Berrios Case Study: 46% Volume Growth in 2 Months with Nauta
How Berrios, one of the largest home goods retailers in the Caribbean, shifted from reactive to proactive decision-making and turned logistics from a cost center into a competitive advantage with Nauta.
About Berrios
Berríos is one of the largest home goods retailers in the Caribbean, with over 23 stores offering furniture, appliances, electronics, and mattresses. The company also owns and operates Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations, further expanding its footprint in the premium home furnishings market.
Founded in 1974, Berrios operates an advanced logistics and distribution network, importing thousands of containers annually primarily from Asia and managing deliveries through its own fleet. With a strong focus on operational excellence and customer service, the company has become a leading player in the retail market, supported by integrated supply chain capabilities and a commitment to continuous innovation.
Nauta as a Solution
Berrios wasn't just looking for a software tool, they needed a partner to support their rapid growth, reduce operational complexity, and unlock full visibility across their supply chain. By consolidating fragmented communications, documents, and shipment data into a single source of truth, Nauta enabled Berrios to operate with greater control, speed, and confidence. With Nauta in place, Berrios shifted from reactive to proactive decision-making transforming logistics from a cost center into a competitive advantage that drives profitability and operational resilience.
Below are the key outcomes showing how Nauta delivered measurable impact in just two months of partnership, along with a testimonial from Milton Ruiz, Purchasing Operations Manager:
Operational Scalability with Data Confidence
We didn't have a way to not only understand the status of a shipment, but also to assess the broader impact on the organization whether in terms of economies of scale, cost control, sales maximization, or many other variables that indirectly affect the business. We also lacked the ability to measure supplier performance, or even our own performance for example, in how efficiently we were unloading merchandise.
Document Processing and Workflow Automation
Nauta automated the processing of more than 40,000 emails and 20,000 documents within just two months, resulting in a 107.6% increase in the volume of data processed. By centralizing all logistics data into a single source of truth, Berrios eliminated the need for fragmented systems and redundant communications, saving valuable time across teams.
If we wanted to understand where we stood at any given moment, we had to make phone calls, check multiple systems, contact different companies, and have documentation on hand just to distinguish one shipment from another. We didn't really have a tool that could bring all that information together in one place and make it easily accessible.
Reduction in Penalties and Operational Costs
By trusting Nauta as their single source of truth, Berrios significantly improved operational efficiency directly impacting cost reduction. From January to date, Nauta has helped the company reduce penalties, both in time and money, by 70%.
Using Nauta, we identified a specific company responsible for over 70% of our detention and demurrage costs. With that insight, we were able to renegotiate our contract and secure additional free days allowing us to unload containers without incurring those extra charges. This allows us to generate substantial savings and transform what was once a cost center into a profit driver.
Labor Savings
Automating shipment tracking and coordination has reduced the manual workload by at least 20 hours per week for a department of three people, with additional savings also observed across distribution and retail store teams. Nauta streamlined a process that previously required staff to spend hours locating shipments and reconciling information, significantly reducing unexpected operational costs.
We're likely saving over 20 hours a week in my area alone, and it also impacts time savings on the distribution side of the business and in our store sales teams, especially time that was previously spent trying to figure out where shipments are.
Full Shipment Visibility Across Trade Lanes
Nauta enabled end-to-end tracking of 67 trade lanes primarily from China and Vietnam while monitoring 26 ocean carriers, out of 193 tracked across its platform. This enhanced visibility allowed Berríos to reduce its ETA vs. ATA gap by 5 days, improving forecasting and inbound planning.
Having visibility across multiple levels of the organization has built greater trust in our internal processes especially at the central level, where I work, designing workflows to carry out core tasks.
Smarter Supplier Management and Sourcing
With over 1,300 products analyzed, 131 distinct suppliers tracked, and operations across 30 countries, Nauta has equipped Berríos with powerful supplier intelligence. These insights enable: • Smarter sourcing decisions • More effective supplier performance evaluations • Stronger, data-backed supplier relationships
Together, these improvements contribute directly to higher margins and greater operational control.
The greatest value we get from Nauta is improved product availability. Before Nauta, our store sales teams couldn't reliably project when merchandise would be available to sell. Now, they can
As Berríos continues to scale, Nauta plays a crucial role in ensuring control over inventory and guaranteeing product availability key to keeping store operations and supplier production running smoothly.
Discover how Nauta can unlock visibility and drive profitability across your supply chain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pXjfpwDcKY
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Berrios?
Berrios is one of the largest home goods retailers in the Caribbean, with over 23 stores selling furniture, appliances, electronics, and mattresses. Founded in 1974, it also owns and operates Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations and imports thousands of containers annually, primarily from Asia, managing deliveries through its own fleet. The company built its position on operational excellence, customer service, and integrated supply chain capabilities.
How much did Berrios grow container volume with Nauta?
Berrios increased its container volume by 46% within just two months of partnering with Nauta. By consolidating fragmented communications, documents, and shipment data into one source of truth, Nauta gave Berrios the control and confidence to scale without adding operational complexity. This shift moved the company from reactive to proactive decision-making across its supply chain.
How did Nauta reduce Berrios's penalties and detention and demurrage costs?
Nauta helped Berrios reduce penalties, in both time and money, by 70% from January to date. Using Nauta, Berrios identified a specific company responsible for over 70% of its detention and demurrage costs, then renegotiated the contract to secure additional free days for unloading containers. That insight turned what had been a cost center into a source of substantial savings.
How many emails and documents did Nauta process for Berrios?
Nauta processed more than 40,000 emails and 20,000 documents for Berrios within just two months, a 107.6% increase in the volume of data processed. By centralizing all logistics data into one source of truth, Berrios eliminated fragmented systems and redundant communications. This saved significant time across teams that had previously reconciled information by hand.
How much time did Nauta save Berrios's team?
Nauta reduced manual workload by at least 20 hours per week for a three-person department at Berrios, with additional savings across distribution and retail store teams. Automating shipment tracking and coordination replaced a process that had required staff to spend hours locating shipments and reconciling information. This cut unexpected operational costs while the business scaled.
How did Nauta turn Berrios's logistics from a cost center into a competitive advantage?
Nauta turned Berrios's logistics into a competitive advantage by unifying communications, documents, and shipment data so the company could shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. With that foundation, Berrios grew container volume 46%, cut penalties 70%, and tracked 67 trade lanes and 26 ocean carriers to reduce its ETA versus ATA gap by 5 days. Together these gains improved profitability and operational resilience rather than simply reducing cost.
Keep reading
How Nina Prevents Demurrage Charges: A Container Free-Time Case Study
US importers paid $15.4B in demurrage and detention over five years. See how Nina tracks container free-time deadlines and cut preventable charges by more than 80%.
Read more
How Nina Gave an Operations Team Back 15 Hours a Week
One team spent 15 hours a week hunting for order status across portals and inboxes. See how Nina monitors every open PO from issuance to delivery and drafts the chase requests.
Read more
How Alec Prevents Shipment Delays: A Document Reconciliation Case Study
Eighty percent of shipment delays trace back to a document error, not the carrier. See how Alec caught a missing compliance field before a shipment moved, avoiding a two-week customs hold.
Read more