Accuride saves more than $1.5 million in their freight operations

Escalating freight costs and lack of visibility – A recipe for disaster

The pandemic hit Accuride like a perfect storm. With the Suez Canal blockage turning global logistics into a nightmare, freight rates exploded—multiplying tenfold in some cases. The already challenging environment was made worse by growing shortages of truck drivers and shipping containers, creating a logistical puzzle that seemed impossible to solve.

At the heart of their struggle was a complete lack of shipment visibility. Imagine having 100 containers sitting at a port, quietly accruing massive detention and demurrage costs, and your team has no idea they're even there. The company's operational structure was fragmented beyond repair, with freight forwarders, carriers, customs house agents, and the Accuride team all working in complete isolation, each group trapped in its own silo of systems and processes.

Documentation was a critical weakness. Everything was manual, relying entirely on endless email chains to share critical shipping documents. Paperwork would go missing, get delayed, or create versioning nightmares. Rate management was equally problematic, with the procurement team essentially working blind, using manual spreadsheets with no access to market intelligence or carrier performance metrics.

These challenges were more than just operational hiccups—they were existential threats to the business. With carriers and port authorities unleashing a torrent of over 72 different accessorial charges, and no effective way to audit or verify invoices, Accuride knew something had to change. The path forward would require a radical reimagining of their entire logistics approach—a digital transformation that could bring visibility, efficiency, and control back to their supply chain.

We had about 100 containers that were sitting in the port and we didn’t know about that, and we had to get them because every day they were incurring detention (and) demurrage for being at the port.

- Skotti Fietsam, SVP of Global Supply Chain

Reducing $500 per container in accessorial charges

Accuride’s needs centered on solving their three core problems for freight spend optimization – freight visibility, invoice management, and collaborative communication on the same platform and Pando proved to be exceptionally suited for the challenges, reducing $500 per container in accessorial charges, which we shall explore in depth.

1. Granular visibility into multimodal shipments

The implementation of real-time tracking provided comprehensive visibility into every shipment milestone across the ocean freight journey with precise location details including the latitude and longitude of the shipment. Pando’s AI agent processed multiple data sources to generate accurate ETAs, enabling proactive exception management. This enhanced visibility empowered Accuride to optimize downstream logistics planning, from container yard operations to last-mile delivery scheduling, significantly reducing idle time and improving resource utilization.

With Pando we can show them on a map exactly where the container is at any given moment.

- Jacob Rayner, OEM Account Manager

2. Single source of truth

Pando's unified approach eliminated operational silos by connecting all ecosystem partners - carriers, freight forwarders, CHAs, and shippers - in a single collaborative environment with automated alerts for specific activities like shipment creation. This integration also extended to the existing tech stack and enabled seamless information flow and real-time status updates across the supply chain. Standardized workflows and automated notifications ensured smooth handoffs between parties while maintaining complete audit trails of all interactions and decisions. The system delivered timely notifications and alerts to respective stakeholders for SOP compliance, helping to avoid penalties through proactive management.

3. Digitalizing document management

The digital document management system built within Pando revolutionized the way shipping documentation was handled across partners. Smart workflows automatically triggered document requirements and tracked their completion status, while built-in compliance checks validated document accuracy and completeness. The platform's collaborative features enabled real-time document sharing and editing, eliminating version control issues and reducing documentation-related delays.

Having the right documentation available for the freight forwarders and the customs brokers inside the system meant that the parts flow through the port of entry more quickly.

- Paul Wright, President & CIO

4. Real-time market intelligence

Integrating carrier performance metrics with market intelligence enabled Accuride to take data-driven decisions during carrier selection. Configurable rate cards and automated validation rules streamlined the tendering process, while performance dashboards provided clear visibility into carrier reliability and service quality. This comprehensive approach allowed for strategic carrier selection based on both cost and performance parameters. The platform provided control to choose cost-effective partners during operations planning, optimizing both service quality and expenditure.

5. Unmatched freight audit accuracy

The in-depth milestone tracking provided Accuride with exact information on when the shipment sailed or was delivered, which made it easier for the team to audit against freight invoices.

Financially we have the ability to audit invoices and see each specific charge. This has generated significant cost savings as we can now reject invoices where we were billed incorrectly and send back to the provider to send the revised invoice with the correct charges.

- Jacob Rayner, OEM Account Manager

With Pando’s capabilities to perform a four-way invoice matching against the contract, proof of delivery, and purchase order, they were able to discern their exact freight spend. Any disputes were resolved in real-time within the platform, thereby effectively bringing down 72 accessorial charges to 7 essential ones and reducing $500 per container.

What emerged was more than just a technological solution—it was a complete reimagining of logistics management. By transforming fragmented, manual processes into a unified, intelligent platform, Pando didn't just solve Accuride's immediate challenges; it fundamentally reshaped their entire supply chain ecosystem. From granular shipment tracking to real-time market intelligence, the solution delivered unprecedented visibility, efficiency, and control. The result was a dramatic reduction in operational complexity, with accessorial charges slashed from 72 to just 7, and a newfound ability to make proactive, data-driven decisions that could turn logistical obstacles into strategic opportunities.