Choosing the right mode for freight transportation is a very important part of any logistics playbook. You will ship your product by either ground, air, ocean or rail transport. The factors that come into play in mode selection include the following:
Availability – is equipment and capacity readily available?
Speed – is the transit time for final delivery acceptable?
Cost – is the freight cost acceptable for your situation?
Reliability – is your delivery schedule flexible or rigid?
Safety – is your product susceptible to theft or damage?
As you consider which mode to use, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages that come into play:
With the fall football season just around the corner, you should know that the Logistics Plus team is here to help you with your logistics playbook. We have the services and solutions to help you run any logistics play your supply chain demands. If you’re looking to score freight savings and earn extra points with your customers and vendors, here are a few common plays we can help you successfully execute (just click the play you wish to run to get started):
Logistics Plus media partner, WP$E radio, continues to air short audio clips from Jim Berlin and others within the company as part of its business programming. WP$E AM 1450/FM 107.1 is a commercially licensed radio station serving Erie County, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Penn State Board of Trustees, and it is operated by Penn State Behrend, under the direction of professional broadcast staff. In addition to providing a one-stop source for global and financial news, WP$E also airs ongoing commentaries from regional business leaders.
Presented here are a few recent audio clips from Jim covering our recent 20th Anniversary announcement.
New online video documents the company’s history, growth and success.
ERIE, Pa. (August 23, 2016) – Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Two decades of growth and experience have transformed Logistics Plus from a three-person operation, supporting the GE Transportation division of General Electric, into a $135 million global solutions company with over 400 employees in 20 countries serving thousands of customers around the world.
Company milestones:
1996: Founded with a one-year, $120,000 purchase order to manage inbound logistics for GE Transportation
1997: Recognized as a GE six-sigma best practice by Jack Welch
1997: Expands into Mexico, Czech Republic, Poland and Russia
1999: Adds new clients and diversifies into other industries
1999: Global expansion continues with new offices in India, China, and Indonesia
2003: Company purchases and renovates historic Union Station in Erie, Pa. and makes it its global headquarters
2004: Receives Pennsylvania Governor’s Export Excellence Award
2004: Jim Berlin named an EY Regional Entrepreneur of the Year
2007: Receives Inner City 100 and Wall Street Journal Top Small Workplace Finalist Awards
2011: Acquires Horizon Logistics, expanding global freight forwarding capabilities
2014: Named Employer of the Year (non-manufacturing) by the DevelopErieeconomic agency
2015: Named a top 50 freight brokerage firm by Transport Topics magazine
2015: Named a Great Supply Chain Partner by SupplyChainBrain magazine
2016: Receives SDCE 100 award from Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine for top supply chain project
2016: Selected by Amazon® for its third-party Solutions Provider Network (SPN)
2016: Expanded services for the solar, aviation and pharmaceutical industries propel additional company growth
2016: Company celebrates its 20th anniversary!
“I am so proud of what our team has accomplished over the past 20 years. We’ve done a lot of cool things over the years, transporting everything from locomotives to solar panels. We have a lot of satisfied customers, both big and small, and we have a lot of pride in the work we do here,” said Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus talking about the company’s success. “The ‘plus’ in Logistics Plus represents all of the extra things we do to help our customers be successful. Our slogan is ‘passion for excellence’ because of our drive to find ways of doing things better. The only plan we’ve ever had was to keep growing, take care of our customers, and try and figure things out as they come. We’re not your typical logistics company and, as goofy as it seems, it’s worked well for us. We’ve had 20 years of consecutive growth, and we’ve been profitable every single year. Logistics is in our DNA.”
To commemorate its 20th anniversary, and as a thank you to its customers, vendors and employees, Logistics Plus has released a new, online video in which employees discuss the company’s early years, rapid growth, and prospects for the future. The video can be viewed online at www.logisticsplus.com/20years (or by clicking below).
About Logistics Plus Inc. Logistics Plus Inc. provides freight transportation, warehousing, global logistics, and supply chain management solutions through a worldwide network of talented and caring professionals. Founded in Erie, PA by local entrepreneur, Jim Berlin, 20 years ago, Logistics Plus is a fast-growing and award-winning transportation and logistics company. With a strong passion for excellence, its 400+ employees put the “Plus” in logistics by doing the big things properly, and the countless little things, that together ensure complete customer satisfaction and success.
The Logistics Plus® network includes offices located in Erie, PA; Alma, AR; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Riverside, CA; San Francisco, CA; Visalia, CA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO; Charlotte, NC; Lexington, NC; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; Greenville, SC; Nashville, TN; Dallas, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Houston, TX; Laredo, TX; Madison, WI; Bahrain; Belgium; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Egypt; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Libya; Mexico; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Turkey; and UAE; with additional agents around the world. For more information, visit www.logisticsplus.com or follow @LogisticsPlus on Twitter.
How much do you spend on inbound freight shipping? Many companies don’t know how much they actually spend on inbound transportation. In most cases this is because they order their products “vendor prepaid” rather than “inbound collect” (see figure below). This means the supplier provides a combined price for the product – plus any related shipping and handling costs. In these cases, the supplier has no incentive to reduce transportation costs, avoid expediting freight, or source products from origins with lower transportation charges. On top of that, many companies don’t have visibility to inbound flows. That lack of visibility negatively impacts their ability to manage inventory, as well as costs.
By taking control of inbound freight shipping, businesses can separate product costs from freight shipping costs in order to gain more control. They can prevent suppliers from making a profit on freight (through the “prepaid-and-add” model), gain visibility to their freight shipments, reduce inventory, and see when shipments will arrive. When you control your inbound freight shipping, you’re also in a better position to reduce the number of carriers delivering your freight (which may help with dock congestion issues), and possibly even consolidate orders into larger shipments further reducing your transportation expenses.
Not sure where to start? Here is a quick, three-step process for getting control of your inbound shipping expenses:
Look at one or two invoices from your major suppliers. See what dollar amount they allocate for “shipping and handling.”
Compare your suppliers’ freight shipping rates with the rates you have in place with your preferred shipping provider. If you work with Logistics Plus, we can do the analysis for you.
If you find your rates are lower, draw up a “routing letter” for your purchasing department to forward to your suppliers providing details on how you want your products shipped. If you work with Logistics Plus, you can request that all suppliers contact us directly to ensure your inbound shipments are routed in the most cost-effective manner.
If you’d like Logistics Plus to help you analyze your inbound transportation, or serve as your inbound routing center, please contact us and let our talented and caring logistics experts go to work helping you gain control of your inbound freight shipping. We provide affordable, award-winning managed-transportation solutions to both large and small businesses all around the world.
Thank you to the employees and family members that helped us celebrate LP’s 20th anniversary this weekend at Peek’n Peak Resort. Click below to view a Flickr photo album for the event.
Last week Logistics Management magazine unveiled the results of its 33rd Annual Quest for Quality Awards contest. To determine who wins the vote, Logistics Management readers evaluate companies in all modes and service disciplines, choosing the top performers in categories including motor carriers, railroad and intermodal services, ocean carriers, airlines, freight forwarders, ports, and third-party/contract logistics services.
Once again, many of our core national and regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carriers were on the ballot and many also won awards. We’d like to congratulate the following Logistics Plus LTL freight carriers for winning Quest for Quality awards this year:
FedEx Freight (National and Multiregional LTL categories)
XPO Logistics (National and Multiregional LTL categories)
UPS Freight (National LTL category)
A. Duie Pyle (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL and Expedited categories)
Pitt Ohio (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL and Expedited categories)
Ward Transport (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL category)
New Penn (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL category)
Southeastern Freight Lines (South/South Central LTL category)
Dayton Freight (Midwest/North Central LTL category)
Holland (Midwest/North Central LTL category)
Competitive rates and services for all of the top LTL carriers are available to users of the Logistics Plus eShipPlus transportation management system.
Additionally, there were a number of truckload, expedited, ocean and air freight carriers that Logistics Plus has worked with in the past year that won Quest for Quality awards, including Miller Transporters, Prime, Ruan, Landstar, J.B. Hunt, Transport America, Panther Premium Logistics, and FedEx Custom Critical (truckload and expedited motor carriers); Matson, MSC, NYK Line, Maersk Line, OOCL, AAPL, Hapag-Lloyd, and Hyundai Merchant Marine (ocean carriers); and Cargolux, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Emirates SkyCargo, EVA, and FedEx Express (airfreight carriers).
Shippers looking for competitive rates with the top freight carriers in the industry can click the button below to request a risk-free quote.
Logistics Plus media partner, WP$E radio, continues to air short audio clips from 
ERIE, Pa. (August 23, 2016) – Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Two decades of growth and experience have transformed Logistics Plus from a three-person operation, supporting the GE Transportation division of General Electric, into a $135 million global solutions company with over 400 employees in 20 countries serving thousands of customers around the world.
