Jacobson Companies

Right the first time┬áWhile many companies are shrinking, Jacobson Companies is continuing to grow by taking the cost out of its customersÔÇÖ operations. Gay Sutton finds out how from regional operations manager Tim Day.  Jacobson Companies began in 1968 as a small warehousing firm in the Midwest, growing organically and then through acquisition to become the giant you see todayÔÇöwith more than 6,000 employees, over 30 million square feet of warehouse space, and a comprehensive range of operational services that extends across the United States and Canada. The focus of operations has also evolved over the past 40 years, and the company is now organized into five divisions. The Warehouse Division has grown from the original 100,000 square feet of space in Des Moines, Iowa, to 33 million square feet of space across 27 states. A variety of transportation services are provided by Jacobson Transportation, while Jacobson Logistics is a sophisticated freight management service that offers customized logistics solutions to companies operating in market sectors such as healthcare, food and beverage, agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical and general commodities.The Jacobson Packaging and Manufacturing division offers everything from a full turnkey packaging service to one-off jobs for major consumer goods manufacturers. It also takes on contract manufacturing of liquid products for the automotive, household, garden and pet industries. And Jacobson Staffing supplies contract staff for short-term or long-term manufacturing and administrative work. The beauty of this breadth of operations is that Jacobson can tailor services to suit the needs of a huge variety of customers, from the one-off delivery of a pallet of goods between states through contract manufacturing, packaging and complete third-party logistics service for a specialist marketplace. ÔÇ£In one operation, for example,ÔÇØ says regional operations manager Tim Day, ÔÇ£we receive all the purchased goods that feed our clientÔÇÖs manufacturing facility. We do some light subassemblies in our warehouse and then deliver the materials and assemblies to them on a just-in-time basis. And in order to do this precisely to their schedules, weÔÇÖre tied directly into their IT systems. Meanwhile, for another client, Titan Tire, weÔÇÖve placed over 150 of our staff members in that operation, and they run everything on the shop floor.ÔÇØ When working on the initial stages of complex major contracts, Jacobson has a team of engineers and project managers who bring together all the expertise and knowledge of the five divisions, focuses that on solving the customerÔÇÖs problems, and creates an integrated, smoothly running multi-faceted solution.Continuous improvement is woven into the fabric of JacobsonÔÇÖs operations. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs essentially a bit of lean, a bit of Deming, kaizen: continuously looking at how you can improve, how you can engage the people at the process levelÔÇöthose who are experts in the workÔÇöand then engage them in improving what they do, making their jobs easier, better and safer. I know everybody likes to say it, but this really has become part of our culture.ÔÇØ The company also has a team of six sigma practitioners, trained to black belt standards, who can then be invited into any area of the company to assist with the improvement process. Jacobson, like all industries, has been affected by the global downturn, but it has continued to grow. ÔÇ£In the region I manage, IÔÇÖd say our growth for 2009 has been about 12 percent better than 2008,ÔÇØ Day says. ÔÇ£The reason for this is that our customers are seeking to reduce costs by passing various elements of warehousing, logistics, packaging and staffing over to Jacobson, and weÔÇÖre finding that growth with our existing customers is really ratcheting up.ÔÇØLooking to the future, there is still plenty of capacity for growth within the US, but the company is setting its sights on the wider horizon. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre looking at opportunities for expanding internationally. We feel itÔÇÖs important to set up a smooth flow of materials and goods across the borders between, for example, North America, Canada and South America.ÔÇØ And at a strategic level, the feasibility of operating across larger and more distant markets such as China and Europe is also being considered.Day says that the company makes a continuous effort as it grows to ensure it does not become too rigid but can react in a nimble and responsive manner. ÔÇ£That is always our struggle. But in the end our success is down to the Jacobson can-do attitude:┬á we aim to do it right the first time.ÔÇØ ÔÇô Editorial research by Jason Moore┬á