BRENTWOOD - OHL, a leading third-party logistics provider, has expanded its Transportation Management offering to include Freight Consolidation Services.  Also known as retailer consolidation or multi-customer consolidation, Freight Consolidation Services involves combining less-than-truckload (LTL) freight across multiple customers into a single truckload (TL) shipment, which is then distributed to a retailer’s distribution center. Success of a freight consolidation program relies heavily on a distribution center that is strategically located in close proximity to a consolidation center. OHL’s network of more than 120 fulfillment centers, collectively known as campuses, are located in optimal locations for freight consolidation and serve as OHL’s consolidation centers. With freight shipping at a truckload rate, customers participating in OHL’s Freight Consolidation Services have seen cost savings up to 10-15% over traditional less-than-truckload. Aside from reducing costs associated with shipping LTL, Freight Consolidation Services can decrease fines, improve transit times, lower carbon emissions, and reduce the number of touches leading to fewer damages. “OHL’s freight consolidation program in Indianapolis has been a big success for Emerson,” says Patrick Gibbons, Vice President Operations and Founding Partner at Emerson Healthcare. “Not only have we seen a reduction in our freight costs, we have been able to negotiate our must arrive by dates (MABD) to get our product into the retailer quicker. Having the ability to do this has enabled us to become more reactive to our retailers needs all while benefiting the Emerson brand.” As the service offering continues to grow, OHL plans to further expand the service into more retailer distribution centers throughout the U.S. “Our customers depend on us to provide logistics solutions to solve today’s challenges, and shipping freight into big box retailers was beginning to put pressure on their margins,” says Jeff McDermott, SVP Transportation at OHL. “We identified the areas in which we could reduce transportation costs for our customers shipping into retailers and began the development of our freight consolidation program. The OHL campus network and our partnership with key transportation providers has been a key success factor for the launch of this service and will allow us to expand the offering to virtually anywhere in the U.S.”