Creative Co-Op Cuts Tracking Time and Avoids Fees with Terminal49
See how Creative Co-Op replaced spreadsheets with automated container tracking software—reducing demurrage, saving 180+ hours/month, and syncing real-time rail data into ERP systems for full supply chain visibility.
Creative Co-Op is a global leader in wholesale home accessories, moving thousands of containers annually. They are known for designing and distributing thousands of SKUs across furniture, décor, and seasonal categories to retailers worldwide. With a vast global supplier network—especially across China, India, and Southeast Asia—the company relies on a high-volume, high-velocity import operation to keep products moving and shelves stocked across North America.
But when global tariffs spike and shipping lanes wobble, even the most seasoned logistics teams can get thrown off course. Creative Co-Op knew that outdated spreadsheets and manual tracking wouldn’t cut it anymore. They needed a faster, clearer way to stay on top of their containers—especially as 99% of their imports ride rail from port to destination.
With Terminal49, they found more than visibility. They found control.
Tariff Shock: Why Creative Co-Op Needed a Faster Way to Move
When the U.S. government announced a 145% tariff on goods from China in April 2025, the logistics team at Creative Co-Op found themselves navigating uncharted waters. This wasn’t just a line item on the budget—it was an urgent disruption.
The tariff uncertainty is like playing chess in the dark. You can’t plan. You can’t price. You just have to move—fast.
“The tariff uncertainty is like playing chess in the dark,” said Adam Schrier, President at Creative Co-Op. “In the first weeks it was hard to plan, and challenging to price products. You just have to move—fast.” In less than ten minutes, they put together a Terminal49 real-time container tracking view to show the containers that were impacted by tariffs—easy to share with other decision-makers at the company as they responded to these changes.
They accelerated shipments, rerouted products, leaned into bonded warehouses—and doubled down on data. That meant finding a visibility platform that didn’t just display containers, but helped the team act on up-to-date container data.
For Creative Co-Op, supply chain performance is core to customer satisfaction, seasonal readiness, and financial health. With container values ranging from $40,000 to $60,000, even a small misstep in shipment tracking could spell major losses in demurrage fees or missed sales.
180+ Hours Saved Every Month
Before Terminal49, container tracking at Creative Co-Op was a manual grind: one person scraping data from carrier websites, updating spreadsheets, and manually entering data into their ERP. Previously, a full-time employee was responsible for collecting tracking data across 5–6 ocean carriers and matching it against rail movements.
With containers flowing from China, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Spain and a dozen other countries, plus 99% of products traveling via intermodal rail, the visibility burden was massive. That person would review and reconcile hundreds of containers manually, spending 45+ hours per week.
“Now that effort takes under 2 hours,” said Adam. “It’s a complete shift.” Today, a lean team handles it using shipment imports, saved views, and the tagging feature in Terminal49.
Terminal49 consolidated ocean, terminal, and intermodal rail data into one dashboard. The team no longer chases updates. Weekly lists from overseas partners are uploaded, container statuses are synced to their ERP, and the whole system is reviewed and updated every Monday—without fail.
It’s all there. Real-time. Searchable. Actionable.
Creative Co-Op also relies on Terminal49 for vessel insights—especially during tariff-sensitive periods. Their team uses the dashboard to monitor which ships are carrying their containers, when they’re arriving, and what moves need to happen before LFD deadlines.
$10K+ in Avoided Fees: Powered by Proactive Data
Last holiday season, a high-value container took a wrong turn in Nashville. In the old days? Lost for a week. Detention fees. Missed sale or missed deadline for an important customer
With Terminal49? Same-day intervention.
“We saw it immediately, called the carrier, and had it trucked to us from Atlanta. Our customer received their shipment on time!” Adam said.
Multiply that by a dozen containers a year, and Terminal49 has helped Creative Co-Op avoid tens of thousands in detention and demurrage charges. Since going live, they haven’t paid more than a few hundred dollars in annual fees—usually tied to customs delays, not visibility gaps.
Adam emphasized how those savings add up, noting, "One container lost in the shuffle for a few weeks can cost a lot of money. That used to happen every year. Now, we catch issues in hours, not days or weeks."
When we saw Terminal49, it looked exactly like what we envisioned. It was what we needed.
We used to lose containers and rack up thousands in fees. Not anymore.
99% Rail? Terminal49 Handles It.
Most visibility tools fall apart once cargo hits inland rail. For Creative Co-Op, that was a nonstarter. “We move almost everything by rail. If the rail data isn’t there, the tool is useless to us,” Adam said.
They evaluated other providers—like FourKites and Vizion—but either the price was too high, or the dashboard lacked usability. “When we saw Terminal49, it looked exactly like what we envisioned. It was what we needed.”
Terminal49’s rail data isn’t just present—it’s improving. The team uses the Unified Events View to track rail events and is excited about upcoming features like manual milestone editing for delivery and empty return. “The team listens to feedback. That’s why we stuck with Terminal49. They’re building with us,” Adam said.
Anybody looking for a visibility tool has to consider Terminal49. It’s intuitive, powerful, and helps us stay ahead.
Real-Time Dashboards That Teams Actually Use
The team uses Terminal49 four to five times a day building container views for everything from bonded warehouse shipments to special customer samples to exceptions tagged for daily monitoring. Their daily usage tips:
- "My Containers" shows only priority shipments.
- Shared views give warehouse and sales teams targeted access.
- Tags help track containers by location, urgency, or contract type.
The team even uses tags to track where shipments are headed, whether they’re under NVO contracts, and which ones contain samples. When tariffs hit, the team created saved views to keep tabs on bonded warehouse shipments, tariff-sensitive goods, and containers awaiting pull.
The team listens to feedback. That’s why we stuck with Terminal49. They’re building with us.
It took 10 minutes to set up our workflow using shipment tags. Now every team sees exactly what they need.
20+ Stakeholders Aligned on a Single Source of Truth
Visibility doesn’t help if it’s locked in someone’s inbox. At Creative Co-Op, over 20 stakeholders engage with Terminal49. That means operations, merchandising, and third-party partners are finally looking at the same clean, branded, timezone-accurate data– a single view that can be shared with anyone.
It’s not just a tool. It’s part of how we work.
They even use Terminal49 to verify invoices. When a container incurs a fee, the team searches the historical view, verifies timestamps, and checks whether the charge is valid before processing payment.
Results That Speak for Themselves
Since implementing Terminal49:
- Reclaimed 45+ hours/week previously spent on manual tracking, enabling logistics staff to shift from data entry to decision-making
- Avoided tens of thousands in detention/demurrage fees
- Increased internal alignment with 20+ stakeholders using the platform
- Standardized ERP updates every week with high accuracy
- Streamlined exceptions handling using tags and saved views
- Improved agility for bonded warehouse and seasonal shipments
This isn’t just visibility. This measurable shift from manual tracking to proactive planning demonstrates how visibility, when done right, becomes a velocity multiplier.
Terminal49 is not just a tool. It’s part of how we work.
Built for the Next Disruption: Automation, APIs, and Watch-Out Reports
With Terminal49 data already powering ERP updates and planning decisions, the next phase is automation. The team is standing up a SQL data warehouse to merge Terminal49 data with ERP and WMS records. That foundation will support:
- Scheduled ERP updates
- Tableau-powered visualizations
- Exception-based "watch out" reports
It’s all there. Real-time. Searchable. Actionable.
We made a huge leap in data quality by using Terminal49.
In a world of shifting trade routes and unpredictable tariffs, Creative Co-Op has moved from reactive scrambling to strategic execution. Terminal49 gave them clean data, real-time visibility, and a shared operational source of truth.
Anybody looking for a visibility tool has to consider Terminal49. It’s intuitive, powerful, and helps us stay ahead.
Ready to move from visibility to velocity?
Let’s talk about how Terminal49 can power your next logistics leap.
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