Case study: Negotiations and new TMS slash parcel and freight costs
AFS SERVICES:
Founded in 1965 in Pittsburg, Texas, Cavender’s is a leading western wear retailer known for quality products, fair prices and strong customer service. With more than 115 U.S. stores and a growing online presence, parcel shipping is essential to delivering a positive customer experience.
“We’d be bleeding millions of dollars in excess freight costs if we didn’t have AFS. They have the expertise, knowledge and systems that our business needs, and they do everything more efficiently than we could.”
For over 20 years, Cavender’s relied on a single parcel carrier. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, rising e-commerce demand and limited capacity led to service issues. At the same time, Cavender’s faced challenges managing inbound freight costs, with vendors embedding LTL shipping fees into the cost of goods. To gain control, they needed set rates and better visibility through technology. They turned to AFS Logistics for its data-driven expertise in parcel and LTL. “AFS has always been really proactive in bringing us new ideas and telling us what’s coming down the pike,” said Jim Thompson, CFO, Cavender’s Family Office.
AFS helped Cavender’s identify another parcel carrier that was offering competitive pricing to gain new business – offering the chance to not only address service and capacity issues, but significantly reduce overall parcel spend. Cavender’s gave AFS the green light to negotiate, but a problem emerged before negotiations even began. The carrier had a longstanding policy of only negotiating contracts directly with shippers — not a third-party logistics provider like AFS. AFS leveraged a 13-year relationship with the carrier’s LTL group to initiate parcel contract negotiations. When the carrier saw that partnering with AFS was key to securing Cavender’s multimillion-dollar parcel spend, they agreed to a deal covering 95% of their parcel shipping. “AFS showed the carrier where they needed to be on cost and had our full trust,” said Thompson. To improve control over inbound LTL freight, AFS implemented a TMS that now manages 95% of shipments through a vendor portal—selecting carriers, setting rates, and training 400 vendors to boost accuracy, efficiency, and visibility.
The new contract negotiated by AFS cut Cavender’s annual parcel spend by 14%, while the TMS reduced LTL costs by 16.7%. With 95% of LTL freight routed through the system, Cavender’s gained greater visibility and reduced financial risk “AFS solutions help us improve margins and generate working capital—critical for delivering top-tier service,” said Thompson. AFS continues to support Cavender’s with strategic guidance, fair pricing, and data-driven decisions that keep customers satisfied.
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