Local Newspaper Gives Inside View of Logistics Plus

Local Newspaper Gives Inside View of Logistics Plus

Erie-Times-News-Article---SThe Erie Time-News published an article entitled “Logistics Plus in Erie brings casual approach to corporate success” in today’s paper (and online at goerie.com). It’s a nice little article with some great photographs – and we appreciate the time their staff writer spent interviewing our team, and the “inside look” he shared regarding our company’s culture.

The piece is nicely written, but I fear the forest may have been lost for the trees in the translation. While the article talks about our many non-standard practices, e.g., extremely casual attire, lack of budgets and plans, goofy personality of our CEO, etc., it doesn’t fully connect the dots as to how and why this has all been so successful. Great “managers” have budgets and plans; however, great “leaders” are beyond these standard business tools. Mr. Berlin is one such individual. Yes, he wears a t-shirt, tennis shoes, and jeans; tells funny stories; and hasn’t read our policy manual in over 10 years – but what he does do each and every day is show emotion, compassion and support for his employees and his business. A day hasn’t gone by where Jim hasn’t preached that “Logistics Plus is the company that gives a sh*t” and that we need to show our customers that is truly the case at all times. So while our company culture may seem casual and different, it has fostered an employee base that began as 3 and is now over 350, and one that has real passion for serving its customers, growing the business, and achieving success (over $120M worth of success, mind you, mostly through business referrals and customer testimonials, and as Jim often says of our employees “finding a way to YES!”).

It is true our employees enjoy the onsite fitness center, corporate trainer and free meals; but when they’re back at their desks they are working hard – often beyond normal business hours – to support the business. They know they are fully empowered to “do what’s right” for our customers and the business, and to think out-of-the-box to get the job done. And what’s great is that they also know if they make a mistake, they’ll simply get a hug from the CEO and pat on the back (and, of course, told “now, don’t do that again, right?”). I’ve been around a lot of big companies, and you won’t find that approach in too many company policy manuals, nor will you find many companies that will go the extra mile every day for their customers like Logistics Plus does.

Read the Erie Times-News Article

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Great American Stations Case Study | Erie Union Station

Great American Stations Case Study | Erie Union Station

GAS-CaseStudy-ThumbnailLogistics Plus (LP) was contacted recently by the Great American Stations Project to prepare a case study on how Erie Union Station was converted for commercial use.  Amtrak® established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources. The case study documents Logistics Plus founder and CEO Jim Berlin’s quest to restore the old station, create a cool vibe for his company, and support economic development of downtown Erie. The author of the case study summarizes the keys to the successful commercialization of Erie Union Station as follows:

  • LP renovated the station to suit modern office and commercial tenants
  • Experimented with a tenant mix that responds to local market demands
  • Station was one of the first large-scale building rehabilitation projects in Midtown
  • LP continues to participate in wider efforts to support neighborhood redevelopment
  • Renovation maintained the station’s historical integrity.

Thank you to Patrick Kidd, Senior Communications Specialist for Great American Stations Projects and Amtrak Archives for producing this case study in support of train station development. You can read the complete case study by clicking the image below. You can also download a PDF copy of the case study by clicking the thumbnail image shown above.

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MBA Names Logistics Plus its Member of the Week

MBA Names Logistics Plus its Member of the Week

Today the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) named Logistics Plus as its Member of the Week. We are honored and truly appreciate the recognition of our services and support to the association and its members.  The announcement was posted by the MBA to its Business Magazine website at www.mbabizmag.com/2015/09/08/member-week-logistics/

Founded in 1905, the Manufacturer & Business Association is a not-for-profit employers’ association whose focus is to help businesses succeed. The association is headquartered in Erie, PA with an additional office located in Harrisburg, PA.

LP MBA member of the week

Congratulations to Quest for Quality Carriers

Congratulations to Quest for Quality Carriers

Quest for Quality Carriers IssueEarlier this month, Logistics Management magazine unveiled the results of its 32nd Annual Quest for Quality Awards recognizing some of the highest-quality carriers in the industry. This year, its survey results yielded 125 providers of transportation and logistics services. 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 carriersrailroad and intermodal servicesocean carriersairlines, freight forwardersports,  third-party/contract logistics services.

Logistics Plus, being a smaller-sized third-party logistics company, was not included on the survey ballot (but we’ll see if we can change that in the coming years). However, many of our core LTL freight carriers were on the ballot and many also won awards. So 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)
  • Con-way Freight (National LTL category)
  • Holland (Midwest/North Central LTL, South/South Central LTL and Expedited categories)
  • Pitt Ohio (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL category)
  • New Penn (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL and Expedited categories)
  • A. Due Pyle (Northeast/Mid-Atlanta LTL and Expedited categories)
  • Southeastern Freight Lines (South/South Central LTL category)
  • Reddaway (Western LTL category)

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, Ruan Transport, Prime, Landstar, and J.B. Hunt (truckload carriers); Panther Premium Logistics and FedEx Custom Critical (expedited motor carriers); Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen Line, OOCL, and COSCO (ocean carriers); and Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Emirates SkyCargo, and FedEx Express (airfreight carriers).

Reputable and quality carriers not already a part of the Logistics Plus network can click the button on the left below to start the process of becoming a carrier. Shippers looking for quality carriers through a third-party logistics partner can click the button on the right below to request a risk-free quote.

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What it means to be a Great Supply Chain Partner

What it means to be a Great Supply Chain Partner

SCB_PartnersLogo_2015As we announced back on July 7, Logistics Plus was named a 2015 Great Supply Chain Partner by SupplyChainBrain magazine. The official July/August magazine article came out earlier this week. A copy of the article and the official, final listing of top supply chain partners also appears on the SupplyChainBrain.com website. The article points out that no company and no supply chain exists in a vacuum. Shippers and logistics partners rely on each other because ‘no one of us can do it all, successfully, ourselves.’ We all need partners – but which ones are right for your company or supply chain?

According to the SupplyChainBrain authors, when they looked closely at all of this year’s ‘Great Supply Chain Partner’ nominations carefully, they found the following top ten challenges on readers’ minds with regard to issues that their supply chain partners help them solve:

  1. Reliability – Meaning well is not enough; hope is not a business model.
  2. Excellence – If they don’t have this upfront, should they be your partner?
  3. Value – Seriously, what does your potential partner bring to the table?
  4. Expertise – Give me a partner who knows my business – and something I don’t already know.
  5. Problem-solver – You deserve a proactive partner, not one looking to you for the answers.
  6. Continuous improvement – Does your partner value ongoing education?
  7. Support – Your partner needs to support you well after the sale is done or the implementation is finished.
  8. Positive attitude – You need a partner who sees challenges as opportunities.
  9. Global reach – You can’t conquer the world if you have a stay-at-home partner.
  10. Strong leadership – What’s required is much more than Leadership 101.

We here at Logistics Plus remain very proud of being both nominated and recognized as a 2015 Great Supply Chain Partner. Our ability and flexibility to address many of the supply chain challenges listed above is clearly a primary reason we were chosen for the list. Although we don’t know for sure which of our customers actually nominated us, we do continue to receive many testimonials that confirm our status as a great supply chain partner, including recent ones from a solar industry manufacturing company and a shelter systems relief organization.

Feel free to read the full SupplyChainBrain article online, check out the full 2015 Great Supply Chain Partner list, or contact Logistics Plus if you have a supply chain challenge of your own that you’d like us to help you with (just click the button below).

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