TTX Uses Integration Layer to Get Real-Time Visibility of 175K Rail Containers

TTX’s signature yellow rail cars carry goods and raw materials across North America. Since 2000, TTX has invested over $13 billion in new railcar purchases for a fleet of more than 175,000 flatcars, boxcars and gondolas.

TTX engaged Redwood Logistics (Redwood), one of the fastest-growing fourth-party logistics (4PL) providers in North America, to help digitally orchestrate the complex movements of both TTX’s railcar assets and individual customer shipments. This solution has allowed TTX to optimize its routes, including round trips, as well as build and consolidate loads to maximize capacity for every railcar.

“Redwood added enormous value by specifying, installing, and connecting the advanced solutions TTX needed,” said Keith Salette, Director Logistics and Distribution, TTX. “But even the best technology won’t contribute at its maximum level without user training and employee ownership. The Redwood team empowered our users by providing best-in-class training that’s maximized our return on investment. Our employees own these solutions and even know how to perform customizations. That’s been a game-changer.”

TTX’s pooled, multi-purpose railcars maximize utilization by reducing empty miles and switching to minimize empty network flows. These cars can be reloaded and routed to any destination by any railroad, eliminating unnecessary costs. However, optimizing routes, loads and capacities across the US, Canada and Mexico represented an enormous logistics challenge. TTX needed an advanced digital transportation management system (TMS) to combine high service levels with strong asset utilization and financial results.

The Redwood team connected Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) in real-time with Oracle Cloud Fusion and Oracle Financials, enabling TTX planners to see the real impacts of various carrier rates and contracts before assigning shipments. To help optimize TTX’s parcel shipping operations, Redwood also implemented Redwood Parcel Cloud, Redwood’s proprietary parcel services software, allowing TTX to rate, ship, and track all parcels via a single, easy-to-use tool.

Thanks to Redwood’s integration  Oracle solutions, TTX now has real-time visibility of shipments and assets across all transportation modes. TTX logistics planners can proactively negotiate carrier rates and contracts to maximize customer service while minimizing costs. Redwood Parcel Cloud has been especially helpful in making complex decisions between parcel shipping and less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation.