Case Study:

Sobel Westex Demurrage Resolve

Sobel Westex

Bedding, Sheets, and Towels

Mike Ramirez

Sobel Westex was founded in 1981 and focuses primarily on the design, manufacturing, and distribution of luxury linens in the hospitality industry. Today, Sobel is a leading supplier to well-known hotels and cruise lines including Disney, Carnival, and Wyndham to name a few.

The Challenge

With a surplus of containers collecting storage at an east coast port, Sobel needed relief in order to continue with operational efficiencies. InstiCo began sourcing recoveries immediately to resolve demurrage quickly and get their commodities into inventory.

The Solution

With a large amount of inventory devanned into their warehouse, Sobel also needed to ship orders to customers in a timely manner to ensure a bottleneck didn’t occur and they fulfilled their customers’ orders as quickly as possible. InstiCo also supports Sobel with expedited ground transportation direct to door which has created even more efficiencies with the Sobel final mile.

Sobel Westex is the industry standard when it comes to manufacturing and sourcing high-quality textile products. They were faced with a supply chain disruption when their previous freight forwarder underwent a global cyber-attack in the midst of the pandemic. InstiCo was able to offer a strategic solution to resolve containers in storage at the port with no visibility or clearances. With InstiCo’s dynamic carrier program in the 3^rd largest port in the US, Sobel had answers within minutes. InstiCo provided the flexibility to recover all containers within hours to avoid additional demurrage. InstiCo & Sobel now have a trusting long-term industry partnership.

The Results

After the initial transition, InstiCo successfully pulled 25 containers from the port with another 317 following in 2022 and a cost savings of over $ 125,000 USD.

Sobel now offers inventory on a global scale with advanced logistics thanks to InstiCo. After a cyber-attack on their previous freight forwarder, Sobel realized they would need a provider that puts them in the driver’s seat and offers full transparency on all containers arriving at the port to ensure demurrage is not accrued after the last free days.

Overall, the drayage improvements have continued to be very effective and efficient in exceeding the standards that Sobel has come to know and rightfully deserves. It has allowed their distribution centers to continue normal operations and provided the flexibility to ensure Sobel would not face any additional challenges due to lack of visibility. InstiCo supplies Sobel with key performance indicators monthly and followed up with quarterly business reviews.

If you find yourself needing a drayage partner that can relieve the pressure on your intermodal team, provide flexibility to virtually eliminate demurrage, and include an Account Management team, reach out to the InstiCo sales team to find out where we can help! With securely vetted private chassis partners across the country, InstiCo has made strategic investments in asset-based carriers that can offer unique solutions to any supply chain constraints.