DSA is an Australian fourth party logistics (4PL) provider. We take the day-to-day running of your freight off your hands, so your team spends less time on admin and you can see where your freight spend goes.
We manage your carriers, 3PL warehouses, freight tenders, invoice checks, customer enquiries and monthly reporting in one place. You stay in control of every decision. We handle the chasing, follow-ups and paperwork that slow your team down.
With one partner looking after your whole network, it's easier to spot where costs are creeping up and where better rates or service are available.
Freight costs can rise in several places at once, including base rates, fuel and surcharges. Without a clear breakdown, nobody can say which one has gone up. For each freight lane, which is a route between two locations, DSA builds a cost baseline, so you can see exactly where an increase comes from.
Each carrier reports on its own performance, and those reports often don't match what your customers tell you. On-time, in-full delivery (DIFOT) is tracked for each carrier and compared with carrier ETAs, which are the estimated delivery times each carrier gives. You can then spot late carriers while there is still time to act.
Contracts that were last tendered years ago drift away from current market rates. When a contract is due, DSA runs the tender and recommends which carrier should win the freight. Final say stays with you.
Chasing carriers, checking invoices and building reports all take time your team could spend planning freight. These jobs move to DSA. Instead, your team receives clean data and a monthly review.
The 3PL moves and stores your goods. DSA plans the network, runs the tenders and checks the invoices, then reports on how everything performed. Day-to-day freight management sits inside that role, along with tendering, invoice control and monthly reviews, so there is one point of contact for all of it. Carriers and 3PLs keep doing what they do best, while DSA keeps watch over the whole picture and the results.
Because we own no trucks, there is no fleet to keep busy. Our advice on which carrier or 3PL to use comes from your lane data and measured service, not from what suits our own vehicles. If a carrier keeps missing the agreed service levels, your freight can move to another carrier.
For a national network, the question is rarely which single 3PL to choose. What matters is how your stock, warehouses and carriers fit together, so freight moves from warehouse to warehouse without being handled twice. From North Sydney, DSA plans that network with you and runs it day to day. If you need more warehousing or a wider distribution network, it runs through the same carrier panel, service rules and monthly reporting.
Procurement teams rarely get clean, lane-by-lane freight data. Building it is our first job, and it covers volumes by lane, service needs and a current cost baseline. Every carrier or 3PL negotiation then starts with facts instead of last year's invoice.
When contracts are due, we write the tender, set the scoring, shortlist carriers and 3PLs, and compare their rates like for like. After that comes a recommendation on who to award, and you sign off. Each tender also shows how your freight costs compare with the market, lane by lane.
There is one carrier panel and one set of service rules. Bookings, manifests and tracking run through DSA's Freight Management System instead of several carrier portals, so your team sees every carrier and 3PL in one place.
Invoices from carriers are checked against the agreed rates before you pay, and any differences go back to the carrier to be corrected. You receive a monthly report showing how many corrections were raised.
Partner warehouses provide the storage and handling space. That capacity is arranged by DSA and managed alongside your carriers, using the same tender and measurement process as the rest of your freight.
Each customer has a dedicated account manager who knows the network and raises problems early, before they reach your customers. Monthly reviews run through the same person.
DSA runs your freight network for you instead of only advising on how it should be run. Carriers, tenders, invoices and reporting sit with one partner, and you keep the decisions.
Ensure your products get where they need to be with streamlined, efficient distribution solutions. Our network and expertise keep your supply chain moving smoothly.
Leverage cutting-edge logistics tools designed to optimize your operations and reduce costs. Integration and innovation are at the heart of our tech-driven approach.
Always select the best option with real-time price comparisons across all your carriers and services
One-way-same-way dispatch process regardless of carrier weight
Real-time tracking across every point of the shipment delivery journey
Pull up your PODs with one click and download with two clicks
Dashboards and detailed reports to oversee your freight management operations
Make informed decisions with actionable insights derived from advanced data and analytics. Data, intelligence and insight are the heroes that define modern supply chain success. DSA helps you to harness each with power and speed, uncovering opportunities to enhance efficiencies and improve service therefore driving better value for every dollar spent on freight.
Achieve consistency and precision with our team of experts. We focus on reliability and adaptability to meet your business’s evolving needs.
Ensure your products get where they need to be with streamlined, efficient distribution solutions. Our network and expertise keep your supply chain moving smoothly.
Always select the best option with real-time price comparisons across all your carriers and services
One-way-same-way dispatch process regardless of carrier rtqwe
Real-time tracking across every point of the shipment delivery journey
Pull up your PODs with one click and download with two clicks
Dashboards and detailed reports to oversee your freight management operations
Leverage cutting-edge logistics tools designed to optimize your operations and reduce costs. Integration and innovation are at the heart of our tech-driven approach.
Make informed decisions with actionable insights derived from advanced data and analytics. Data, intelligence and insight are the heroes that define modern supply chain success. DSA helps you to harness each with power and speed, uncovering opportunities to enhance efficiencies and improve service therefore driving better value for every dollar spent on freight.
Achieve consistency and precision with our team of experts. We focus on reliability and adaptability to meet your business’s evolving needs.
A 4PL runs your freight network for you. At DSA, that means managing your carriers, 3PLs, freight tenders, invoice checks and monthly reporting in one place. Carriers and 3PLs keep moving and storing the freight, while DSA sits above them, sets the service rules and answers for the results. All decisions stay with you.
3PL solutions are outsourced transport, warehousing and handling services from third party logistics companies. Most businesses use them for storage, handling or extra capacity in busy periods. Under DSA's model, these services come from carriers and warehouse partners, and DSA manages them alongside your carriers as one network.
A 3PL does the physical work, such as moving or storing goods. Like DSA, a 4PL manages the carriers and 3PLs doing that work and answers for the results. No trucks sit on DSA's books, so its advice follows your data.
3PL distribution means using a third party to store your stock and send it to customers or other sites. For a national network, most of the cost comes down to two decisions: where stock is held and which carrier runs each lane. Both decisions are planned with you and reported on every month.
Compare how each provider checks its rates against the market, how its delivery has performed by carrier and lane, and who is accountable when service slips. Ask about exit terms too. Use the six questions above as a starting list for any provider.
It makes sense to move to a 4PL when nobody can show your cost per lane or delivery performance by carrier, or when your contracts haven't been tendered for years. It is also worth considering when your team spends more time chasing carriers than planning freight. DSA's free assessment compares your current freight profile with the market.
No. Decisions on who gets your freight, and on the service rules, stay with you. Day-to-day work sits with DSA, and the results are reviewed with you each month, including on-time delivery, cost and open issues.
DSA's Freight Management System reports DIFOT, which means delivered in full and on time, against carrier ETAs. It also provides tracking dashboards plus fiscal and operational reports. Delivery and cost analysis is also available whenever you want a deeper review of your freight.
Businesses spending $20,000 or more a month on domestic freight are DSA's main focus, and the service is built around them. Below that level, a 3PL or a direct carrier relationship is usually the better fit. The free assessment is a quick way to see which side of that line you sit on.
Already have carriers and a 3PL in place? That is where the assessment starts. During the assessment, we review your current freight profile, compare it with the market, and show you where cost, service and reporting could improve. The assessment is free and comes with no obligation, for businesses spending $20,000 or more a month on domestic freight.
