Schneider expands middle mile configuration to its van truckload and intermodal assets

Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Schneider National, a provider of truckload, intermodal and logistics services, recently announced it is broadening its middle- mile configuration to include its Van Truckload and Intermodal owned assets, in a move geared to optimize the movement of freight through its 24 terminal networks across the contiguous 48 United States.

The company said that with the middle mile providing connectivity from and between local last-mile terminals, it plays as significant a role as its first- and last-mile counterparts. When Schneider acquired Watkins & Shepherd Trucking in 2016, it paved the way for the company to become a key player in the first to final mile delivery of over-dimensional goods for omnichannel retailers and manufacturers. And it now has access to more than 10,700 trucks and 22,000 intermodal containers.

A Schneider spokesperson told LM that seeing the need to drive consistent and reliable transits played a key role in this move, adding that this was accomplished by utilizing its capacity and best-in-class Van Truckload and Intermodal assets, as well as revenue management tools.

And the spokesperson also pointed to various shipper benefits of this initiative.

“Through an engineered and optimized network solution, shippers can access schedules and routings to maximize delivery dates and take advantage of the synchronized shipping solution,” the spokesperson said. “Additionally, shippers will see: reduced claims due to less handlings between terminals; consistency and predictability driven by an optimized network; and Standard pricing and transit times.”

By incorporating Schneider’s assets into the middle-mile service offering, Schneider said this will reduce the number of freight handlings through the company’s terminal network, and reduce product claims, as well as improve driver efficiency and increase consistency in service standards and delivery times.

From a Schneider perspective, the spokesperson said that through its best-in-class capacity and management tools, it is able to optimize truckload and intermodal opportunities to drive consistency, reliability, and cost containment.

“A seamless delivery experience – whether it’s the first mile, the last mile or the miles in between – means there’s a consistent, reliable network working hard for a customer’s business,” said Rob Bulick, Schneider senior vice president and general manager of First to Final Mile, in a statement. “Expanding our middle-mile strength to include Schneider’s owned assets and data-driven network optimizations ensures we’re constantly meeting the high expectations for final-mile delivery that customers and consumers can depend on and trust.”

On a separate but related note, Schneider said it is implementing a standardized delivery day for ZIP codes that will create predictability. It explained that it customers will be provided with the exact transit flow of a their shipmen and a projected day and time for delivery from ZIP code to ZIP code in what it described as a holistic end-to-end scheduled offering.