CASE STUDY: Delivering Success – How to Re-design a Bulk Food Supply Chain

One Grocery Network. Many Stores. One Smart Supply Chain.

Grocery supply chains are anything but simple.

No two grocery retailers operate the same way. Store size, product mix, number of locations, and available storage space all play a role in how freight needs to move. That complexity only increases when you narrow in on niche formats such as bulk food retailers, where each location carries a different assortment and operates with minimal backroom space.

Yet too often, supply chains are forced into a one-size-fits-all model.

The Challenge: Variety, Volume, and Very Little Space

In this case, our customer needed to move pallets of bulk food from a warehouse in Ontario to multiple storefronts across Canada. Each store required different products, in different quantities, at different times.

One location might need almonds and basmati rice. Another might skip almonds entirely but require gummy candies and powdered juice mix. Multiply that by dozens of locations and the complexity adds up quickly.

Add one more wrinkle. Extremely limited backroom storage.

With no space to hold excess inventory, shipments had to arrive on time, in the right quantities, and with the flexibility to adapt as store needs changed. The solution also needed to be cost effective and sustainable.

Step One: Choose the Right Modes

This type of challenge is exactly where blended transportation solutions shine.

Rather than relying on a single mode, we designed a solution that combined truckload, intermodal, and LTL. By moving the long haul portion of the journey by rail, we reduced costs and environmental impact. Truckload supported efficient first mile moves, while LTL provided the flexibility needed to serve individual store locations.

The result was freight that moved more efficiently, more sustainably, and in a way that aligned with how the customer actually operates.

Step Two: From Warehouse to Storefront Seamlessly

Once loaded, containers were moved by truck to a nearby rail yard, transferred onto rail, and shipped to a Bison facility closer to the final markets. There, freight was deconsolidated and distributed through our LTL network to individual stores.

This approach ensured each location received exactly what it needed. No more and no less. It also prevented limited retail space from being overwhelmed by excess inventory.

Step Three: Bonus Points for Sustainability and Savings

Solving the forward supply chain was only part of the story.

With limited backroom space, empty pallets quickly became another challenge. They took up valuable space, created safety concerns, and represented untapped value if left unmanaged.

Using the same LTL network, we implemented pallet returns by consolidating empty pallets and shipping them back to the manufacturer for recycling. This improved store conditions, put money back into the customer’s pocket, and supported sustainability goals.

The Takeaway: Blended Solutions Win

Complex grocery networks do not need rigid answers. They need flexible ones. By blending truckload, intermodal, and LTL, leveraging our asset-based network, and thinking beyond a single shipment, Bison helped this customer move freight smarter, reduce environmental impact, and support the realities of limited retail space. When supply chains are designed around how businesses actually operate, everyone benefits.