A case study with Glenn VanLandingham, vice president of solutioning and implementation with Datex, and Chris Larsen, president and chief executive officer of Castellini.

Castellini is a third-party logistics provider primarily operating in the cold storage space, both refrigerated and frozen, for produce and other perishable foods. It also provides ready-made meal delivery. From a 200,000 square-foot warehouse outside Cincinnati, Ohio, the company distributes to customers east of the Mississippi River.

Castellini set out to solve two distinct problems, Larsen says. One was the need for greater flexibility to respond to unique customer requirements for concerns such as picking, order fulfillment and shelf life. The company serves a broad customer base, offering seven temperature zones within the warehouse, from 50 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. The other concern was being able to capture and charge for all the various activities it provides, many of which require the imposition of accessorial fees and dynamic pricing.

To help it achieve those goals, Castellini chose warehouse management software provider Datex. Larsen says the vendor already had many 3PL customers, and “had perfected a lot of the things we were looking for.” VanLandingham adds that Datex had particular expertise in cold storage.

Larsen calls implementation of the Datex WMS a success. Castellini took a phased approach to the project, adding a new group of customers every couple of weeks. The strategy allowed it to tweak the system along the way.

Larsen says the new system provided Castellini with the necessary flexibility to handle last-minute order changes and rapid turnaround of inventory in the warehouse. The company further benefited from a customer portal within the Datex WMS, he says.

Both companies see an opportunity to continue working together to achieve further improvements. Larsen says Datex “is continually coming out with new enhancements and features. Our ability to take advantage of those has really been a big plus for us.”