“Customers don’t just want more — they demand more.”
That was the message from Bill Catania, CEO of OneRail, during his presentation at the National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors (NAW) Innovators Summit, where he spoke about how visibility and technology are reshaping last mile logistics.
In his remarks, Catania highlighted how expectations that once defined retail delivery have now shifted upstream to wholesale — driven by industry giants like Amazon and Walmart. Many wholesale distributors, he noted, remain five to seven years behind retailers in adopting new technology, yet the pressure to modernize has never been greater.
The takeaway was clear: Visibility and real-time fleet optimization are no longer nice-to-have tools — they’ve become competitive necessities. For wholesalers, embracing these capabilities is the key to staying relevant and profitable in a rapidly evolving market.
The New Reality: Customers Demand More
Catania’s simple statement on how customers “don’t want more” but rather “demand more” captures the new reality facing wholesale distributors. Retail giants have conditioned customers (both consumers and B2B buyers) to expect a consistent and advanced level of speed, visibility and reliability.
More specifically, modern customers are looking for:
- Real-time visibility into every order’s journey
- Seamless, reliable delivery experiences they can count on
- Flexible service levels that fit their unique operational needs
- Cost containment that doesn’t sacrifice speed or service quality
These rising expectations aren’t confined to retail. They’ve moved upstream into the wholesale sector, reshaping how distributors must plan, execute and optimize deliveries. Catania noted that many wholesalers are already years behind retailers in adopting and implementing new technology, and it’s only going to get more challenging to catch up — the pace of change is accelerating quickly.
Those who close that technology gap first will not only meet customer demands, but also gain a decisive competitive advantage.
Visibility As a Competitive Advantage
Visibility has become one of the most powerful differentiators in supply chain performance — yet it remains one of the most underutilized. Supply chain professionals are finding that research from 2023 remains relevant today, especially when it comes to visibility: Real-time shipment visibility is a must-have, but only a fraction of industry professionals use it.
For wholesalers, that gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Those who continue to rely on static, disconnected systems risk losing ground to competitors who can see, analyze and act on data in real time.
But visibility isn’t just about knowing where shipments are. It’s also about empowering smarter, faster decisions, giving teams the ability to 1) manage exceptions before they escalate, 2) strengthen customer reliability and 3) maintain tighter control over delivery costs.
With real-time visibility in place, distributors can finally operate with the same agility as leading retailers. Then, they can use that transparency to transform delivery from an operational burden into a true competitive advantage.
The Operational Balancing Act: Route Exceptions vs. Cost
One of the biggest challenges Catania highlighted is the constant tension between maintaining service levels and managing costs. Too often, dispatch agents make manual routing decisions that override optimization logic — and those well-intentioned adjustments can quietly erode profitability.
Catania posed two critical questions to the audience:
- How are these manual decisions measured and managed?
- How can you maintain segmentation-based customer service while keeping cost control in check?
Without real-time data-driven visibility into these exceptions, wholesalers face predictable consequences:
- Missed SLAs that damage customer trust
- Underutilized fleets that drive up per-delivery costs
- Escalating expenses caused by untracked or ungoverned routing decisions
Catania framed this not just as an operations issue, but as a data problem. To meet modern expectations, distributors need systems that connect their internal and external fleets in real time, creating a single, data-driven view of every route, asset and customer promise.
That’s where centralization and orchestration come in — transforming fragmented operations into a cohesive, optimized network.
OneRail’s Approach: Centralized Orchestration and Optimization
For distributors striving to balance cost control, customer experience and operational efficiency, OneRail’s OmniPoint® Platform provides the foundation for smarter, more connected delivery operations.
At its core, the platform delivers:
- A single source of truth across both internal and external fleets
- Real-time tracking and shared visibility for all stakeholders — from dispatch to customer service to end recipients
- Dynamic route optimization that factors in both cost and service commitments to ensure every delivery aligns with business priorities
By centralizing orchestration, OneRail transforms delivery from a reactive cost center into a strategic advantage. Fleets operate more efficiently, exceptions are managed proactively, and customer promises are met with confidence — all while maintaining financial discipline.
Case Study: National Auto Parts Distributor Transforms Its Ops
To illustrate the power of centralization and optimization in action, Catania shared the story of a national auto parts distributor that partnered with OneRail to modernize its last mile operations.
The Problem:
Manual routing decisions and limited visibility were driving up costs and creating inefficiencies across the network. Each branch managed its own dispatching, leading to inconsistent performance, higher labor requirements and limited accountability for routing exceptions.
The Solution:
The company implemented OneRail’s internal fleet optimization and centralized orchestration model, powered by OmniPoint®. This connected every delivery asset (internal and external) into a single real-time view, enabling dynamic route optimization and smarter exception handling across the entire fleet.
The Results:
- 43% fewer delivery vehicles required daily
- 1,000 labor hours reclaimed monthly (equivalent to ~120 positions saved)
- 63% more stops per route and 64% more units moved
- 28% lower last mile expenses and 38% lower labor costs
The outcome was transformative: the distributor not only improved service reliability but also reshaped its delivery economics — turning logistics into a competitive advantage rather than a constraint.
The Transformational Impact: Unlocking Big Benefits
The results of centralization go far beyond route efficiency. When orchestration and optimization come together, the impact touches every corner of a distributor’s business.
Centralized orchestration drives measurable gains:
- Less manual work and guesswork: automated routing and real-time data reduce human error and repetitive tasks
- Greater control and accountability: teams operate from one source of truth with full visibility into decisions and costs
- More proactive fleet management: real-time insights allow managers to address issues before they affect customers
- Direct impact on growth and margins: higher utilization, lower costs and more reliable delivery performance strengthen both top- and bottom-line results
Ultimately, it’s about transforming delivery from a reactive function into a strategic growth driver — one that gives wholesalers speed, confidence and cost efficiency in every mile.
Beyond Visibility: A Growth Engine for Delivery Operations
Visibility is only the beginning. The real transformation happens when visibility and orchestration work hand in hand — creating a delivery network that’s intelligent, adaptive and built for growth.
With OneRail’s OmniPoint® Platform, wholesalers can:
- Automate carrier selection to balance cost, speed and service
- Expand delivery capabilities — same-day, next-day or scheduled — without adding new resources
- Access full analytics and performance insights to continuously optimize fleet performance and service quality
Catania closed his presentation with a clear message: Wholesalers have the power to turn delivery into a growth engine by combining visibility, AI-driven optimization and data-backed decision-making.
If you’re ready to move from reactive logistics to proactive performance, schedule a OneRail demo to explore how OneRail helps wholesale distributors deliver with confidence.
