Key Takeaways

  • Consolidation + VMI transforms replenishment from reactive to predictive
  • Centralized visibility improves collaboration across retailers and suppliers
  • Retailers gain efficiency while expanding supplier networks
  • Suppliers operate with the sophistication of larger organizations
  • Data-driven decision-making reduces costs and improves service levels

About the Customer

CaseStack is a leading supply chain services provider focused on the logistics needs of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. Going beyond a traditional 3PL, CaseStack leverages retailer consolidation programs and cloud-based technologies to reduce inefficiencies, eliminate waste, and optimize supply chain performance for both suppliers and major retailers.

The Challenge

As retailers expand their assortments with more niche, regional, and specialty CPG products, they face increasing complexity in managing a growing number of small to mid-sized suppliers. This creates strain across the supply chain, including:

  • High volumes of less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments
  • Increased pressure on distribution center capacity and personnel
  • Inefficient, reactive replenishment processes driven by manual purchase orders
  • Limited collaboration between retailers and suppliers
  • Difficulty maintaining service levels while controlling costs

Retail buyers were often responsible for managing purchase orders across as many as 150 suppliers daily, making the process time-consuming, reactive, and difficult to scale.

The Solution

CaseStack expanded its retailer consolidation program by integrating Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) using the TrueCommerce Datalliance platform.

With this solution:

  • CaseStack combines shipments from multiple suppliers into full truckloads, improving transportation efficiency
  • VMI enables CaseStack to generate predictive purchase orders on behalf of retailers
  • Real-time visibility into retailer demand and supplier inventory allows for proactive replenishment
  • Retailers gain a single point of contact for supplier coordination
  • Suppliers benefit from improved visibility into forecasts, demand trends, and production planning

This transformation shifted replenishment from a manual, reactive process to a collaborative, data-driven, and proactive model.

Detailed Results & Business Impact

By combining consolidation with VMI, CaseStack significantly improved supply chain performance for both retailers and suppliers.

The solution enabled:

  • More efficient inventory management through predictive ordering and better demand visibility
  • Improved collaboration between retailers, suppliers, and CaseStack, creating a more strategic partnership model
  • Reduced operational burden for retail buyers, allowing them to focus on growth initiatives rather than transactional tasks
  • Enhanced supplier performance, including better on-time delivery, improved shelf availability, and stronger retailer scorecards
  • Greater scalability, enabling retailers to onboard more small and niche suppliers without increasing complexity

The shift to a proactive replenishment model also helped eliminate stockouts, improve inventory turns, and reduce overall supply chain costs—while maximizing product availability and sales performance.