Case study
How AM Stabilizers built a more responsive supply chain with Odyssey Logistics
Client background
AMS manufactures PVC stabilizer formulations across two facilities, serving time-sensitive customers in medical, construction, automotive, and other markets where late deliveries aren’t an option.
AM Stabilizers (AMS) is a specialty chemical manufacturer whose stabilizer formulations keep flexible and rigid PVC stable through high-heat processing. For a company whose customers carry no inventory buffer, PVC chemical shipping is far more than a back-office function. Customers expect delivery on tight windows, and when the product arrives, they need to be able to use it immediately.
The company operates two manufacturing facilities: a liquid products plant in Franklin, PA, and a solid stabilizer powder plant in Valparaiso, IN. Their team is small and deliberately close-knit, built around direct communication and fast response to customer needs. Running this kind of operation in a demanding logistics environment requires a partner that functions less like a vendor and more like a collaborator — which is the relationship AMS and Odyssey Logistics have built over nearly a decade together.
Odyssey’s ability to scale up its partnership with us has increased our level of customer service, which is extremely important to us. They modified their service model to satisfy our customers.
Challenge
Two plants under two separate providers meant fragmented workflows, hidden freight markups, and inconsistent carrier vetting. AMS needed a single partner with proven compliance standards and better data.
When AMS acquired its Franklin, PA, facility in 2016, the plant came with an existing logistics relationship — its toll manufacturer had already been working with Odyssey. The original Indiana plant, meanwhile, operated under a separate provider. This dual logistics workflow was functional but inefficient.
AMS needed to consolidate with a true managed chemical logistics partner who could meet its evolving needs. Both providers made their case, but the presentation from Odyssey stood out on two counts:
- A broader, more carefully vetted carrier network: Odyssey’s RFP process screened carriers for regulatory requirements, giving AMS access to a wider pool of qualified options than their prior provider
- Richer data and reporting: Odyssey’s suite of technology, including its proprietary OnDemand platform, gave AMS visibility into how shipments would be managed and tracked, helping them make better decisions and keep their own customers informed
Consolidation, integration, and a workflow built to move
Odyssey connected directly to AMS’s order management system, unifying tracking, BOL management, and shipment inquiries across both facilities under a single workflow.
Odyssey also integrated directly into AMS’s order management system, connecting the two operations at the point of order entry. Tracking, bill of lading management, and customer shipment inquiries all flow through the same connected workflow, with a major reduction in email coordination volumes.
A dedicated presence, built around the needs of AMS
AMS runs a high-communication operation, with orders monitored daily and truck coverage planned two to three weeks out. To meet that standard, AMS needed a logistics expert embedded directly in how they work.
Odyssey responded by assigning an Odyssey employee to the AMS account as a dedicated, on-site resource at AMS’s Valparaiso facility. This was a new model of support from Odyssey built in direct response to what AMS needed.
Now with the dedicated person in the office, I can just walk over and say, 'I need help right now.'
Built to absorb the unexpected
AMS describes its business as steady: volumes don’t swing dramatically from quarter to quarter. A few years ago, however, a supply chain shortage of tin stabilizer pushed a wave of new customers toward AMS. Volume out of the Valparaiso plant more than doubled, with no advance notice to Odyssey.
Odyssey scaled to meet the demand with no disruption to customer delivery windows and no dropped coverage. When tin supply stabilized and recovered, and those customers returned to their usual supplier, volumes normalized. However, the surge confirmed that the carrier network AMS had access to through Odyssey was built to flex.
Navigating the 2025–2026 capacity crunch
As contracted rates fell out of alignment with a tightening spot market, Odyssey engaged carriers directly on AMS’s behalf and kept the team informed in real time.
The freight market tightened sharply in late 2025 and into early 2026. Spot rates climbed well above contracted levels, and carriers began declining tendered loads in favor of higher-paying freight. For AMS, January 2026 brought multiple dropped loads per day, each requiring rapid recovery to protect customer delivery windows.
Odyssey engaged carriers directly on AMS’s behalf — reaching out to existing contracted carriers to hold rates and coverage through the disruption — and kept AMS informed throughout. Monthly and quarterly business reviews, regular freight market updates, and annual modal-specific briefings gave AMS the context to understand the market dynamics and respond intelligently.
The evolution of a true partnership
Stage 1: One partner, two plants AMS acquires Franklin, PA, facility and consolidates logistics across both plants under Odyssey — unified carrier network, transparent pricing, integrated order management
Stage 2: Logistics expert on site Odyssey assigns a dedicated resource embedded at AMS's Valparaiso facility — real-time issue resolution, direct communication, deep familiarity with AMS's customers and cadences
A trusted partner, not a service provider
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