Innovative tech and high-touch personal service: why Source Logistics cannot be contained 

Dedicated to supporting brands through reliable omnichannel distribution, warehousing, and transportation solutions, Source Logistics (Source) leverages intuitive, creative technology and decades of industry expertise to deliver high-quality solutions to customers. Working across a wide range of sectors, including food and beverage, health and beauty, consumer retail, and grocery, the company helps domestic and international companies more quickly reach U.S. consumers, providing a dynamic platform that identifies and alleviates unexpected issues associated with scaling a business.   

Striving to provide excellent service with personal attention, Source approaches customer experience with a vision to build long-lasting partnerships with its customers, as evidenced by its customer retention rate of 94 percent. In today’s ever-evolving market, agility and integrity are key.  

As a trusted partner, Source goes the extra mile to ensure predictable, reliable, and transparent service, whether shipping cross-border freight from Mexico into the US or assisting with local delivery near one of its 24 storage locations. Through its flexible 3PL model, access to coastal and interior U.S. logistics hubs, and value-added services, the company can quickly respond and adapt to changing dynamics to mitigate the impact of volatility on customers’ businesses.   

Service solutions 

Source’s core capabilities fall into three categories: integrated warehousing and distribution services, e-commerce and fulfillment solutions, and transportation services. Its distribution services provide flexible storage solutions from dry and ambient to refrigerated and frozen capabilities and real-time visibility, enabling customers to track inventory whether at rest in the warehouse or in motion during transport. Source’s fulfillment services provide even further value to customers, offering e-commerce support, pick-and-pack, and a variety of value-added services that remove complexity from the supply chain.  

Within its transportation division – Source Freight – the business provides a full suite of brokerage services, handling everything from truckload to LTL, cross-border and door-to-door, and specialized services like rail, drayage, and consolidation. Source Freight is integrated with Source’s technology – and uses its warehouse management system (WMS) and transportation management system (TMS) to provide a unified, real-time view of customers’ operations.   

To learn more about how Source is expanding its freight division, we sit down with Shane Stafford, Vice President of Transportation. “Having been in business for over 25 years, Source has a strong presence across the U.S. Now with 24 strategic storage locations, our customers can reach 75 percent of the U.S. population within the same day,” Shane opens. “From a transportation perspective, our niche is transporting food and beverage products, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail items. We want to provide a strong transportation operation to companies without their own fleet or in-house freight resources, enabling them to focus on servicing their own customers.  

“We provide U.S. domestic and cross-border transportation, with service for both full truckload (FTL) and less than truckload (LTL) freight across the U.S. We also offer intermodal and rail, shuttle servicing, drop trailer programs, and drayage solutions. Source Freight specializes in local pickup and delivery service (Local), where we provide final-mile delivery from our warehouses to grocery stores and retailers on a per-pallet basis.   

“Our customers have found this incredibly valuable, as getting their product to the end grocery store or retailer rarely requires FTL or LTL. Still, in many cases, they need to find a separate carrier to handle that delivery component. We offer it all within the regions we service, specifically in our port locations, to ensure a seamless experience.”  

Investing for the future 

In addition to its heavy focus on warehousing services, Source has been growing its freight network and portfolio of transportation services. “We’ve recently expanded our cross-border service between Mexico and the U.S., which means we can now offer everything from door-to-door and consolidation services from Mexico all the way to final delivery,” Shane elaborates. “For instance, we could take a product from a manufacturer in Mexico to a distribution facility in the U.S. and deliver it to its final location, typically grocery stores or retailers.   

“In terms of locations, we’ve recently added nine new warehouses, one in Dallas and eight in Chicago through a major acquisition,” he reveals. “Having an extensive network of warehouse hubs – from dry and ambient to refrigerated and frozen – directly impacts the transportation element of the business, as we can reach more customers in a shorter time frame. As we continue our strategic expansion plans, our goal is to enable our customers to reach 95 percent of the U.S. population same day. Right now, we’re already at 75 percent.”   

To support such expansion, Source has implemented a new TMS. “Our new TMS provides better customer service, giving customers a portal through which they can quote or book shipments, complete updates, or track their freight,” Shane explains. “This not only enhances our connectivity with customers, but it’s also user-friendly and links to our integrated WMS. Together, these systems enable customers to control operations in real-time regardless of which distribution center the product is located.”  

Aggressive growth ahead 

Shane’s extensive experience in the global supply chain industry, including international freight forwarding and domestic transportation, positions him well to lead Source’s transportation service expansion, while maintaining customer and employee relationships. “We have a strong focus on streamlining our processes and procedures to ensure we’re meeting customer requirements but also enabling further expansion across the business to offer an end-to-end solution. There is a major focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement,” Shane adds.   

“Over the next five years, we’ll expand what our incredible founders worked hard to build by adding new services and continuing to focus on customer care and relationships. The business has grown since its early days as a two-man operation, with our founders Raul and Marcelo doing everything from driving trucks to unloading products, and connecting with people, and their hardworking spirit and dedication remains today.  

“We’re currently focused on the year ahead, as we’ll continue to execute on our aggressive growth strategy,” Shane concludes. “With the Chicago acquisition, new frozen and refrigerated services, and new customers, we’re focusing on ensuring we maintain high-quality service no matter what. Customer relationships will remain at the forefront of our operations, and we’ll continue to provide everything our clients need.”   

www.sourcelogistics.com