After doing what he could to improve his company's internal operations, Dave Otey, director of supply chain planning and logistics for Mark IV Automotive, is now looking for ways to involve his suppliers in reducing inventory and transportation costs.

"We started as far downstream as we could get, working on improving our internal processes to get lean," Otey explained to attendees of the Council of Logistics Management conference held in Chicago. "Then we looked at how we could share our demand information with our suppliers."

Working with Mark Wheeler, general manager of business development for Transfreight, LLC, Otey established a baseline and platform for improvement of his company's eight manufacturing plants. His aim for the plants is to gain supply chain visibility, cost visibility, optimization of his inbound logistics and greater knowledge of his processes.

The result of information gathering shows that his plants had over 100 carriers delivering parts or performing outbound shipping. By optimizing the transportation and going with fewer carriers, Otey can negotiate better rates and expects to save 15% on transportation costs. By moving to an improved delivery schedule, he expects to reduce inventory by 38% once the plan is implemented, which he expects to occur by March of next year.