At a Glance
About Canadian Alliance Terminals
A Vancouver-based 3PL founded in 1999, Canadian Alliance provides warehousing, logistics, and transportation to a wide range of businesses. The company is primarily B2B, with a growing B2C and ecommerce capabilities powered by Extensiv.
The biggest benefit of working with Extensiv is scalability and integration capabilities.
Highlights
Challenges
- Legacy system with manual processes and weekly report runs—no real-time customer facing dashboard visibility.
- EDI and integration needs were growing quickly, and without the right platform it was difficult to support them efficiently.
- Transparency gaps and limited B2C/ecommerce capability slowed growth and strained service.
Solution
- Selected Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager (for scalability and strong integrations.
- Rolled out self-serve customer portals with real-time data; standardized workflows to cut manual data entry.
- Adopted both EDI and REST API and Network Manager to partner with peer 3PLs for national and international coverage.
Results
- Live transparency improved retention and fueled new-business wins as prospects saw the same dashboards they’d use in production.
- Faster, more predictable onboarding; integrations stabilized; customer service team refocused from data entry to higher-value CX.
- Broader footprint & offerings via Network Manager, plus expanded B2C/ecommerce services on a modern platform.
Industry
B2B 3PL & DTC Fulfillment
Company Size
250,000 sqft facility handling near half a million pallets in throughput annually
Challenges
By 2022, Canadian Alliance Terminals, a Vancouver-based 3PL serving customers since 1999, knew its legacy system was holding the business back. Manual processes and weekly report runs made it hard to keep up with customers' expectations, especially for real-time dashboards and data.
Complex customer integrations piled up, but without a modern platform the team couldn't support them efficiently. As Vice President Seyed Behnejad explains, Canadian Alliance need a way to deliver accurate, transparent information customers could trust, and to reduce the burden of manual data entry so teams could focus on customer service instead of repetitive manual entry.
Solution
After evaluating multiple options, Canadian Alliance chose Extensiv for its combination of scalability and out‑of‑the‑box integration strength. The shift centered on two principles: put data in customers’ hands and standardize how data moves.
Extensiv’s configurable portals turned visibility into a self‑service model. Instead of waiting on weekly reports, customers now log into the same platform the operations team uses and see inventory, orders, and activity in real time. That transparency changes the conversation: customers can trace every click and action, offer improvement ideas, and collaborate with the Canadian Alliance team as true partners.
On the integration side, Canadian Alliance embraced both EDI and API to match customers’ needs and budgets. The team uses Extensiv’s direct EDI and works with third‑party providers like SPS, while increasingly recommending REST APIs for their lower up‑front cost and flexibility. “We’re differentiating ourselves in the market by offering both EDI and API, so customers can integrate and exchange data with full transparency,” Behnejad says. Onboarding has been smooth, and the mix of options lets Canadian Alliance meet customers where they are without stalling growth.
Extensiv also became the backbone for B2C expansion. While the business is still ~90% B2B, ecommerce capabilities have grown since adopting Extensiv, supported by shopping cart integrations and standardized workflows that didn’t exist on the old system.
A final pillar of the solution is Extensiv Network Manager. Canadian Alliance was an early adopter and now partners with other Extensiv 3PLs across the country as a cohesive alliance- sharing leads, aligning terms and SOPs, and growing beyond the four walls of any one facility.
Results
The move to Extensiv traded guesswork for live, shared visibility. Customers no longer wait for end‑of‑week reports; they see what’s happening on the floor as it happens. That transparency has strengthened retention, and it’s become a compelling part of new‑business conversations—as prospects experience the same dashboards they’ll use in production.
Operationally, accuracy improved as manual data entry fell away and standardized workflows took hold. Canadian Alliance reallocated its customer service management team from keyboarding tasks to higher‑value customer experience work. The efficiencies gained have not only saved costs but also strengthened our customer relationships. Integrations that once felt brittle now run through a unified approach—EDI where required, APIs where speed and cost matter—so onboarding is quicker and more predictable.
Strategically, Network Manager opened doors. By teaming up with peer 3PLs on Extensiv, Canadian Alliance can offer broader coverage and services without building new sites from scratch.
The result is a platform and a partnership that Canadian Alliance trusts for the long term. “We value the access to Extensiv’s leadership and support teams,” Behnejad says. “Our voice is heard, and that matters when you’re building a lasting relationship.”
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