When food manufacturers and distributors evaluate cold chain partners, transportation capabilities often determine whether a relationship succeeds or fails. CORE X Partners built its freight services around a straightforward principle: temperature-controlled logistics work best when regional expertise combines with coordinated network resources.
CORE X freight services span three core capabilities: integrated transportation that coordinates directly with warehouse operations, multi-vendor LTL consolidation that reduces shipping costs while improving retail delivery performance, and freight brokerage solutions that provide access to vetted temperature-controlled carriers across North America.
Integrated Transportation: When Warehousing and Freight Need to Work Together
CORE X operates company-owned refrigerated fleets at facilities where customer volume and service requirements justify dedicated assets. At CORE X HUTT in Holland, Michigan, company trucks serve local and regional routes for customers storing products at the facility. When a shipment needs to move, warehouse staff and transportation teams coordinate as a single operation rather than negotiating across separate companies.
The same model operates at CORE X GRESS in Pennsylvania, where company assets handle shuttle services and regional distribution. Drivers become familiar with specific customer requirements, product handling protocols, and dock procedures because they serve the same facilities repeatedly.
Priority Access During Peak Demand
Temperature-controlled capacity tightens during peak seasons like Q4 holiday surges, summer ice cream production, and spring planting for agricultural inputs. CORE X customers storing products at facilities with company-owned fleets get priority access to transportation assets when outside carrier capacity becomes scarce or expensive.
This advantage matters most when alternative solutions fail. A customer facing a missed retail delivery window can’t wait three days for the spot market to provide a suitable carrier.
Multi-Vendor LTL Consolidation: Reduce Costs, Improve OTIF Performance
CORE X operates a temperature-controlled retail consolidation program at CORE X CROWN in Crown Point, Indiana. Small and mid-sized food manufacturers shipping less-than-truckload quantities to major retailers face premium freight costs while struggling to meet strict on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery requirements.
Multiple manufacturers contribute shipments to the Crown Point facility. The CORE X freight team optimizes these orders into full truckloads headed to the same retail distribution centers—Walmart, Target, KeHe, UNFI, Costco, and regional grocers. This pooled approach reduces per-pallet shipping costs by 30-40% compared to standard refrigerated LTL rates.
The facility’s automated MOVU system enables efficient pre-staging for consolidation shipments. When trucks arrive at different times or carriers run late, the system simultaneously adjusts loading sequences. A control tower team monitors both warehouse operations and transportation scheduling, making immediate decisions that keep freight moving.
Managing Retail Appointment Requirements
Major retailers operate on narrow delivery windows with strict penalties for missed appointments. CORE X freight services integrate appointment scheduling directly into the consolidation process, eliminating the common failure point where trucks arrive without valid appointments.
Technology That Connects Freight Services Across the Network
CORE X freight services operate on a unified technology platform that coordinates transportation across facilities:
Transportation Management System (TMS) handles order entry, carrier dispatch, route optimization, and real-time shipment tracking. The software platform provides customer visibility through web portals while enabling freight team coordination across regions.
Warehouse Management System (WMS) integration connects transportation scheduling with inventory management and order fulfillment. When a customer’s product ships from a CORE X facility, the warehouse and freight teams work from shared information.
Temperature monitoring systems track conditions throughout transit, providing documentation for food safety compliance. Real-time alerts notify teams immediately when temperature excursions occur, enabling rapid response.
Customer portals provide 24/7 access to shipment status, delivery confirmations, temperature logs, and freight invoice details.
Who Benefits Most from CORE X Freight Services
Regional Food Manufacturers and Distributors
Small and mid-sized food companies operate in the less-than-truckload world while competing against larger rivals with dedicated logistics teams. CORE X freight services provide pooled volume that achieves enterprise-scale rates, logistics expertise they can’t afford to build internally, and flexibility to ship smaller quantities more frequently.
Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Producers
Deep-frozen products requiring -10°F to -20°F create specialized transportation challenges. Fewer carriers offer this service, driving up costs. CORE X freight services at Crown Point specifically address frozen and deep-frozen distribution through consolidation programs designed for these temperature requirements.
Food Brokers and Third-Party Logistics Companies
Many brokers and 3PLs serve customers who need temperature-controlled retail delivery but lack internal capability. Partnering with CORE X freight services lets them expand offerings without building infrastructure, positioning them as full-service partners rather than order-takers dependent on multiple vendors.
Regional Expertise That Scales Nationally
CORE X Partners operates through a network of Partnering Regional Operators (PROs) who own and manage facilities in their markets. These are operators with decades of cold chain experience who understand local market dynamics, seasonal patterns, and customer requirements.
When a customer faces an urgent need at CORE X GRESS, they work directly with the Pennsylvania team, which manages both warehouse operations and regional transportation. That team understands the customer’s products, delivery patterns, and specific requirements.
Yet customers also access capabilities that regional operators couldn’t provide independently. The TMS platform operates across all CORE X freight services. Carrier relationships extend beyond individual facilities, creating redundancy when regional capacity tightens. Best practices flow between facilities through regular PRO collaboration.
The Accountability Advantage
CORE X freight services provide unified accountability that separate warehouse and transportation providers cannot match. When a shipment faces problems—missed appointment, temperature excursion, documentation error—customers work with a single team that controls both storage and transportation rather than navigating finger-pointing between vendors.
The freight services team also provides reporting that identifies recurring issues before they escalate: OTIF performance tracking by retailer and distribution center, freight cost analysis by lane and service type, and temperature compliance documentation for food safety audits. This visibility helps customers defend margins and grow retail presence.
Optimize your temperature-controlled transportation. Contact CORE X Partners to discuss how our freight services—integrated transportation, retail consolidation, and freight brokerage solutions—can reduce costs while improving delivery performance across your cold chain network.