How Averitt Express Built a Scalable Program from Day One w/ Extensiv

At a Glance

About Averitt Express 

Averitt Express serves a wide range of domestic and international customers across five service offerings: LTL, Truckload, Dedicated, Integrated, and Distribution & Fulfillment (PortSide). The D&F team collaborates with Extensiv to deliver transparent operations, data‑driven pricing, and scalable solutions. 

We look for true partners. From the very beginning, Extensiv met us where we were and grew with us.

Ed Smith
VP, Distribution & Fulfillment (PortSide), Averitt Express

Highlights 

Challenges 

• Launch from zero: Build a new Distribution & Fulfillment program on a platform that could scale fast and adapt per customer (no one-size-fits-all).
• Trust through visibility: Earn client confidence handling high-value, domestic/international inventory with real-time transparency.
• Data-driven ops & pricing: Need labor baselines for precise staffing today and defensible quoting tomorrow.

Solution  

• Chose Extensiv at inception; co-designed workflows per opportunity instead of forcing a standard template; shared customer portals for real-time data.
• Implemented Labor Analytics (task-time studies, daily dashboards) and partnered to deploy 2D barcode scanning across operations.
• Built a forward-looking roadmap with Extensiv

Results 

• 18–20% labor savings from efficiency gains guided by Labor Analytics; site leaders plan each day from objective performance data.
• Scaled from a handful of sites to ~300 customers on the WMS; higher win rates with proof-based pricing and visibility.
• Industry recognition: Won the 2025 Quest for Quality award in Distribution & Fulfillment

Industry

B2B 3PL

Company Size 

8,000+ employees

Challenges

Unlike many providers who bounce between platforms before finding the right fit, Averitt Express entered distribution & fulfillment (D&F) with a clear goal: start on a system that could scale, integrate, and adapt to every customer use case. With five major service offerings—LTL, Truckload, Dedicated, Integrated, and Distribution & Fulfillment (PortSide)—Averitt needed a WMS partner that could act as a sounding board and a solution designer, not just software.

Solution

Averitt chose Extensiv and built a collaborative roadmap around customers’ needs. Instead of forcing one-size-fits-all workflows, operations leaders would take a new opportunity, map requirements with the client, and return to Extensiv to co‑design the best‑fit solution—feature by feature, site by site.

That partnership model scaled from a handful of initial customers to nearly 300 on the WMS. Extensiv’s real‑time visibility helped secure stakeholder trust—critical when clients hand off high‑value inventory from domestic and international sources. For Averitt’s site leaders, Labor Analytics became the daily compass: a data-backed way to staff precisely, cut waste, and benchmark performance. The team also partnered closely with Extensiv to stand up 2D barcode scanning—a capability that now runs “all day, every day.”

Just as important as today’s tools is tomorrow’s plan. Ed’s team is working with Extensiv to extend Labor Analytics into pricing and quoting, accelerating speed‑to‑quote with defensible time studies and cost models. And the relationship is built on utilization and value: Averitt pays for what it uses, invests when new capabilities drive outcomes, and keeps a tight feedback loop with Extensiv’s product and leadership teams.

Results

The outcomes span operations, commercial wins, and culture:

Operational efficiency. With data guiding staffing, Averitt reports 18–20% labor savings from pure efficiency gains tied to Labor Analytics. Morning dashboards give site leaders a clear read on yesterday’s performance and today’s plan.

Customer trust & growth. Real‑time visibility and proof‑based pricing (grounded in labor data, floor/rack costs, and process time studies) help win more quotes and build durable relationships. “Anytime you show how pricing is built, you gain a distinct advantage in the market,” Ed notes.

Recognition. The D&F program’s momentum culminated in Averitt winning the 2025 Quest for Quality award for distribution & fulfillment in its market—crediting the partnership’s impact on quality and execution.

Resilient partnership. Not every day is perfect; what matters is service recovery and shared ownership. From rapid roadmap discussions to problem‑solving around 2D barcode adoption, Ed describes a team that “never says no”—always pushing forward together.

Ready to build a D&F program that scales from day one? Request a demo →