Roland Hits the Right Note with a Flexible Freight Solution from Cario
Client: RolandRoland is a global leader in electronic musical instruments, with a wide range of products from compact synths to grand pianos. |
Industry: Manufacturing |
One central platform
for all freight bookings and tracking
Time savings
of approx. 1.5 minutes per order across thousands of orders per day
A flexible freight model
supports existing contracts and adds new carriers seamlessly
Better reporting
and decision-making using unified data
The Problem
For Roland, sensitive freight is essential, and the business has longstanding contracts with carriers such as Cope Sensitive Freight and Go Logistics. However, as the business and its new retail partnerships (including ecommerce focused retailers) grew, the complexity of the freight increased.
Every day, the warehouse team logged in to numerous carrier portals, manually re-entered shipment data, managed bookings, and dealt with inconsistent file formats. Freight information was scattered, so making decisions required piecing together parts of the supply chain puzzle.
“Trying to collate all those files into a dataset was really quite challenging and time-consuming,” said Liam French, Roland’s Supply Chain and Operations Manager. “Our processes were terribly disjointed, and it didn’t make good business sense.”
The Impact
This lack of integration hampered critical decision processes and led to wasted time and effort. Data was siloed, making it impossible to assess the true cost-to-serve or spot inefficiencies across routes, freight types, or customer segments.
As new dealer requirements arose, such as residential delivery surcharges from Cope, or the need to pre-book freight into larger retailer’s DCs, Roland had no way to dynamically respond or test new providers without considerable manual effort.
“Our end goal was always to integrate with an FMS,” Liam explained. “But while things were so manual, that was almost impossible."
The Solution
Roland turned to Freight People, powered by the Cario platform, for a solution that respected what was already working while introducing the flexibility to improve what wasn’t.
Cario’s flexible model enabled Roland to maintain their trusted carrier relationships and negotiated rate cards as well as adding parcel and satchel providers to fill service gaps. All freight, whether direct with Cope, managed through Freight People, or handled by new providers, is now booked, tracked, and analysed in a single system.
This flexible model was non-negotiable. “We needed the ability to use both our existing rate cards and Freight People’s large portfolio of integrated carriers, and to have them all come together in one system,” said Liam. “That flexibility just wasn’t on offer with other platforms that we considered.”
Beyond freight execution, Cario’s reporting and analytics have made a significant difference. The platform consolidates freight data in real time, enabling Liam’s team to assess cost-to-serve by product group, lane, or customer, and to conduct monthly reviews that directly influence business decisions.
The Results
Operationally, Roland is saving time and making better decisions. Cario has reduced the processing time for each order by approximately 1.5 minutes, which are meaningful savings when managing thousands of shipments daily.
The team can also test new providers or reroute freight based on performance, thanks to real-time visibility and control. That flexibility proved useful when a key carrier underperformed on a key regional lane, and Roland pivoted quickly using the flexible model without disrupting core operations.
Having all their freight data in one place is also helping Roland plan for the future, with improved reporting and a clearer view of their entire supply chain.
“When our warehouse team processes orders, they choose the most suitable and often most cost-effective option right then and there,” said Liam. “We’re making data-driven decisions now, and that’s a game changer."
- Liam French, Supply Chain & Operations Manager, Roland Australia
What’s next
Roland’s Sage ERP integration is ready for go live early 2026, boosting automation and visibility. They’re also planning improved customer notifications and carbon reporting, which support both day-to-day operations and sustainability targets. RFID-enabled pallet labelling and other smart logistics innovations are also part of Liam’s plans.
“Cario isn’t just a piece of software; it’s a partner that will help define the future of our supply chain,” Liam explained. “They listen, they adapt, and they’ve built a platform that grows with us.”
- Liam French, Supply Chain & Operations Manager, Roland Australia