International Distribution Corp (IDC) is a family-owned chemical 3PL in Pasadena, Texas, operating since 1977. They run more than 1 million square feet of warehouse space, including a 317,000 square-foot HAZMAT facility, and serve chemical manufacturers shipping in and out of the Port of Houston. This is the story of how they replaced a legacy WMS that was, in their VP's own words, "a piece of junk" — and what 20 years on Codeworks Enterprise has meant for their business.
The Operation
IDC handles hazardous and non-hazardous chemical products for some of the largest chemical manufacturers in North America. The 317,000 square-foot HAZMAT facility is its own discipline — dedicated zones, segregated storage, dangerous-goods compliance, lot tracking, and an audit trail regulators will accept on a bad day. The rest of the operation handles bulk chemical, packaging, and fulfillment for clients whose ERPs are almost universally SAP. The WMS has to live up to both worlds.
The Problem With the Old System
Two decades ago, IDC ran on a WMS that simply was not built for a chemical 3PL. It was not Microsoft compatible. It could not integrate cleanly with SAP. Worst of all for a 3PL competing on customization speed, onboarding a new client took two full days of operator time. In the words of VP Matt Walt, the system was "a piece of junk." Every new client meant two days of friction at the exact moment IDC was trying to make a great first impression.
Why IDC Picked Codeworks Enterprise
IDC needed three things from a new WMS. It had to handle the chemical-specific complexity of hazardous storage, lot tracking, and segregation. It had to integrate cleanly with SAP, because that is what their clients ran. And it had to onboard a new customer fast enough that the onboarding experience itself became a sales advantage. Codeworks Enterprise was the system that checked all three boxes, and the SC Codeworks engineering team committed to customizing it alongside IDC instead of putting requests into a long queue.
Results
| Metric | Before Codeworks Enterprise | With Codeworks Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Customer onboarding time | 2 days | 20 to 30 minutes |
| ERP integration | Manual rekeying / not Microsoft compatible | Native SAP integration via scheduled or API connection |
| Sales motion | Slow word-of-mouth | Reputation-driven inbound; new clients sign during the first call |
| Customization speed | Vendor change request, weeks of wait | Same-team customization with SC Codeworks engineering |
| Years on Codeworks Enterprise | n/a | 20+ and counting |
The Onboarding Story
New customer onboarding now runs in 20 to 30 minutes. The customer talks to IDC's customer-service and operations managers, who load the company information, billing rules, and special handling requirements directly into Codeworks Enterprise. By the end of that conversation, the new client is set up to ship and receive. As Matt Walt put it, the initial setup is "lightning fast." For comparison: with the old WMS, the same conversation was the start of a two-day project.
Why It Matters for Chemical 3PLs
IDC has no traditional outbound sales team. Their growth runs on reputation and word of mouth. The speed and flexibility of the WMS is part of the product they sell — when a new prospect calls and asks how soon they can get started, the answer is "hours" instead of "weeks." That single sentence ends most evaluations. As Matt Walt put it: "The new customers come in and ask 'how soon can we get started?'. We tell them hours. They're used to hearing weeks. 'Wow, that's fast!' is a pretty common reaction."
What the IDC Customer Service Team Says
IDC customer service manager Leslie Willis: "It's nice having a team working on a program who have actually sat in my spot before. And they've got a very good personal touch. We have a lot of different vendors, and I'd say that SC Codeworks is the most responsive. They're very friendly and ready to help."
Frequently asked questions
Who is IDC?
International Distribution Corp is a family-owned third-party logistics (3PL) provider based in Pasadena, Texas, operating since 1977. IDC specializes in warehousing, distribution, and transportation of hazardous and non-hazardous chemical products, with more than 1 million square feet across multiple facilities, including a 317,000 square-foot dedicated HAZMAT warehouse.
What problem did IDC have with their previous WMS?
IDC's previous warehouse management system was, in the words of VP Matt Walt, "a piece of junk." It was cumbersome, was not Microsoft compatible, and took two days to onboard a new customer. For a chemical 3PL competing on speed and customization, that was an existential issue.
What changed with Codeworks Enterprise?
Codeworks Enterprise cut customer onboarding from two days to 20 to 30 minutes, integrated cleanly with the SAP ERPs IDC's chemical manufacturer clients use, and gave IDC a customization path that runs through the same SC Codeworks engineering team rather than a long change-request queue.
How does Codeworks Enterprise integrate with SAP for chemical 3PLs?
Codeworks Enterprise integrates with SAP through scheduled batch jobs or near-real-time API connections, depending on the workflow. For most chemical manufacturer clients on IDC, that covers item master, customer master, inbound shipments, outbound order release, and inventory reconciliation.
What does this case study tell other chemical or HAZMAT 3PLs?
A 3PL competing on customization, regulatory compliance, and onboarding speed cannot rely on a generic WMS or a system that fights its operations team. The right WMS partner pays back its cost in shortened onboarding cycles, retained customers, and a reputation that sells without a sales team.