R2 Logistics develops a new transportation system that focuses on a shipper’s perspective.
By Kat Zeman
A global provider of transportation services and logistics solutions, R2 Logistics is driving forward with a new game-changing technology.
The third-party logistics company has developed a transportation management system (TMS) that compiles all transportation data, spend data, cost history and carrier performance.
Palmer Logistics is willing to make long-term investments without trapping customers in lengthy binding agreements.
By Tim O’Connor
Because it is a privately owned company, Palmer Logistics can take the kind of risks and make forward-thinking investments that public corporations often dismiss for having a low return on investment. If a chemical company or drug maker needs more warehouse capacity, Palmer can buy more racking or sign a multi-year lease on a storage facility to scale up its operations without tying the client down with a lengthy contract that ensures it will recoup costs. “We’re not beholden to the markets where I need a guaranteed rate of return,” President Brett Mears says.
Customers recognize and appreciate the investment Palmer is willing to make on their behalves, making them more likely to form a long-term relationship. Most contract terms are one year or less, giving Palmer no guarantee that customer will become a profitable account. Instead, the company challenges itself to provide such a high level of service and value that customers will keep coming back. “Our goal is never to turn over a customer due to inferior service or value,” Mears explains.
Combining logistics, repair, risk management and packaging operations
under one organization helped Juniper Networks
achieve operational efficiency and savings.
By Jim Harris
Combining four traditionally disparate functions into a single organization has enabled Juniper Networks to meet its mission to “connect everything and empower everyone.” Within the past few years, The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based technology provider has expanded the role of its worldwide logistics team to also include repair operations, supply chain risk management and package engineering.
Stefanini is helping to prepare businesses for the fourth industrial revolution.
By Kat Zeman
Another industrial revolution is coming. Some claim it’s already arrived. Known as the fourth industrial revolution, or 4IR, it is the fourth major industrial era since the industrial revolution of the 18th century.
Stefanini, a global IT outsourcing services company, is at the forefront of this digital revolution. A $1 billion provider of business solutions with locations in 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia, Stefanini offers onshore, offshore and nearshore IT services. That includes application development services, IT infrastructure outsourcing, systems integration, consulting and strategic staffing.
Vanguard Software Corp.’s cloud-based supply chain planning applications give large and mid-sized companies an advantage.
By Jim Harris
Vanguard Software Corp. founder and CEO Rob Suggs believes a little bit of planning can go a long way toward making mid- to large-sized companies successful. “The impact of having the right forecast can be dramatic,” he says. “We’ve been able, as a small company, to go into large, billion-dollar corporations and produce phenomenal impacts.”
Users of Vanguard’s Integrated Business Planning (IBP) system have seen cost savings of between $20 million and $30 million the first year of its use. The cloud-based platform enables companies to perform complex modeling and simulation, budgeting and planning, reporting and forecasting, and data integration functions.
“Our platform gives users a lot of power to build mathematical models and simulations to optimize their business,” Suggs says. “There are a lot of things in a business environment that companies don’t know. Building simulations on top of models can show a company the range of possible outcomes if they chose a particular strategy.”
By better understanding its customers’ needs now, Höegh Autoliners is positioning itself for the future to expand in the automotive supply chain.
By Janice Hoppe-Spiers
Höegh Autoliners strives to be the go-to roll-on/roll-off [RO/RO] carrier in a globalized marketplace by remaining flexible and reliable while developing creative solutions at competitive prices. As its customers needs continue to evolve, the company is working to offer a wider range of services in the automotive supply chain.
“I think that what sets us apart is our flexibility and our relentless dedication and focus on customer excellence,” Head of Region Americas Shane Warren says. “We are not the biggest RO/RO carrier, but that helps us because we have more flexibility to meet their needs. It’s about understanding the customers’ needs, helping them understand where they have waste in their system and how we can help them to be more efficient.”
CTG enhanced its already strong service with safety and leadership initiatives.
By Alan Dorich
For more than 30 years, Covenant Transportation Group (CTG) Inc. has been guided by values such as perseverance, hard work, faith, humility, planning and talent management. “Those are the keys to [getting us] where we are today,” President Joey Hogan declares.
Based in Chattanooga, Tenn., the transportation and logistics services firm is a holding company for multiple business units with offerings that range from truckload and intermodal freight transportation to tractor/trailer sales and leasing. Founders David and Jacqueline Parker started CTG in 1986 with just 25 trucks.
Today, the company has 2,600 vehicles across its divisions, Hogan says. These include Covenant Transport, Southern Refrigerated Transport, Star Transportation, Covenant Transport Solutions, Transport Financial Solutions and Transport Enterprise Leasing.
IBM’s cognitive computing system, Watson, is a valued supply chain advisor to the company and others.
By Jim Harris
Disruptions are a fact of life for supply chain professionals. Inclement weather and natural disasters, mechanical breakdowns at manufacturing plants and other challenges can severely limit a company’s ability to produce and deliver goods to its customers.
As one of the world’s leading computing and information technology providers, IBM knows the reality of supply chain disruptions better than many companies. The Armonk, N.Y.-headquartered company serves customers in 170 countries from multiple manufacturing facilities it both owns and contracts with. The company also partners with logistics companies and service providers around the globe to deliver and install systems for clients.
Although IBM knows that many disruptions cannot be avoided entirely, the company is leveraging its existing technology to help both itself and others better predict and handle challenges.
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