Imagine a discount retailer rapidly expanding across the southeastern United States, only to face significant supply chain challenges behind its growth. This was the reality for Bargain Hunt, the Tennessee-based retail company headquartered in La Vergne. To achieve its ambitious expansion goals, the company realized it needed a comprehensive supply chain partnership that could truly drive business growth.
The Challenge: Limitations of Traditional Models
Before launching its expansion plan, Bargain Hunt operated under a conventional retail distribution model. This system worked well when store counts were limited to the Nashville area. However, as locations multiplied and geographic reach expanded, the model's flaws became apparent.
"Our previous dedicated supply solution concentrated all assets—drivers and power units—at our Antioch distribution center," explained Steve Silverman, Bargain Hunt's Senior Vice President of Supply Chain. "The contract rate structure included leased equipment plus mileage and fuel surcharges. While effective initially, this solution became unscalable, uneconomical, and inadequate for serving our stores as we grew."
Silverman noted the system only provided unloading services, requiring additional trailers and diverting store employees from customer service to logistics. With assets centralized in Antioch but serving stores as far as Atlanta, North Carolina, and Cincinnati, asset utilization plummeted to just 10 hours daily.
"When I joined Bargain Hunt two years ago, our supply chain team needed to better serve our stores," Silverman recalled. "We needed to solve the delivery problem—specifically enabling drivers to unload at stores, which our current model couldn't support."
The company's trailer pool—comprising over 270 trailers and about 20 tractors—presented another financial inefficiency. Each new store required purchasing several trailers, while low asset utilization demanded more tractors. Compounding these issues was Bargain Hunt's goal to complete deliveries Sunday through Thursday, ensuring stores were fully stocked for weekends.
"The model simply didn't work," Silverman stated bluntly. "It lacked scalability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness while failing to properly serve our stores. We needed fundamental change."
The Transformation: Partnering for Success
This realization marked the beginning of Bargain Hunt's supply chain transformation. A key requirement was implementing driver unloading at stores, necessitating new delivery assets like roll-out containers and totes for better merchandise organization. This would help reduce truck-to-shelf time from 50-65 hours to under 15 hours.
These needs led Bargain Hunt to partner with Averitt Express. "We needed asset recovery and a solution near our store clusters," Silverman explained. "After evaluating several providers with strategically located cross-docks, we chose Averitt based on their customer-centric approach, operational expertise, and alignment with our geographic needs."
The partnership launched in early 2019 at a Cincinnati cross-dock, followed by locations in Fulton and Norcross (Atlanta area). After three months addressing system integration, tendering processes, backhaul coordination, and invoicing, additional facilities opened by June.
The Results: Efficiency Gains and Strategic Advantages
The collaboration delivered remarkable improvements: Bargain Hunt reduced its dedicated tractor fleet from 26 to 16 units and trailer count from 270 to under 110, while cutting total mileage by 20%.
"Trailers move via linehaul overnight," Silverman detailed. "Day drivers deliver local freight to stores, recover assets, handle backhauls, then night drivers return to Antioch. We've doubled tractor utilization while improving store service." The system now achieves approximately 86% qualified backhaul utilization across its geography.
Driver satisfaction improved significantly as well. "They sleep at home nightly—no sleeper cabs required," Silverman noted. "This aids retention in a tight driver market and eliminates seasonal scaling challenges we previously faced with third-party carriers."
Technology integration proved equally transformative. An integrated TMS replaced manual spreadsheet tracking, enabling real-time visibility and two-hour delivery windows at all stores. "Our stores can now better plan labor knowing exactly when trucks will arrive," Silverman emphasized.
Bargain Hunt's supply chain overhaul with Averitt Express transcended operational optimization—it became a strategic business upgrade. By combining advanced technology, network optimization, and workforce improvements, the retailer successfully turned expansion challenges into competitive advantages, creating a replicable model for retail growth.