AmeriCold Logistics

Already thereAmeriCold Logistics is the largest provider of temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution services in the United States. John OÔÇÖHanlon asks transportation director Greg Bryan how it continues to grow despite the general downturn. From its Atlanta headquarters, AmeriColdÔÇÖs network covers all 50 states, with more than 110 warehouse locations. Efficient management of these storage, loading and transportation interchange points is one of its great strengths.   Another inseparable and increasingly integrated strength is its expertise as a transportation provider, moving food products (primarily temperature-controlled) from processor to retailer.Earlier this year the California investment firm Yucaipa, which previously held 20 percent of AmeriCold, bought all the remaining shares. Bringing the company under single ownership has made it more focused, says Greg Bryan, AmeriColdÔÇÖs lead transportation executive; however, the company has been doing well over the last five years. The transportation side of the business has grown particularly dramatically. In 2002 its revenues were $131 million; this year he expects it to turn over $270 million.Growth has not come without challenges in the marketplace, Bryan admits. High energy prices donÔÇÖt affect just trucks, but also the cost to run the companyÔÇÖs extensive network of warehouse facilities. But by continuing to grow, the company has shown it is getting something right. Over the last five years it has been focused on developing a full suite of services. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve tried to develop solutions that integrate our service offering and provide solutions to both the manufacturing and retail base,ÔÇØ says Bryan.AmeriColdÔÇÖs transportation offering is primarily asset-light, utilizing a diverse group of local and national carrier partners. The asset-light orientation provides maximum flexibility to react to changes in the marketplace and make decisions based on what is best for its customers, rather than to just fill truck assets, according to Bryan. ÔÇ£If we owned all the trucks, weÔÇÖd be concerned about keeping them fully utilized.ÔÇØ Customer back-office and enterprise functions require ongoing proactive information support. The customer interface is managed by a home-grown product called i-3PL. This Web-based interface allows the customer to check the status of incoming goods, outgoing shipments and available inventory; generate reports and graphics; and receive event-driven notification of business dynamics. ÔÇ£It has really become a reporting system controlling everyday business activities as well as important management metric reporting. The system enables customers to create customized reports and alerts driven by their own unique requirements,ÔÇØ says Bryan.The new release of i-3PL is more interactive, Bryan adds, and a valuable tool for internal users too. The tool is also used by smaller transportation carrier partners without EDI capability to input critical daily events and request approval for unplanned accessorial charges. ÔÇ£A Web-based program like this can largely be a substitute for EDI in those circumstances.ÔÇØThe rapid transportation growth in recent years has been fueled by two main factors, says Bryan. One was the strategic decision to put increased emphasis and resources behind transportation initiatives; the second was the innovative ÔÇ£pinpoint solutionsÔÇØ that actually get behind the customersÔÇÖ business drivers. ÔÇ£These have been very well received in the marketplace. Our Multi-Vendor Consolidation program is a good example. MVC benefits both the manufacturing and the retail or foodservice ends of the supply chain. The retailer can cut its inventory because most of it is delivered on a just-in-time basis, and the manufacturer wins because it can supply those retailers with consistent quantities in a much more cost-efficient manner.ÔÇØ AmeriCold delivers MVC programs specifically for Wal-Mart, Target Corporation, and many other large and complex customers. Another program that had made the whole transportation process more efficient has been the national less-than-truckload (LTL) initiative. Many retailers, large as well as small, need small lots of frozen/chilled product consistently and economically delivered. AmeriCold was well experienced at meeting this demand regionally, but the coast-to-coast national service provides a unique offering in the marketplace for temperature-controlled products.Technology has been quite important in this process. ÔÇ£The national LTL program requires visibility at the pallet level as they cross from facility to facility,ÔÇØ says Bryan. ÔÇ£Control of pallet integrity relies on the technology weÔÇÖve been building, like the bar-coding that is put on each of the pallets as it crosses from place to place. WeÔÇÖve also utilized our automated optimization load building application to efficiently move LTL products to end consumers.ÔÇØ And the front end of i-3PL brings visibility into the equation for the customers. They can see when the pallet was loaded, when the truck left the warehouse, and when it arrived at any transfer points, all the way to its final destination.While MVC and LTL have been important in driving growth, the initiative Bryan thinks has the greatest potential is definitely the most radical. Called Continuous Move, it sounds simple but demands a greater level of collaboration and transparency than has been common in the industry. Taking all its customers, not just those with whom it has a transportation contract, AmeriCold uses its technology to ÔÇ£overlayÔÇØ its network with others to dynamically optimize routes and deliveries on a daily basis. The software application looks to combine lanes and offer carriers additional routes beyond their first tender when a subsequent lane is in close proximity to the first route destination. ÔÇ£The carriers and the customers are all part of this solution,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£For example, if I have a shipment out of Atlanta bound for Philadelphia, it looks at everything thatÔÇÖs scheduled out of the Philadelphia region the day the Atlanta shipment arrives in Philadelphia. It creates a unique offering in the marketplace with both short- and long-term benefits for the carriers because theyÔÇÖre running fewer empty miles, and that feeds directly back to the customer in lower cost. WeÔÇÖre already moving 15 to 20 loads a day in this manner, and the volume is growing each month. WeÔÇÖve already mastered how to handle the difficult tasks tending continuous moves as well as daily financial resolution to the carrier base. ItÔÇÖs simply finding the most efficient way to move the product based on the network of movements each day.ÔÇØMany of AmeriColdÔÇÖs customers are going global, and this is causing their food logistics provider to think the same way. ÔÇ£I think the next major move we make will probably be into the international arena,ÔÇØ says Bryan. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre already looking beyond the traditional US-centric model.ÔÇØ As the supply chain increasingly reaches out across the globe, infrastructure between the US and key international markets will be a target, he says. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre already there for youÔÇØ is AmeriColdÔÇÖs sloganÔÇöa slogan that may soon have to be translated.┬á