|
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.-
Logistics -
Category Directory
8100
Mitchell Road
Eden
Prairie, Minnesota 55344-2248
(952) 937-8500
www.chrobinson.com
Business Description
BC.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“the company,” “Robinson,” “we,” “us,” or
“our”) is one of the largest third party logistics companies in North
America with 2003 gross revenues of $3.6 billion. We provide freight
transportation services and logistics solutions to companies of all sizes,
in a wide variety of industries. During 2003, we handled approximately 3.2
million shipments for more than 16,000 customers. We operate through a
network of 158 offices, which we call branches, in North America, South
America, Europe, and Asia. We have developed global multimodal
transportation and distribution networks to provide seamless logistics
services worldwide. As a result, we have the capability of managing all
aspects of the supply chain on behalf of our customers.
We are a non-asset based transportation provider, meaning we do not own the
transportation equipment that is used to transport our customers’ freight.
Through our relationships with approximately 30,000 transportation
companies, including motor carriers, railroads (primarily intermodal service
providers), air freight and ocean carriers, we select and hire the
appropriate transportation to manage our customers’ freight needs. Being
non-asset based means we can be flexible and focus on seeking solutions that
work for our customers, rather than on asset utilization. As an integral
part of our transportation services, we provide a wide range of value-added
logistics services, such as supply chain analysis, freight consolidation,
core carrier program management, and information reporting.
In addition to multimodal transportation services, we have two other
logistics business lines: fresh produce sourcing and fee-based information
services.
Sourcing (the buying, selling, and brokering of fresh produce) was our
original business when we were founded in 1905. Much of our logistics
expertise can be traced to our significant experience in handling perishable
commodities. We purchase fresh produce through our network of produce
suppliers. Our customers include produce wholesalers, large grocery
retailers, restaurants, and foodservice distributors. In the majority of
cases, we also arrange the transport of the fresh produce we sell through
our relationships with owners of specialized transportation equipment. In
response to demand and changing market conditions, we have developed our own
brand of produce, The Fresh 1®, and have entered into licensing agreements
for national brand names. The produce for these brands is sourced through
various relationships and packed to order through contract packing
agreements. We have also instituted quality assurance and monitoring
procedures as part of our national brand programs.
Information Services, our third business line, is comprised of a C.H.
Robinson subsidiary, T-Chek Systems, Inc. T-Chek’s customers are motor
carriers, for which it provides a variety of management and information
services such as funds transfer, driver payroll services, fuel management
services, and fuel and use tax reporting. For several companies and truck
stop chains, T-Chek captures sales and fuel cost data, provides management
information to the seller, transfers funds to the truck stop, and invoices
the carrier for fuel, cash advances, and our fee.
Our business model has been the main driver of our strong historical results
and has positioned us for continued growth. Our principal competitive
advantage is our large decentralized branch network of 158 offices, staffed
by approximately 3,000 salespeople. These branch employees are in close
proximity to both customers and carriers, which gives them broad knowledge
of their local markets and enables them to respond quickly to customers’ and
carriers’ changing needs. Branch employees act as a team in their sales
efforts, customer service, and operations. A significant portion of our
branch employees’ compensation is performance-oriented, based on the
profitability of their branch and their contributions to the success of the
branch. We believe this makes our sales employees more service-oriented,
focused, and creative.
We have grown over the years both internally by expanding or opening new
branch offices and by selective acquisitions when circumstances warranted.
In October 2003, we acquired the ongoing operations, assets and certain
liabilities of Frank M. Viet GmbH Internationale Spedition (“Viet”). Viet is
an international freight forwarding and third party logistics company based
in Hamburg, Germany. Viet had annual gross revenues of approximately $5.6
million in 2002. In February 2004, we acquired Camway Transportation
Corporation (“Camway”), a third party logistics company based in Toledo,
Ohio, that provides domestic truckload and intermodal transportation
brokerage services. Camway had annual gross revenues of approximately $17.0
million in 2003.
Multimodal Transportation Services
C.H. Robinson is a third party logistics company. We provide freight
transportation and logistics services. We are a non-asset based provider,
meaning we do not own the transportation equipment used to transport the
freight. We make a profit or margin on the difference between what we charge
to our customers for the totality of services provided to them, and what we
pay to the transportation provider (also known as a “carrier”) to transport
the freight.
We can arrange all of the following modes of transportation, on a worldwide
basis:
• Truck — Through our contracts with approximately 30,000 motor carriers, we
have access to dry vans, temperature-controlled units, and flatbeds. We also
offer time-definite and expedited truck transportation. In many instances we
will consolidate partial loads for several customers into full truckloads.
• Less Than Truckload (“LTL”) — LTL transportation involves the shipment of
small packages and single or multiple pallets of freight, up to and
including full trailer-load freight. We focus on shipments of a single
pallet or larger, although we handle any size shipment. Through our
contracts with motor carriers and our operating system, we consolidate
freight and freight information to provide our customers with a single
source of information on their freight.
• Intermodal — C.H. Robinson’s intermodal transportation service is the
shipment of freight in trailers or containers, by a combination of truck and
rail. We have intermodal marketing contracts with several railroads, and we
arrange local pickup and delivery (known as drayage) through local motor
carriers.
• Ocean — As an indirect ocean carrier and freight forwarder, we consolidate
shipments, determine routing, select ocean carriers, contract for ocean
shipments, provide for local pickup and delivery of shipments, and arrange
for customs clearance of shipments, including the payment of duties.
• Air — We provide door-to-door service as a full-service air freight
forwarder, primarily internationally.
On a day-to-day basis, customers communicate their freight needs, typically
on a load-by-load basis, to the branch office salesperson responsible for
their account. They communicate with us by means of telephone, fax,
Internet, e-mail, or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). The branch employee
enters all appropriate information about each load into our operating
system. With the help of information provided by the operating system, the
salesperson then determines the appropriate mode of transportation for the
load and selects a carrier or carriers, based upon their knowledge of the
carrier’s service capability, equipment availability, freight rates, and
other relevant factors. Based on the information he or she has about the
market and rates, the salesperson may either determine an appropriate price
at that point, or wait to communicate with a carrier directly before setting
a price. Once the carrier is selected, the salesperson communicates with the
carrier’s dispatch office to agree on the price for the transportation and
the carrier’s commitment to provide the transportation. At this point, the
salesperson provides the carrier information to the customer. Our branch
employees price our services to provide a profit to us for the totality of
services performed for the customer.
We are a principal in the transaction. By accepting the customer’s order, we
become responsible for transportation of the load from origin to
destination. The carrier’s contract is with us, not the customer, and we are
responsible for prompt payment of carrier charges. Also, we usually are
responsible to our customer for any claims for damage to freight while in
transit or performance. In most cases, we receive reimbursement from the
carrier for these claims.
As a result of our logistics capabilities, some of our customers have us
handle all, or a substantial portion, of their freight transportation
requirements to or from a particular manufacturing facility or distribution
center. In a number of instances, we have contracts with the customer in
which we agree to handle a specified number of loads usually to specified
destinations, such as from the customer’s plant to a distribution center.
Our commitment to handle the loads is usually at specific rates, but subject
to seasonal variation. Most of our rate commitments are for one year or
less. To meet our obligations under these customer contracts, we may get
advance commitments from one or more carriers to transport the contracted
loads, for the length of our customer contract, but most of our truckload
freight is priced to our carriers on a spot market, or transactional, basis.
In the course of providing day-to-day transportation services, our branch
employees often identify opportunities for additional logistics services as
they become more familiar with our customer’s daily operations and the
nuances of its supply chain. We offer a wide range of logistics services on
a worldwide basis that reduce or eliminate supply chain inefficiencies. We
will analyze the customer’s current transportation rate structures, modes of
shipping, and carrier selection. We can evaluate a customer’s core carrier
program by establishing a program to measure and monitor key quality
standards for those core carriers. We can identify opportunities to
consolidate shipments for cost savings. We will suggest ways to improve
operating and shipping procedures, and manage claims. We can help customers
minimize storage through cross-docking and other flow-through operations. We
may also examine the customer’s warehousing and dock procedures. Many of
these services are bundled with underlying transportation services and are
not typically priced separately. They are usually included as a part of the
cost of transportation services provided by us, based on the nature of the
customer relationship. In addition to these transportation services, we may
supply sourcing, contract warehousing, consulting, and other services, for
which we are usually paid separately.
As we have emphasized integrated logistics solutions, our relationships with
many customers have broadened and we have become business partners with our
customers, responsible for a greater portion of their supply chain
management. We may serve our customers through specially created teams and
through several branches. Our multimodal transportation services are
provided to numerous international customers through our worldwide branch
network.
Supply Chain Management Companies in the Directory
ATC Logistics
BAX Global
C.H. Robinson
EGL Eagle Global Logistics
FedEx Supply Chain Services
Startek
UPS Supply Chain Solutions
|
|
