by RICHMOND HILL, Ontario – Bellini Modern Living, a distributor of modern Italian-inspired case goods and upholstery, has partnered with Normandin Transit to speed its shipments directly to its U.S. retailers by shipping all its products from its Toronto warehouse.
In the past, the company shipped goods from Canada to its North Carolina warehouse. The partnership with Normandin will allow it to ship goods directly to customers from Canada, which will shave several days off shipping times to customers.
According to Hossein Azimi, chief executive officer, the move will immediately reduce delivery lead times to dealers to eight to 10 working days or less.
“The advantage to this new partnership is that Normandin will take shipments directly from their terminal in Canada to our dealers, with no need for an additional stop or warehouse time in North Carolina,” Azimi said. “This eliminates additional handling of the furniture prior to arrival at its destination.”
Normandin Transit offers full truck load and LTL solutions specializing in shipping residential and commercial furniture to the U.S. and has a fleet of 300 trucks, 825 trailers and 450 employees. It is part of TFI International, one of the largest transport and logistics providers in North America with over 25,800 employees.
“Our dealers will also be excited to learn that this new partnership enables us to offer very aggressive and competitive rates by zone,” said Frederik Winther, vice president of sales at Bellini Modern Living. “In fact, these rates are the lowest we’ve ever been able to offer.”
He added that all rates are based on a percentage of the invoice and are as low as 8%, including fuel surcharges.
“All custom brokerage fees will continue to be handled by our office as has been Bellini’s practice all along,” Winther added. “Our goal is to make the paperwork process so seamless that dealers often don’t realize they are dealing with a Canadian supplier.”
The company said the deal with Normandin is the culmination of a months-long search for a new logistics solution.
“Our challenge for the past year and a half has been that despite our vast inventory in Toronto, which we ship in 48 hours or less from Canada with full trailers between Toronto and the warehouse in North Carolina up to four times per week, sometimes customers didn’t see the furniture for up to four to six weeks,” Winther added. “The American transport companies simply haven’t had enough drivers and while they are getting more organized post-pandemic, we can’t rely on that. Normandin has an excellent track record and is known for their great service, and we anticipate a smooth transition for all concerned.”
