stop what they’re doing, get an email, oh, I have to compile these. I have to send these over. Yeah. You know, email those, get an email back. It’s so it’s even with the bit of time that it takes, it’s still a much more efficient system.

Okay. So so before you would spend so much time once the problem occurred, you would spend so much time collecting the data, but now it’s done upfront. I mean, little extra time is spent, but, you know, all the time that you would spend after the problem has occurred and someone has reported, you know, that is all safe. Now you immediately go back to the repository and you’re able to share that information and, boom, you know, solve the no. We call that as nipping it in the pot.

Yes. Definitely. That’s a much more sustained way to put it. Yes. Yes.

So yeah. That is that is very important because, right, especially, right, I mean, your reputation is at stake. You know, one person is talking about that problem versus, you know, 10 people, 20 people, entire department organization talking about that. When you nip it in the problem, it just, you know, makes life so much better. You know?

It it’s not hanging out there, the charges. I think that, Loadproof has allowed us to be a much more proactive organization rather than a reactive one. And, you know, for us on the logistics side, that’s a that’s a nice, place to be when you have these issues, especially when there can be such a high dollar amount attached to it. Yeah. Yeah.

I really appreciate being able to to know that we’re catching it up front. Great. Great. Great. And and what are the type of the products that you guys ship?

So like I said, we do, quinoa and organic pasta on our ancient harvest, brand. Okay. And then with Pamela’s, we do baked items. So cookies, and then we have baking mixes, cakes, cookies, flours, and all both brands are gluten free brands, and both brands are heritage brands. Okay.

So like I said, they’ve both been around for around 35 years. 35 years. Yeah. Okay. Very interesting.

Very so it’s all more, you know, organic and healthy, you know, focusing on that help help the industry? Yes. Definitely. Very interesting. So would you be able to, you know, quantify approximately, you know, what the dollar savings is?

Just just very, very high level, you know, that that gives a sense for, you know, how much this, you know, value this load proof brought in for you guys. Right? Definitely. You know, since the time we’ve been using it, I would definitely say in the tens of 1,000, of just being able to dispute and reclaim those those, inaccurate charges that we are receiving on shipments. Got it.

So is that is that only from the chargeback, the, you know, overages, shortages, damages side, or is it you know, how about the labor that’s saved? Because now you don’t have to, you know, react on a reactive mode. Now you’re putting everything on hold and going and searching for this. Right? How how about the labor savings, because of the system?

I mean, I would say it’s definitely, you know, we’re a few months in, so I would definitely say it’s in the definitely say it’s in the 1,000, and I see that continuing. And I also see, you know, that there could be additional uses, ways that we can leverage load proof going forward that would give us, you know, additional savings, additional time back, and that would be incredibly beneficial. And, you know, And, you know, another way that we receive chargebacks is through the SAS freight, which is, you know, just, if things don’t ship, being able to notify customers in advance, to not book that freight on the truck. So that’s another way that we’ve been able to dispute that as well to save this is the weight and the volume of what actually shipped. You know, that’s that’s been a savings as well.

Mhmm. So so you guys sorry. I didn’t exactly follow that. So you guys are telling in advance the weight and the volume of the product that is being shipped? So for example, if a customer places an order and it has 10 pallets, but there’s a shortage on that order Okay.

If we don’t alert them in advance, then they book the freight for all 10 pallets. Got it. And if the driver shows up and we’re only shipping 7 of those pallets, we still get a chargeback on that missed freight. Okay. So, you know, being able to re alert them in advance to say these items will not be shipping, book your freight accordingly.

Yeah. But by having load proof, 1, you’re able to show the packing list and this is the items that actually shipped. But then you’re also able to dispute on the freight side by saying, no. We let you know that 7 pallets would be shipping, and so that’s what you should have booked. Got it.

And we did give you advanced notice. Got it. So it looks like so your, transportation service is provided by the food distributor. Right? You’re not getting the carriers yourself, or is it the 3PL getting carriers for you guys?

In most cases, yes. It’s booked by the distributor. Okay. So that’s why you have to tell the distributor in advance saying that, hey, you know, even though the order was for 10 pallets, we have a shortage, so we’re gonna ship you only 7 pallets or the book the freight for only for 7 pallets. Yes.

So that way they can maximize their loads. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay.

That’s interesting. Okay. So nice. Nice. Okay.

So that has helped you guys to, you know, set that expectation upfront and, you know, make it easy on them so they know they’re coming here to pick up only 7 pallets. And that also, you know, makes the relationship better. Right? They’ll be like, you know, there are no surprises and they you know what? We are because those guys are trying to optimize for the cube of the, trailer or the truck.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Definitely.

Nice. Nice. Nice. So what other areas, you know, you’re thinking load proof might be helpful for you guys? Well, one area that I’m really interested in is, how we can use load proof, with ASN’s advanced ship notices k.

Especially with customers like Amazon, where it is kind of a a bit of a clunky, more manual process. Yeah. So that’s one area that I would be very interested in seeing. And then just also the capacity of, you know, being able to tag, BOLs and packing lists as they’re uploaded so you can actually do more reporting with load proof Yeah. You know, and have it kind of sorted and and organized that way as well.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, you know you can do the export from load proof.

Right? You you are aware of that capability. Right? Okay. Yes.

Okay. You guys use that. Has that been helpful? Not yet. So that’s something that I should definitely be looking into more.

Got it. Got it. And and, have you guys looked at using load proof on the inbound side as well? You know, if you’re receiving product from your vendors, making sure, hey, the product is arriving, you know, you know, the quality of the product that you’re receiving from the vendors is great and any, you know, pallet issues and things like that. You know, that’s what that’s what our customers do because what happens is a lot of those customers use start using it for outbound.

They see the benefit and they’re like, hey. You know what? I’m getting this much value from outbound. You know what? Let me, can I use this for inbound as well because my vendors are shipping the product?

I’m really not sure if all the products are good quality as that, you know, being, shipped in perfect, you know, boxes, you know, or I wanna make sure there are no broken pallets and things like that. Right? No. We’ve not considered that. Okay.

Okay. Something to think about. Because it Yeah. And and a lot of this food. Right?

The food is pretty sensitive, you know. And we have a lot of these food customers and they’re all, you know, your cleanliness is a big deal. Right? I mean, they gotta you know, everything needs to be perfectly clean and, you know, all that. So have you guys, you know, thought about, hey, doing trailer inspection, you know, and things like that to make sure that, right, all that, you know, steps are followed, before loading and things like that?

We have not, but that’s definitely something to consider. Okay. Okay. Okay. And and and, see, I mean, you guys are a little different.

Right? You’re not running the facility yourself. I know you’re working through the 3PL. You know, usually in the warehouse, they use load proof for many other things. I mean, right?

I’m I’m just trying to think, I think for for think from a, you know, because you guys own the brand and you’re sitting, you know, on off-site, not at the warehouse, it makes sense, from, you know, ASN perspective. It that’s that’s what that’s where you’re seeing the opportunity, from from your I know what what you guys need to get from the system. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Alright. Yeah. I yeah. I’m definitely open to any suggestions, but that’s definitely, I have a call with our warehouse team next Tuesday. So let me talk to them and just see, you know, now that they are getting more familiar with it.

You know, I’m assuming they’re using it for other customers at the warehouse level. Yeah. So I would love to talk to them and see what are their capacities they think would be beneficial and how else they’re using it. Yeah. I mean, one more thing what we can do is we can do a demo for you.

If you want, you know, we can do a demo for yourself all by yourself so you can learn all the capabilities that are available in load proof. And we can also do a demo I mean, maybe, you know, you might wanna bring Ron for that demo meeting as well. Maybe we can also do a demo along with the tag rep that is, you know, supporting you guys in the warehouse. So that way, you know, you can, you know, together brainstorm and see, hey. This makes sense for us.

This makes sense for us. This doesn’t make sense and things like that. And we can, you know, help you get more value out of load proof. Okay. That would be incredibly helpful.

Okay. Alright. I mean, so would you recommend as a, you know, customer support manager, you know, would you recommend somebody else, you use Loadproof, you know, from, based on your experience with Loadproof? Yes. Definitely.

Especially when you are in the position that we are where you’re not on-site, and just need the ability to access that information quickly and have it stored. You know, yes. I would definitely recommend Loadproof. Okay. Great.

Great. I mean, looks like so you guys are only doing for bill of lading. Right? Not for anything else. Not for the quality of the pallet itself, you know, to make sure, hey.

Is it stretch wrapped, you know, per perfect place. Time, no. Not not No. We’re not using it for any other anything other than just and then occasionally, if we request a packing list Mhmm. Then that’s, being uploaded at that time as well.

But right now, it’s just the bill of lightings. Okay. Okay. Great. No.

That’s fine. I mean, that’s perfectly fine. If that’s what the need is, you know, that’s perfectly fine. Yes. Okay.

Alright. So so that means, you know, the 3PL is doing a great job, you know, shipping the product in perfect condition because you guys don’t get that complaint. It’s not so much about it’s so much about, hey. You know, what was shipped and when was it shipped and what carrier was it shipped. It’s so much about all the details that is available in the bill of lading.

Yes. Okay. Okay. Great. I mean, you know, that’s all I have.

I mean, thank you very much for, you know, taking the time to, you know, share this feedback. And thank you very much for, you know, being a customer of Loadproof and, you know, let us know, you know, any way, anything else that we can do for you, you know, being a you know, we wanna be we are always about, you know, creating the best software and creating the, you know, best, you know, experience for our customers. So, you know, it’s always exciting to hear from, you know, someone that’s using Loadproof day in, day out. And, you know, that’s what at the end of the day, that’s what our mission is. So, yeah, thank you very much for your time and, thank you so much.

Yeah. Definitely. I’m happy to do it. Yeah. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Alright. Thank you. Mhmm.

Yeah. Bye.