arvato logistics services
Arvato logistics services, whose branding calls for a
lower-case A in its name, is a modern supply chain
manager with a fulfillment emphasis in B2B. Its specialty is advertising material development and distribution, but its reach extends
well beyond that.
Sony Music is a major client, having selected arvato as its exclusive e-commerce distribution partner in the UK and Ireland. Arvato
provides supply chain services for Sony’s premium consumer offerings, such as music and exclusive merchandise from its MyPlay
Direct artist stores.
The three-year partnership includes warehousing and direct to
consumer distribution for hundreds of thousands of orders. These
services and a comprehensive returns management program are
managed from arvato’s distribution facility in Milton Keynes.
The appointment expands arvato’s existing six-year supply
chain and commercial order-to-cash service relationship with Sony,
which has contributed to the business process outsourcing partner
becoming the leading distributor of CDs in the UK.
Last year, arvato won a national supply chain deal from Bosch
Group. Under the agreement, arvato will take over the warehousing
and distribution of the lawn and garden product division of Bosch
Power Tools in the UK.
J.B. Hunt DCS & ICS
J.B. Hunt Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) has
more than 300 dedicated contract carriage customers and is the largest American pure dedicated carrier. It is the
benchmark standard for dedicated contract carriage comparisons.
Armstrong &Associates estimates that about half of J.B. Hunt’s dedicated tractors are tandem axle sleepers. About as many are day cabs
used in regional operations. Driver turnover rates are about half of
regular over-the-road trucking operations. It utilizes owner-operators for 10 percent of the driver base. Revenues run $560 per load,
without recent fuel impacts, and most round trips average 300
miles. Average revenue per tractor per year runs $206,000.
A significant part of Hunt’s DCS operations involve direct store
delivery. It uses its parent company and other facilities for last-mile
operations. It has 87 last-mile support locations and has introduced
a major home delivery initiative. More than 95 percent of Hunt’s
dedicated contract carriage power units are assigned to specific
accounts. J.B. Hunt DCS continues to grow and has spread into integrated transportation management.
J.B. Hunt Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) generates about a
quarter of the gross revenue shown, and its gross margin runs 14
percent. ICS is primarily a transportation manager. Hunt is also one
of the largest U.S. intermodal marketing companies. Intermodal is
now 56 percent of its total business.
BLG Logistics Group
BLG’s emphasis is on automotive logistics through
Bremerhaven. Services include pre-delivery inspection, painting and installation of DVD players, GPS systems, mobile
phones and sun roofs. About five million vehicles are handled
annually. BLG has extensive car carrying business for VW and
Daimler. The Automotive division generates about 36 percent of
revenue. BLG’s parent corporation was originally formed to pro-
vide port operations for Bremen. The German government owns
just over 50 percent of BLG. Sister company, EUROGATE, is the
largest European port operator.
The Container division generates about 36 percent of revenue.
BLG customer Tchibo is the Starbucks of Germany. BLG runs three
contract logistics warehouses in Bremen for Tchibo and has other
operations throughout Europe. Other contract logistics customers
include Mercedes, Siemens, and Ikea. U.S. operations started in
2004 to support the Mercedes assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Contract division generates about 28 percent of revenue.
OHL
During 2008, Ozburn-Hessey Logistics and all of its
acquired companies were re-branded as OHL. The
renaming project was undertaken to meld the multiple divisions,
companies and brands that were parts of OH Logistics. Companies
that had been acquired had specialized service offerings, management teams, customer relationships and were well-known within
their geographies. However, none of the companies had an established international brand.
OHL intends to establish itself as a strong international supply
chain management solutions provider. It has an extensive global
network and a broad range of services. The company provides
logistics solutions for several large companies, including Starbucks,
Red Bull, Polo Ralph Lauren, Arkema and Apple.
OHL has more than 30 million square feet of warehouse space,
primarily in North America, and has greatly enhanced and
expanded its domestic and international transportation offerings.
Private equity investment firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
has reconfigured top management over the last few years to reflect
OHL’s push to 3PL globalization.
VersaCold Logistics Services
VersaCold’s purchase of Atlas Cold Storage in 2008
created one of the world’s largest perishable/frozen-products specialists. VersaCold has large trucking operations
throughout Canada. Atlas operated primarily in Ontario, Quebec
and the United States. VersaCold is a dominant player in British
Columbia, Alberta, and the U.S. West Coast. In 2009, The Yucaipa
Companies, owner of Americold, the largest perishable value-added warehousing and distribution 3PL in North America, bought
49 percent of VersaCold from Eimskip. Yucaipa invested $2bn in
Eimskip with the option to buy the other 51 percent of VersaCold. In
December 2010, most of VersaCold’s operations were taken over by
Americold.
Landstar
Over the last three years, Landstar has added integrated warehousing, freight forwarding and stronger
transportation management. These new capabilities meet expanding customer needs and provide Landstar’s network of agents with
better tool kits for rapidly changing markets.
The push has been from the top. Executive Vice President of Logistics Services, Kevin Fletcher, is responsible for intermodal, air, ocean,
warehousing, freight under management, and logistics technology
services as well as the logistics engineering and analytical design function. Landstar acquired two transportation management companies,
adding new solutions for small- to Fortune 100-sized companies.
