National Logistics Services 3PL Case Study: Delivering on the Promise

How NLS Improved Margin and Elevated Customer Satisfaction with Osa Commerce and SendFlex

A blueprint for US and Canadian 3PLs to turn fulfillment complexity into a competitive advantage.

Rising shipping rates, complex carrier networks, and heightened consumer expectations are constantly threatening the profitability of third-party logistics (3PL) providers. National Logistics Services (NLS), a leading retail logistics provider for global lifestyle brands, faced the dual challenge of protecting their margins while delivering flawless, on-time service for their emerging brand partners. By deploying the combined power of the Osa Unified Commerce Platform and SendFlex’s intelligent parcel optimization capabilities, NLS transformed its fulfillment operations. 

The biggest win was gaining modern shipping orchestration without operational disruption. We improved control, flexibility, and scalability while continuing to support the customers and systems already driving our business.

Lindsey Billing, Executive Vice President Technology, National Logistics Services (NLS)

Learn how NLS dramatically reduced shipping-related margin erosion while driving customer satisfaction with an integrated and resilient network.

About the Customer: National Logistics Services

As Canada’s premier lifestyle logistics provider, NLS doesn't do "simple." As an operator of 6 distribution centers nationwide and a provider of high-volume distribution for 30+ global lifestyle brands, NLS is at the forefront of the retail and ecommerce logistics industry. National Logistics Services is renowned for its scale and service for top-tier apparel, footwear, and lifestyle brands across North America.  NLS relies on agility and precision to meet the demands of an ever-changing retail landscape.

The Challenge: The Squeeze on Margins and Service

For 3PLs operating in the United States and Canada, the operational landscape presents unique challenges, particularly when using legacy technology.

Mission to Scale

NLS, who was on a mission to scale their operations to support rapid ecommerce growth, previously relied on carrier execution processes that were directly tied to its large-scale Warehouse Management System (WMS) for enterprise customers.

This dependency limited the company’s ability to optimize fulfillment locations, packaging, carrier selection, and customer delivery experiences for growing brands before the warehouse execution phase began. 

There was also a significant gap between the expected landed shipping costs and the actual delivered performance. In some cases, rates were not returned at all—forcing manual intervention by operations teams.

As these issues compounded, NLS encountered critical friction points:

• Margin Erosion: Fluctuating carrier rates, unexpected surcharges, and inefficient parcel routing were eating into their bottom line, making it difficult to maintain profitable pricing for their brand partners.

• Carrier Routing Rigidity: With a vast and diverse geographic footprint, NLS required dynamic, multi-carrier optionality. Relying on static routing logic led to missed opportunities for cost savings and faster delivery.

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Risks: Today’s consumers demand fast, predictable deliveries. Any delay in the warehouse or a suboptimal carrier handoff risked lowering end-consumer satisfaction and damaging the brand equity of NLS’s brand and retail clients.

Shipping has become too complex to manage through static routing and manual decision-making. Working with NLS and Osa Commerce, we helped build a more intelligent and responsive parcel operation that improved carrier flexibility, reduced shipping-related margin pressure, and maintained the service standards their retail and brand clients expect.

Bob Malley, CEO and Founder, SendFlex

The Solution: A Unified Engine for Growth

To help conquer these challenges, NLS turned to its partners and the integrated capabilities of Osa Commerce and SendFlex to modernize its fulfillment and shipping execution. In as little as three weeks, NLS achieved time-to-value with full visibility into all orders and control over shipping costs across all carriers.

Full Shipping Control

Together, Osa Commerce and SendFlex enabled NLS to execute "smart fulfillment"—shipping them via the most cost-effective, reliable carrier without adding manual overhead.

 

 

Seamless Orchestration with Osa Commerce: Using Osa Zero Integration Management and Osa Order Management (OMS) solutions, NLS gained unified visibility and advanced order management. 

Dynamic Parcel Optimization with SendFlex: Integrated seamlessly into the workflow, SendFlex empowered NLS with microservice-driven parcel routing. SendFlex Parcel TMS automatically evaluates transit times, carrier performance, and rate structures in real time, selecting the optimal shipping method for every single package.

The shift from legacy technology to logic-driven configuration shifted shipping optimization upstream into the Osa OMS layer—allowing NLS to make fulfillment and multi-carrier decisions before orders reached warehouse execution. Now, NLS is able to manage their own rate-shopping logic and service-level rules directly within their operational workflows while continuing to leverage existing investments in its WMS environment. 

Most supply chains do not fail because the warehouse cannot pick, pack, and ship. They fail because the systems around the warehouse cannot adapt fast enough to operational complexity. Working with NLS and SendFlex, we helped move shipping and fulfillment decisions upstream with better orchestration, visibility, and control across carriers, workflows, and customer requirements — without forcing the operation to replace the systems already running the business.

Rick Hernandez, Strategic Growth Advisor, Osa Commerce

The Results: Measurable Impact on the Bottom Line

By leveraging an integrated solution, NLS achieved a state of highly optimized fulfillment, resulting in massive wins for both their operations and their customers:

4x Faster Onboarding

The Osa and SendFlex integration allows NLS to seamlessly onboard new brands and carriers, expanding their North American footprint with agility.

8% of Shipments Diverted to Lower-Cost Carriers

Dynamic routing optimizes carrier selection in real time, reducing cost while maintaining service performance.

4% Reduction in Freight Spend

Dynamic rate shopping and intelligent carrier selection drive measurable cost savings, delivering consistent margin improvement where lower-cost carriers are viable.

Zero Disruption

NLS teams now have complete control and visibility, turning exceptions.

Protecting margins in today’s shipping environment is difficult. Protecting our clients’ brand reputation while doing it is non-negotiable. Osa Commerce and SendFlex helped us turn shipping execution into a competitive advantage instead of an operational constraint.

Lindsey Billing, Executive Vice President Technology, National Logistics Services (NLS)

Stop Feeling Trapped

It's time to remove static, code-trapped logic and flip integrations to logic-driven configuration.  Whether routing a standard outbound order, breaking down an inbound shipment, managing seasonal volume spikes, or solving cross-border customs—the Osa Commerce + SendFlex engine applies the exact same automated rate-shopping logic upstream.

About Us

National Logistics Services (NLS) is Canada’s leading retail logistics provider for global lifestyle brands, including apparel, footwear, accessories, and sporting goods. NLS’s well-established Canadian retail relationships, transportation partnerships, and infrastructure provide our internationally recognized clients with a significant advantage for reaching and serving consumers in Canada and beyond through wholesale, brick-and-mortar, and ecommerce channels.  Visit us at https://nls.ca/

SendFlex is a cloud-native Parcel Transportation Management System (TMS) helping retailers, brands, and third-party logistics providers modernize parcel operations across shipping, fulfillment, and returns. Built to manage the growing complexity of modern carrier networks, SendFlex enables organizations to optimize routing, service levels, carrier selection, and transportation costs through intelligent, no-code workflow automation and dynamic parcel decisioning. Learn more at www.sendflex.com.

Osa Commerce addresses a significant industry gap by providing one source network ecommerce orchestration, collaborative visibility, and connectivity across enterprises. On a mission to tackle the data chaos in the supply chain, Osa specializes in connecting, unifying, and optimizing commerce operations for retailers, logistics providers, and their customers. With our advanced AI-powered Osa Unified Commerce Platform and intelligent decision-making capabilities, we power supply chains to sell wherever their customers are, so they can focus on scalable growth — and be one step ahead. Learn more at www.osacommerce.com.