At XPO, a leading less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping company with over 36,000 customers, 13 million annual shipments and over 300 service centers across North America, quality is more than a priority — it’s a commitment. Every shipment, regardless of size or weight, is handled with precision and care to ensure freight arrives on time and in perfect condition.  

1. The Importance of XPO’s Quality Team 

Central to this commitment to excellence is XPO’s Quality team, led by industry veteran Rob Harding, who has decades of experience across roles in the LTL sector. Rob heads an all-star team of 14 senior quality managers who are embedded in daily operations throughout XPO’s network.  
 
“Our goal is to ensure every shipment adheres to uncompromising standards,” Rob says. From auditing dock operations to inspecting trailers and coaching employees, the team ensures that XPO delivers consistently on its promise of quality and upholds a company-wide commitment to safety. Across this diverse team, one focus remains constant: improving service for XPO’s customers.  
 
With their hands-on approach and deep operational knowledge, the Quality team set out to enhance XPO’s freight handling process and help foster an even stronger culture of safety and quality. The result of their innovation? ZDM+ (Zero-Defect Method Plus), a seven-step trailer-loading methodology introduced in 2023.  

2. What is ZDM+?   

ZDM+ is designed to minimize damage, enhance safety and protect customers’ freight during transportation. It is a structured system based on three key technologies, all aimed at ensuring damage-free deliveries and operational efficiency.

• SafeStack: This proprietary system divides trailers into two decks, preventing double stacking and reducing freight movement during transit.  
• Ratchet Straps: Heavy-duty straps secure freight to trailer walls, providing superior stability and preventing shifts that might damage cargo.  
• Airbags: Specialized airbags hold pallets against trailer walls and fill empty spaces between freight to limit movement. Since their introduction, damages in transit have been reduced by over 20%.

The Quality team also launched a program to rate how trailers are loaded by capturing photos at both ends of a run. Frontline employees take a photo when the trailer is sealed for movement and again when the unloading dock worker breaks the seal at the next location, with both rating the quality of the load on a 1-5 scale. These ratings document how well the trailer was loaded, but also how well it held up in transit. 
  
The Quality team then uses these photos to refine loading techniques and ensure compliance with our ZDM+ protocol. 

ZDM+ in action – with SafeStack, ratchet straps and airbags in use

3. Implementation and Adoption

When the Quality team rolled out ZDM+ in late 2023, it knew that company-wide adoption would be crucial to its success. The team launched a comprehensive training program for dockworkers and drivers across every service center nationwide.  Armed with the right tools and expertise, tens of thousands of employees from New York to Oregon quickly embraced this new standard. 
 
“It's just ingrained in the culture now,” says Scott Neil, a senior manager on the Quality team based in Idaho. “We want to make sure that team members receive the right training, that they have the right development, but ultimately, we all agree now that this is our standard.”  
 
Scott believes this commitment to quality reflects XPO’s commitment to serving its customers. 
 
“What quality means to me is beating our customers’ expectations,” he says. At the end of the day, Scott believes that making the customers’ lives easier is “really what this team is designed to do.” 
 
With new investments in tools and technology, coupled with the improved approach to trailer loading, XPO is delivering service at record levels. The company ended 2024 with the lowest damage claims history in its history, with damages down more than 80% over the last two years. 

4. What’s Next for XPO’s Quality Mission? 

Even with these recent successes, XPO’s Quality team remains focused on continual improvements. With the opening of the company’s large breakbulk facilities, quality remains a top priority, as these centers enable longer freight movements without the need for rehandling, further minimizing the potential for damage.  
 
ZDM+ has quickly become a defining feature of XPO’s commitment to customer satisfaction. With its cutting-edge methodology and a team dedicated to excellence, XPO continues to set the industry benchmark for quality and reliability in LTL shipping.  

To learn more about what makes LTL shipping with XPO different or to request a quote, contact us.