From Two Warehouses to a Single Source: How Capstone Scaled a 29-Year Partnership
For nearly three decades, Capstone Logistics has been helping North America’s largest foodservice distributor keep inbound operations moving.
What started in 1996 with unloading services at two distribution centers grew steadily as Capstone demonstrated its ability to deliver consistent performance, develop new solutions, and understand the unique needs of a complex distribution network. Over time, the relationship expanded from 30+ providers across the network to seven, then five, three, two — and ultimately one.
In 2025, that evolution culminated in a single-source agreement covering more than 100 distribution centers across North America.
The decision reflects what is possible with a true partnership built on shared goals. A trusted logistics partner can combine operational execution, data, technology, dedicated leadership and the ability to scale — all while continuing to find new ways to create value.
The Challenge: Turning a Fragmented Network into One Operation
For years, the distributor relied on multiple unloading providers across hundreds of distribution centers. While that model provided coverage, it also created inconsistencies in performance reporting, compliance standards and operational data.
The organization saw an opportunity to consolidate warehouse operations under a single-source logistics provider and create greater consistency across the network.
What are the benefits of single-source logistics? For our partner, three priorities shaped the decision:
- Network consistency — Standardize operations, reporting and quality benchmarks across distribution centers.
- Technology leverage — Expand Capstone’s proprietary Inbound Quality (IQ) program across broadline locations.
- Cost efficiency — Consolidate vendor overhead, streamline leadership and unlock volume-based savings worth several million dollars annually.
But distribution network consolidation at this scale came with an immediate operational challenge: Capstone needed to stand up 22 locations it had never served before, with only six weeks between the award and go-live.
Capstone is the only partner that consistently comes to us with something new. They don’t just service our account, they invest in it. The IQ program alone changed how we think about inbound operations across our entire network. That’s what made single source an easy decision.”
— VP of Operations
The Advantage of an Established Logistics Partnership
Capstone had something critical that a new provider could not replicate: nearly 30 years of direct institutional knowledge.
Capstone already understood the partner’s operations, leadership structure, and expectations. More importantly, Capstone had already begun expanding rollout of our proprietary vendor compliance program, Capstone IQ.
Since April 2024, IQ managers and auditors had been working in new facilities, building relationships with local leadership and establishing operational rhythms before the unloading transition began. That existing foundation helped make the move to full-service unloading significantly smoother.
The lesson is clear: scalability is about more than having enough people, especially when looking at network consolidation. It requires the right people — along with the infrastructure, relationships and operational knowledge to put those resources to work quickly.
Building What’s Next
The path from two warehouses to a 100+ location single-source agreement wasn’t built in a day. It was built through decades of consistent execution, a willingness to invest in the relationship, and the infrastructure to scale when the opportunity came.
The result is a partnership designed not only to manage today’s inbound operations, but to continuously identify opportunities to improve what comes next.
Want to see how Capstone made it happen?
One Day. 22 Distribution Centers. 500+ Associates.
Rather than phase the transition over weeks or months, Capstone launched all 22 new locations on the same day.
That meant recruiting, onboarding and training associates across the network while simultaneously preparing site leadership and operational teams for Day One.
When the single-source agreement went live, tactical teams of approximately 500 associates and management personnel were deployed across broadline, specialty and produce facilities.
The scale of the launch is significant:
- 22 sites started in a single day
- 500+ associates and managers deployed
- Six weeks from award to go-live
- 100+ locations supported across the network
- 90+ locations participating in the Inbound Quality program
- 2,000+ Capstone associates deployed across the partnership
For a network of this size, a successful multi-site warehouse transition hinges on maintaining performance while the operating model changes underneath them. The final result: no impact to throughput and no disruption to service levels.
Going Beyond the Core Service
The single-source model created an opportunity to standardize more than unloading.
Today, Capstone provides inbound unloading across broadline distribution centers as well as produce, meat and select specialty facilities. The team also provides a range of value-added services, including pallet sorting, sanitation, will-call processing, freight running, driver helper services and scheduling support.
That breadth gives the partner access to additional capabilities without having to manage another network of vendors.
And because those capabilities can be deployed across the network, a solution developed at one location can become a best practice for many others.
How Inbound Compliance Data Improves Performance
One of the most important elements of the partnership is Capstone’s Inbound Quality (IQ) program.
IQ is now active in more than 90 locations across the network. Dedicated compliance supervisors and trained auditors capture inbound violations such as pallet quality issues, code-date problems and delivery-condition deficiencies. The resulting data provides structured reporting that Capstone and the partner can use to identify problems and improve vendor performance.
The value extends beyond reporting.
By creating greater visibility into inbound quality, the program has helped reduce violations and improve overall load quality, giving the partner a clearer picture of what is happening at the point where goods first enter the distribution network.
The Real Value of a Single-Source Partnership
The transition to a single provider was ultimately the result of 29 years of performance.
Capstone’s partnership with this foodservice distributor evolved because Capstone consistently demonstrated the ability to take on more responsibility, bring forward new ideas and translate operational insight into measurable value.
For more than a decade, Capstone has brought a new initiative to the partner’s annual business reviews as an opportunity to identify an operational need, develop a solution and prove its value at the site level before expanding it across the network. The IQ program itself emerged from that approach.
That mindset ultimately helped turn a service provider into a strategic partner.
As the partner’s VP of Operations put it, Capstone is the partner that consistently “comes to us with something new.”
Dedicated Leadership at Network Scale
Another differentiator is Capstone’s leadership model.
Above-site directors are dedicated exclusively to the partnership, creating account-specific expertise at every level of oversight. That institutional knowledge allows teams to identify successful practices at one facility and apply them elsewhere across the network.
For a multi-site operation, that ability to share knowledge quickly can be just as important as the labor deployed at each individual facility. It creates a network that can learn collectively, rather than relying on each location to solve the same problems independently.
Interested in driving stronger performance across your network? Capstone’s dedicated leadership model helps share best practices across facilities, improving consistency and performance at scale.
Speak With an Expert