Columbian Logistics Network is a 3PL provider based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This privately held business has been around for over 120 years, and today provides almost 2 million square feet of flexible, clean, food-grade, ambient and temperature-controlled, dedicated, or public warehouse space. Columbian Logistics Network is committed to developing partnerships and solving unique supply chain challenges, from warehousing and transportation to brokerage, fulfillment, and more. They have run multiple Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in the past, but realized in 2016 that in order to improve, deepen, and broaden their ability to serve customers, they would need a new WMS that not only helped them grow, but would also help meet and exceed their operational and financial goals.
Columbian Logistics Network was methodical in its search for a new WMS. After determining that a simple upgrade to their existing platform wasn’t going to be sufficient, they began a thorough search. They spent the bulk of 2017 shopping and interacting with a dozen or so WMS providers. Through those interactions, they whittled down the list of potential providers to a few finalists, with whom Columbian representatives performed both site and reference visits. During those visits, Columbian saw many companies that were similar to them in many ways, and others that emulated what Columbian Logistics Network aspired to become. They decided to choose the WMS most used by the companies that more closely represented their future goals, and that was Synapse 3PL Expert.
