Third-day delivery completed in a day

Sometimes you get exactly what you paid for and then realize later it’s not exactly what you need. If it’s a product, you can always return it. But if it’s a service, well, it’s hard to take a service back.

So it’s important to choose wisely when service providers are involved.

After all, service provision is one thing, but taking an interest in the success of the customer receiving the service is quite another. That’s when a service provider stops being a vendor and becomes a veritable partner in the ongoing success of those it serves.

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc., recently experienced the difference. And in the process, it avoided a costly interruption to one of its production lines.

On a Friday, a Mitsubishi plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, ordered a critical starter component from R. Bourgeois USA in Williamsville, N.Y., who shipped it with ABF for third-day delivery. Of course, this meant the part was due for Wednesday delivery. Unfortunately, Mitsubishi would have been forced to suspend production unless the part arrived on Monday afternoon.

So, late Monday morning, Mitsubishi called the ABF dispatcher in Cincinnati and explained the urgency.

It probably wouldn’t have been unexpected to hear the dispatcher say, “Look, I’m sorry, but third-day delivery takes three business days. There’s nothing I can do.”

Instead, the dispatcher instantly determined that the needed part was inbound from the ABF Distribution Center in Dayton, Ohio. Then he diligently worked to locate an available city driver who could intercept the shipment and make the delivery.

Mitsubishi had the part at 1:30 on Monday afternoon.

“That’s the level of service Mitsubishi Electric has come to expect from ABF,” said Mike Newkirk, senior buyer for Mitsubishi. “Please keep up the good work.”

At ABF, we’re driven by our customers’ priorities.

---

Do you have a similar situation? Or perhaps you'd like to give us some feedback. We'd love to hear from you! E-mail us at marketing@abf.com.