LoadProof Video Testimonial – Josh Keeney, Kenco

Hey Josh, thank you very much for taking the time with this interview. This note is immensely valuable. Start with a quick introduction about the facility and go from there.

So we are a working go logistic services. We’re a third-party fulfillment agent for a range of customers. The current customer we have in our facility has a product line that is very unique to our vertical. The products are expensive, and we need to ensure we are good stewards.

We make sure that when products come in, if there’s damage, temperature control deviations, or any type of customer requirement, we definitely note that. We’re about a hundred to two hundred forty thousand square foot facility, temperature controlled. There’s a lot of opportunity for deviations to occur.

We utilize a product like Load Proof to monitor and manage some of the risks we experience. I can’t go into a lot of detail about our product line to respect my customer’s request. If there’s anything else you’d like me to add, I can answer more about that.

Originally, what was the problem? There are two things we were dealing with: shipper damage and a lack of defined processes or tools. We identified damage on the product during trailer inspections. Communication wasn’t in place, leading to warehouse damage.

The second issue was with LTL shipments. We want to ensure that we have a record of the product’s condition before leaving our facility. This way, if a claim arises, we have the documentation to show the product’s condition.

One of the reasons we decided to utilize Load Proof was the peace of mind it provides in documenting items like shipper or load damage. It’s hard to argue with photographs and documentation, which makes claims easier to manage.

Having something like Load Proof allows us to feel confident in our inspection process. When we file a claim, we have the documentation to support it, reducing the likelihood of pushback.

One of the tipping points was our Clinco operating system, focusing on lean fundamentals. Given our product line, incurring significant charges can happen easily. With such a low-cost item, implementing this tool was a no-brainer.

As with any change management, we encountered some pushback initially. However, the goal was to show the value of using Load Proof. It took about a month to fully integrate, and we’ve seen more areas where this program can be utilized effectively.

The bond time and what about labor savings was definitely water as it is it wasn’t a big deal. So I think from a claim perspective, like I said, I can’t go into these details. I definitely feel and can see where, in some of the verified claims that we’ve had, we’ve been able to support shipments going out. It’s definitely been a cost savings or cost avoidance for our customer because we have proof of the status of when an item came in. I’m definitely making sure from an inbound perspective that you have to follow the process of not touching anything before you handle it to make sure that there’s no doubt.

On the inbound side, there’s been some cost avoidance. I’ve got it great; you know how the transformation always is. After law proven, what has that meant in your environment? I definitely think it makes people’s lives easier. Whenever you receive an email and you’re being questioned about a certain shipment, it definitely lightens the mood when you can show that you’ve got proof that, hey, this shipment came in just like this.

The conversation kind of dies, and then our customer goes back and can handle it on their end. Every instance is going to be different, but it’s always nice to not have to worry. I keep using that peace of mind; it’s trying to utilize something to make your life easier so you don’t have to go back and explain. One thing I like about photographs and documentation is that within our business here, we may ship something out today and not receive a claim back for six months.

It’s very nice to be able to go back and have a file for, oh yeah, here’s this shipment, and here are the photographs from it. It’s really not a conversation anymore; it kind of distracts off any agitation. You know that agitated feeling doesn’t linger any longer. For our site, we don’t utilize it; we don’t photograph every shipment, but we utilize it where we feel we need to.

We’re trying to make sure that we’re not over-utilizing or under-utilizing it and ensuring that we’re on the same page to add value. There’s always room for improvement. We had a conversation this morning in our top-tier meeting, just trying to look at what examples we have where there are areas we might be missing. Maybe we could utilize local proof for this or that, even if it’s not specific to inbound or outbound; it might be reverse logistics where we can utilize it.

We’re always trying to make sure that we’re maximizing programs and abilities because it’s really about making our team members’ lives easier. At the end of the day, if you know all about it, we work so hard, and we don’t want you coming in telling us, oh my god. When you have that proof evidence, just be ready for it. It’s so much better.

When someone is on the fence, why should they start using it? I think when you can talk with somebody and understand their pain, I go back to an example when we started our lean journey. There are a lot of different ways to perform actions. The philosophy I take is, here’s the requirement we need to meet and here are a couple of ways we can do that. If someone is on the fence, like with our 5S audit program, we could have filled out forms, interpreted data, and produced charts.

But at the end of the day, if there are tools that can automate all that with minimal input, it’s going to make your life easier, be more accurate, and lower costs. If someone is on the fence about proof, absolutely, I’m going to promote it because in instances where we’ve been questioned about inbound or outbound loads, it’s been very easy to produce feedback with little pushback. I know our customer often wants an immediate photograph outside of flows, so there are certain things we don’t use it for.

But once you have people using it, they need to see the why and the value. If you understand that to be a good steward of my customer, I need to remove process deviations and have tools like this, it becomes easy to meet those goals. Every shipment is different, and there are scenarios where we only serve certain needs. The thought process behind choosing what to photograph came from analyzing historical data.

We looked at damage specifics, whether inbound or outbound, to avoid excessive photographing if it doesn’t add value. We identified risk areas to maximize value, starting mostly on the inbound side where we see the most need. I think there’s a line where you can be excessive and start creating waste, so it’s about identifying where value is created.

Regarding labor, I can’t share specific numbers, as it’s been requested by our customer. However, the savings, which I call cost avoidance, significantly outweigh the money spent managing the process. I wish I could share more, but the cost per month based on our package is easily offset by savings from just one shipment. That one shipment can cover the cost for the lifespan of the system.