A Different Kind of Supply Chain Solution
LP has always prided itself on Hannibal’s old saying: “Find a way or make one”.
Here’s a wonderful example of a businesswoman who did just that.
Enjoy : )
JB
WTF???
All,
Please see the article below about our good friend and colleague from TFA, Mark Antal.
Unbelievable.
How does our society allow people like this to repeatedly do what they do to innocent people? Luckily, Mark as a former US Special Ops team leader could protect himself, move that attacker away from his young daughters, and restrain this guy til the police arrived (while wisely holding back from using deadly techniques he knows all too well).
How does the guy have all these arrests and still get released back onto the streets time after time after time? I get compassion for people with mental illness but what if it had been Mark’s daughters, who could not have fended this guy off? What if this happened to you? Or your wife? Or your mother/father kids? TOO MUCH!!!
It’s like my Governor Shapiro said the other day after some nutjob broke into his home and tried to burn down his house with him and his children inside and hoping to “beat him with a hammer”.
He said: “I don’t care which side of the political fence you are on. This is NOT acceptable.”
NYC (and other many communities) need a way more rational, effective and safe-for-its-residents policy than this “catch and release” IMHO.
This feels like Bizarro world.
Make it stop!
JB
A Blast from the Past. Still Relevant Today?
“Savings” That Never Really Delivered
Back in the day, we were managing truckload freight for a large industrial company. The setup was solid—good rates, consistent service, everything working as it should.
Then along comes one of their internal guys—let’s call him Brent—who wanted to prove he could wring even more “efficiency” out of the operation. Without involving us, he went out and re-bid ten of their biggest lanes on his own. Soon after, he announced with great fanfare that he had found $800,000 in annual savings.
He got a big award. Some kind of internal hero. Made us look kind of bad (why couldn’t LP have done that) but we had to keep our heads down. Didn’t want to get in front of this news cannon.
But nobody looked too closely at the numbers. They just heard the word “savings” and they all nodded approvingly. GOOD NEWS!
Eventually, I asked to see the actual data. Took some persistence, but I got it. And what it showed was that nine of the ten lanes were actually higher—by a combined $200,000 a year. The entire “savings” was based on just one lane, which supposedly saved a million dollars.
Now, you’d think someone of the big execs would stop and ask, “Wait—a million-dollar savings on a single truck lane?” But no one did.
That lane? A short 150-mile “mini” route on paper. But the freight was a huge, oversized part—over-width, requiring flatbeds, special routing, permits, no night driving, no driving in the rain or snow and no weekend runs. Oh—and customs clearance on both sides of a very congested, slow-moving international bridge thrown in for good measure.
The winning bidder came in at half the price of every other quote—$1,000 below the next-lowest. A number that only made sense if you had no idea what the freight actually was. But hey: $1,000 of savings per load x 1,000 loads a year = $1 million in “savings.” Woo hoo, right?
Only problem? Once they realized what they’d signed up for, that company just disappeared. Never moved a single load. Never heard from them again.
But those “savings” stayed on the books. The award stayed on Brent’s shelf. And the myth of the great cost-cutter lived on.
Moral of the story?
It’s easy to find “waste” when you don’t understand the work.
And even easier to declare victory—and then quietly slip away—when no one notices that none of those trucks actually rolled.
Yuriy Ostapyak Discusses Ukraine on SiriusXM with Steve Scully
Logistics Plus COO Yuriy Ostapyak was featured earlier this week on an episode of The Briefing with Steve Scully on SiriusXM. In this episode, Yuriy highlighted Ukraine’s resilience and optimism, emphasizing the country’s strong manufacturing base as a key driver of economic recovery. He stressed the importance of rebuilding Ukraine without waiting for a ceasefire, underscoring the need for immediate action to ensure businesses can thrive and contribute to the nation’s future.
You can listen to a replay of Yuriy’s segment on SiriusXM by clicking below. Also pictured below (L-R) are Steve Scully, Jim Berlin (CEO), Yuriy Ostapyak (COO), and Derek Berlin (SVP of Global Government Solutions) at the SiriusXM studio in Washington, DC. We appreciate the coverage and support from Stevey Scully, a fellow Erie, PA native.
About ‘The Briefing with Steve Scully’
“The Briefing with Steve Scully” airs on POTUS Politics — satellite channel 124 and streaming on the SiriusXM app — weekdays from 12–2 pm ET. On his show, Scully — Senior Vice President at Washington, D.C.’s Bipartisan Policy Center — takes listeners inside the stories and conversations that are shaping the day in the nation’s capital. Visit https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/the-briefing-with-steve-scully to learn more.
Welcoming LP’s AUK interns, Katie and Sasha
All,
After a wonderful week in DC, and getting to meet all kinds of American leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine, Sasha and Katie are finally arriving in Erie today where will be interning for the summer. Katie will be working with our import and export team, and Sasha will be working with our Government Relations team.
If you read any of my earlier blogs, LP is one of the sponsors of the American University of Kyiv and its first summer intern program. The purpose is 1. To let these kids get a break from the war, and 2. To give them some experience in western businesses.
This initial year there are 18 interns, with JP Morgan https://www.jpmorganchase.com/, Blackstone https://www.blackstone.com/, DOKA https://www.doka.com/us/index?changecountry=US and Caseys https://www.caseys.com/careers/life-at-caseys joining LP as first sponsors.
Next year the goal is to recruit enough new sponsoring businesses so that AUK can bring 100 interns!
As you can see, this is a wide range of businesses. And, as a side note, the sponsors we got to spend the week with were all terrific people, from amazing companies and I’m glad I got to meet them and to learn about their businesses. Judging from the warmth and excitement I witnessed all around, I’m sure all of us will help Dan and AUK recruit more sponsors for next year so AUK can reach their goal.
Both girls (I know girls is no longer a politically correct term–I apologize. But they are just 18 and still young girls to me) are 2nd year students at the American University of Kyiv. They are both very sharp, speak English extremely well and are looking forward to getting to know everyone and to work and to learn the ways of US business and of Logistics Plus.
They will be staying at the apartment in Union Station, sharing the historic train station with LP’s favorite permanent resident, Clara. (Clara is the 5 year old who fell down the steps and died here almost 100 years ago and whose spirit still walks the halls. She is a bit playful and mischievous, as many of our folks here can testify, but not at all malicious. She will be good fun company for the girls here–but that’s a whole ‘nother story.)
In the meantime, please join me in officially welcoming Sasha and Katie to the LP family. Let’s make them feel at home.
Just as in the spirit of the recently concluded hockey camp in Erie we just hosted –another GREAT success–let’s give them a summer and a life experience to remember.
Welcome to LP and Erie, Katie and Sasha!
JB
Welcoming Sasha (left) and Kate (right).
With Congresswoman Victoria Sparks, the only US Congressperson born in Ukraine. Kate and Sasha are the ones holding the American flag standing just next to Dan Rice, President of AUK.
At the US Capitol.
Kate and Sasha outside U.S. Capitol building.
In the Capitol Rotunda. In front of the statue of Ronald Reagan, who many credit with helping to tear down the Berlin Wall, to end the Cold War and the end of the Soviet Union. Many thought that would be the end of wars of aggression in Europe like we see in Ukraine today, but sadly were wrong. Hopefully soon.
Visit www.logisticsplus.com/berlins-wall/ to view all Berlin’s Wall posts.