Monday, November 25, 2013

LQ Advisory Board Announcement: Guy Toksoy Joins LQ's Advisory Board

LQ is pleased to announce that Guy Toksoy has accepted LQ’s invitation to join its Advisory Board

Toronto, ON (November 25, 2013) - Guy Toksoy is Vice President of Ryder Canada’s Supply Chain Solutions business segment. He is responsible for directing the development and operations of world-class logistics solutions for Ryder’s global and domestic customers.

Prior to joining Ryder, Guy held progressively senior positions at APL logistics including Head of Logistics operations with responsibility for the operational and sales activities of all Canadian services. His career also includes progressive senior management positions at Cebra Inc. and GATX Logistics, as well as several entrepreneurial companies.

Guy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University, a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Cincinnati and an M.B.A. from Miami University.

About Ryder:

Ryder is a FORTUNE 500® commercial transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions company. Ryder’s stock (NYSE:R) is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Inbound Logistics magazine has recognized Ryder as a top third party logistics provider and green supply chain partner. Ryder has also been ranked two years in a row as one of the top 250 U.S. companies in the Newsweek Green Rankings. In addition, Security Magazine has named Ryder one of the top companies for security practices in the transportation, logistics, supply chain, and warehousing sector. For more information, visit www.ryder.com and follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

LQ's Board:

As a resource for logisticians, academics and executives in other disciplines in the United States and Canada, LQ offers ideas for leadership in logistics, supply chain management and transportation, and provides a unique bridge between business, academia and practitioners. LQ’s Advisory Board and contributors afford authoritative thinking on the complex and fast-changing work of the logistics and supply chain management business - with a unique focus on best practices in the United States and Canada. LQ's Board plays a pivotal role in providing direction for LQ Magazine and LQ’s bi-annual Symposiums.

Manitoulin Transport Acquisition

BRANDON -- Manitoba –  November 25, 2013-- Manitoulin Transport announced today that it has purchased Smooth Freight Ltd., of Brandon, Manitoba.  Smooth Freight provides scheduled less-than-truckload (LTL) and truck load (TL) services and storage trailer rentals to over 300 rural communities in southern and western Manitoba, from its terminals in Winnipeg and Brandon.

"A key component of Manitoulin's growth strategy continues to be building out our reach and service offerings in Western Canada," said Don Goodwill, president, Manitoulin Transport.  "We look for highly successful companies, with a customer-oriented culture that strongly reflects our own. Smooth Freight fit the bill on all accounts and we are delighted to welcome them into the Manitoulin family."

Established in 1987, Smooth Freight has more than 200 trailers and 25 trucks including dry vans, heat/refrigeration, flat deck and tail lift.

"Like Manitoulin, Smooth Freight has been a family owned and operated business for many years," said Borden Hadley, founder and former owner, Smooth Freight Ltd. "We're excited about this development and delighted to become part of a continuously expanding and highly reputable enterprise that shares our values and puts the customer first.  Importantly, we believe our customers will benefit greatly from having more choice now in Manitoba when it comes to their transportation requirements, through easy access to the full suite of transportation services Manitoulin can provide."

Borden Hadley, will stay on in a consulting capacity, and Bobbi Hadley and Tobi Hadley will continue on in Sales and Management roles.

About Manitoulin Transport:

Manitoulin Transport is a leading North American transportation and logistics solutions provider.  As a single-source carrier, it offers a wide array of transportation solutions, including; expedited less-than-truckload and truck-load, trans-border, intermodal, private fleet, guaranteed service, temperature-controlled, dangerous goods and supply chain management.  Manitoulin leverages its extensive network to service major urban and rural areas. In North America, its distribution coverage consists of more than 60 Canadian terminals and 250 U.S. service centres. All these solutions are assisted by its state-of-the-art technology that provides customers with 24 x 7 critical shipping information to manage and complete their supply chain processes.

Friday, November 15, 2013

C.H. Robinson Enters Switzerland Marketplace


Eden Prairie, MN (November 15, 2013) — Further expanding their European footprint, C.H. Robinson, one of the world’s largest transportation and logistics companies, has opened a new office in Basel, Switzerland.

Located on the borders of Switzerland, France and Germany, the Basel office employs multi-lingual account managers who will focus on the customer facing aspects of the business including new sales, account management and account operations.

Managing the new office will be Ildiko Gergely, a 13-year transportation industry veteran. Gergely started her C.H. Robinson career in the Syracuse, NY office in 2000 and opened the company’s Budapest, Hungary office in 2002.

“The Basel office represents an opportunity for global companies and supply chain decision makers in the area to see firsthand the value C.H. Robinson can bring to their organization,” said Gergely.

C.H. Robinson established an initial presence in Europe 20 years ago.  Since that time, the company has built a network of 52 offices with over 1,000 employees throughout Europe to become one of the leading transportation and logistics companies in the region.

In the last 16 months, C.H. Robinson has named Bryan Foe as president of Europe, Gary York as director of sourcing for Europe and Ivo Aris as director of European global forwarding. In addition, the company acquired Apreo Logistics S.A., and opened offices in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Istanbul, Turkey.

About C.H. Robinson:

Founded in 1905, C.H. Robinson is a global provider of multimodal logistics services, fresh produce sourcing, and information services to 42,000 customers through a network of 285 offices and over 11,500 employees around the world. The company works with 56,000 transportation providers worldwide. C.H. Robinson is a Fortune 500 company and had annual revenues of over $11 billion in 2012.

Through the company and its Foundation, C.H. Robinson and its employees contribute millions of dollars annually to a variety of organizations, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Community Health Charities, American Red Cross, Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, and Global Impact. The company is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and has been publicly traded on the NASDAQ since 1997. For more information about C.H. Robinson, visit http://www.chrobinson.com.  

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The TMSA Announces Call for its 62nd Annual Compass Awards Entries


Calling All Industry Innovators, TMSA Announces Call for Entries for 2014 Compass Awards Competition 

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ – Continuing to provide industry leaders with a platform to benchmark their best practices in marketing and sales, the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association (TMSA) announced the Call for Entries for its 62nd Annual Compass Awards competition, which will be held during the 2014 TMSA Annual Conference, June 8-10 at the Westin Galleria, Dallas, Texas.

Open to members and non-members, the Compass Awards program recognizes the best of the best in marketing and sales within the transportation and logistics industry and aims to advance the success of industry professionals dedicated to innovation. Entries are judged by industry peers in the following categories: direct marketing campaign, integrated campaign, marketing and sales collaborated effort, marketing and sales collateral, media relations, on-site/off-site events, single advertisement and web-based marketing and sales. The deadline to submit entries is March 14, 2014.

“For 62 years this competition has presented a platform for professionals to be recognized by their peers as a means of spurring industry innovation,” said Dino Moler, President of TMSA. “As we announce this year’s Call for Entries, we look forward to the submissions which represent an exciting first step towards raising the bar in the field of transportation and logistics.”

The following companies received Awards of Excellence last year: C.H. Robinson; FedEx Custom Critical; FedEx Services, ALK Technologies, San Joaquin RTD, Crowley Maritime, Inc., Globe Express Services, LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LLamasoft, M33 Integrated Solutions, Ryder; SMC, Fort Worth Transportation Authority, BQR Advertising and Public Relations, Inc.

For additional information on the 2014 TMSA Compass Awards, visit www.TMSAtoday.org or contact TMSA at 609-799-4900.

About the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association (TMSA):

The Transportation Marketing and Sales Association exists to enhance the knowledge, connections, recognition and solutions available to the marketing, communications and sales professions within the transportation and logistics industries including motor carriers, railroads, air carriers, ocean lines, 3PLs, OEMs, passenger transit organizations, media, and suppliers. TMSA members and their companies account for over $300 billion in revenue and over $190 million in sales/marketing/communication budgets. Member benefits include recognition of excellence through the annual Compass Awards, extensive educational programs and networking opportunities.

After 50 Years, CITT is Changing its Designation Name to CCLP


Now there’s a better, clearer way to identify expert ability in the business of supply chain logistics: CCLP                                                                          

Toronto, Ontario November 5, 2013 - CITT—industry’s most valued and longest-trusted source of logistics certification1— is very proud to announce the immediate change of its designation name to “CCLP”.  Spelled out, this uniquely trademarked designation name indicates that its bearer is a CITT-Certified Logistics Professional.  It’s a much clearer way to denote its holders’ expert-ability and CITT’s certified members are united behind it.

“For the last 50 years, professionals who were certified by CITT carried the simple designation “CITT” after their names. While we’ve built tremendous equity in this designation, it didn’t actually describe the professional, his/her area of specialized expertise or explictly reflect the person’s significant level of experience, accomplishment and professionalism ,” said CITT President, Catherine Viglas.  

“After years of planning and consultation with our members and industry, we’ve decided to make the designation name more intuitive and fully descriptive. CITT-Certified Logistics Professional (CCLP) is self-evident and, importantly, preserves “CITT” as the credibility anchor of the designation,” she explains.

Adding “logistics” to the designation name provides important, new information about the credential for some people in the industry. CITT’s academic curriculum is updated regularly and has evolved a lot over the years to help companies operate profitable, invulnerable and sustainable supply chain logistics systems on a national or global scale.

“CITT-Certified Logistics Professionals have an understanding of the business of logistics that goes far beyond CITT’s original start in transportation and distribution skill-building,” explains Paul Kurrat, CITT’s lead facilitator.

CITT focuses on developing and deepening people’s management abilities and equipping them with a sound understanding of integrated logistics and its component parts. Course work needed for the CCLP designation is case-based and helps people design and operate responsive, integrated systems within cross-functional supply chain and logistics environments to deliver maximum value to all stakeholders while minimizing exposure to service interruptions.

The last technical course people take in the program challenges their ability to understand, align and integrate all internal and external supply chain logistics functions into one cohesive system.  These functions can include production planning, procurement, materials management and handling, quality control, inventory control and order processing, warehousing, data exchange, finance, transportation and customer service.

“CITT embraces all of this under the umbrella of logistics,” Kurrat explains.  “That’s the key reason we seldom call ourselves by our full legal name and, instead, just go by CITT.  Because our professionals’ knowledge and abilities go beyond transportation, the new CCLP designation name will now recognise that fact.”

How industry can recognize a CCLP (CITT-Certified Logistics Professional):

Only fully-certified members of CITT who’ve completed all the requirements for their professional designation will be entitled to call themselves a CCLP (CITT-Certified Logistics Professional). They might use any or all of the following ways to denote this professional distinction:
* The CCLP initials will appear after their names
* They might describe themselves as “CITT-Certified Logistics Professionals”
* They may display their CCLP designation certificate
* They may display an optional-use, annual CCLP Trust-Mark:

Great reaction & praise for CITT’s new CCLP designation name:
                 
Nearly all of CITT’s certified members love CCLP as their new designation name. And record breaking numbers partipated in the renaming process.

“Renaming our designation has been a key strategic initiative for many years,” revealed CITT’s President, Viglas. “Several successive Boards championed this improvement—which is a sign of tremendous solidarity and organizational stability.”

“The vast majority of CITT’s certified members are proud, confident and thrilled about our move to the CCLP designation name,” said CITT’s outgoing Board Chair, Warren Sarafinchan, who oversaw most of the development process and describes the move to CCLP as “absolutely fantastic”.

Incoming Board Chair, Robert Ramsay offers that “the CCLP name distinguishes CITT’s professionals much better and sets up our sector’s most valued logistics credential much more clearly for the next generation of professionals.”

And Past Chair, Andrew Dixon, who led the Board team that first formalized CITT’s priority to move to a new designation name, said he’s “100% pleased with the new CCLP name.”

Sector leaders from across Canada have also weighed in with their support:

“I’ve had my CITT designation for over 20 years and since then I have seen an increased recognition of the value that it brings both to individuals and to employers. I don’t see it as a ‘nice to have’ accolade, but as concrete evidence of a logistics professional’s expertise and qualifications. As a business leader, I believe that the new name is more appealing to potential candidates and more relevant to employers who seek to bring in a higher level of logistics expertise in their organizations. It’s similar to pertinent designations in other fields, such as finance and/or engineering, which give employers the confidence that, by investing in qualified professionals, they generate value for their business which positively impacts their customers.”  
Larry Rodo, CCLP, President, DAY & ROSS FREIGHT

“CITT is the leading provider of professional training for logisticians. Through its new CCLP designation, CITT has set a new level of recognition for certified Professionals.”
Douglas Harrison, CCLP, President & CEO, VERSACOLD LOGISTICS SERVICES

“The new CCLP designation takes on added significance as it conveys a clear message to customers and fellow practitioners alike that the holder has invested in their career development and ascribes to a high standard of professionalism in the supply chain industry.  We now have a clear and strong designation that speaks volumes.”
Rob McInnes, CITT- Certified Logistics Professional, Manager – Economic Development, Halifax Port Authority

“This is a better designation because it meets two key objectives of a designation: Exceptionality and Specific Expertise.  We are keeping the well-known identity of “CITT” and upgrading the field of expertise to reflect what it really covers.”
Marc-Aurele Malaison, CCLP, VP & GM – Quebec, CANADA CARTAGE SYSTEMS

"The new designation, CITT-Certified Logistics Professional, reflects CITT’s history as the leading educational association for transportation professionals, as well as our recognition of evolving trends in global trade. I'm very excited about the new CCLP designation as it conveys the broader abilities of our members as logistics management practitioners."
Laurie Turnbull, CCLP                                                                                                                           Supply Chain Consultant, Cole International Inc.
& CTL Experts Blogger

Board Chair, Robert Ramsay, acknowledges that a very small group of CITT members wanted to be sure that CITT didn’t lose its CITT identity. He answers this by pointing out that “there’s no risk of that happening because CITT is the preeminent part of the new CITT-Certified Logistics Professional designation name.”

CITT cred-ability & endure-ability:
                                
No other sector designation in the supply chain and logistics sector is as decisive a proof of logistics ability as CCLP. A CCLP designation holder meets high academic standards in management topics, as well as in the area of specialized logistics. CCLP designation holders have amassed nearly 10,000 hours of relevant experience, provide evidence of on-going professional development every year and commit to follow CITT’s Code of Ethics.

CITT confirms that while their designation name is changing to CCLP, the organization name will remain CITT. They also confirm that the requirements for their designation have not changed. And, that they remain steadfastly committed to offering industry’s most respected designation and an education and certification program with the best attainability, accessibility, affordability in the business.

CITT is dedicated to the advancement of its professionals and to delivering unparalleled value and impact for its students, certified members and their companies. CITT and its CCLP designation develops, deepens and demonstrates the professional abilities that make supply chain logistics operations more profitable, sustainable and competitive.