Edward Don Discovers LTL Efficiencies

Company Background

For over a century, Edward Don & Company has been synonymous with excellence in the foodservice industry. Founded in 1921, the company has built its legacy on family values, operational excellence, and exceptional service— providing “Everything but the Food®” to restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, and institutions nationwide.

As one of the industry’s leading distributors, DON manages a complex, high-volume transportation network that spans seven distribution centers, supports over 12,000 products, and operates a private fleet of more than 100 trucks. To sustain growth and efficiency in this dynamic environment, DON turned to TranzAct Technologies—a trusted logistics partner known for delivering performance visibility, cost optimization, and collaborative innovation. Together, they studied DON’s complex network and examined the factors shaping the company’s evolving needs.

Business Problem

DON’s nationwide distribution network augments private fleet and contract carrier deliveries with LTL, making visibility, consistency, and cost control essential to daily operations. As the company grew, fragmented data and limited insight into shipment performance created challenges in tracking deliveries, managing costs, and identifying the root causes of delays or unexpected charges. The team also needed stronger on-time performance across seven distribution centers and sought to uncover additional savings opportunities across modes, including consolidation and improved routing.

Inbound freight—particularly vendor-prepaid shipments—added further complexity, with inconsistent carrier selections, variable transit times, and limited visibility driving inefficiencies at the dock and unpredictable costs. To overcome these challenges, DON needed a partner capable of delivering structure, transparency, and measurable improvement across its transportation operations through technology integration, data-driven insights, and continuous process optimization.

Solution - Managed Services

TranzAct’s operations team is working closely with DON’s distribution, procurement, and transportation leaders to integrate tailored workflows across the planning, execution, and audit functions. This includes developing standardized routing logic, refining order level consolidation strategies, and creating exception-based alerts that allow teams to proactively address service or cost issues before they impact customers.

A key component of this operational integration is the deployment of automated controls within DON’s ERP environment. These controls ensure that every shipment—regardless of shipper, consignee, or mode—is evaluated against the most cost-effective, service-appropriate option. By automating least-cost carrier selection and applying enforcement rules at scale, TranzAct is helping DON reduce manual decision-making, eliminate process variability, and ensure consistent compliance across the organization.

TranzAct is further supporting ongoing performance by establishing structured governance processes, including quarterly optimization reviews, targeted opportunity assessments, and workflow audits. These touchpoints identify emerging trends in freight activity, highlight new opportunities for mode shifts or consolidation, and ensure that carrier strategy remains aligned with changing business needs. As a result, DON is benefitting from a transportation strategy that continuously evolves to support growth, service reliability, and financial discipline.

DON gains real-time access to essential transportation data, including cost per hundredweight, accessorial charges, and carrier performance through TranzAct’s integrated technology platform. This allows teams to view, audit, and approve freight charges in one unified system—turning raw data into actionable intelligence. With these insights, logistics and procurement teams identify cost drivers, refine consolidation logic, and negotiate with carriers and vendors based on verified performance.
TranzAct is strengthening DON’s logistics performance by embedding continuous optimization directly into day-to-day operations. This approach ensures that improvements are not one-time initiatives, but part of a repeatable, scalable logistics discipline.

Return on Investment

The partnership between TranzAct and DON delivers optimized rate sourcing and long-term cost control, resulting in significant savings of more than 15% sustained over multiple years. By integrating this model into its logistics strategy, DON is balancing efficiency with reliability while upholding core values of quality service and operational excellence.

Along with 15% savings, DON is achieving 100% least cost carrier compliance and an over 95% on-time performance rate. The collaboration minimizes freight related surprises, improves cost-to-serve, strengthens service reliability, and elevates logistics into a source of competitive advantage. With embedded analytics and performance visibility tools, DON’s leadership team is able to make data-driven logistics decisions, furthering savings and driving on-time performance.

At the heart of these results is a strong spirit of collaboration. Monthly KPI reviews, joint planning sessions, and continuous improvement initiatives shape a strategic partnership. Together, the organizations are establishing a qualified core carrier network, implementing mode conversions, and seamlessly integrating freight audit and analytics into DON’s ERP system. These initiatives reduce manual processes, accelerate decision-making, and embed logistics excellence into daily operations.