Which transportation companies succeed in the logistics services market?
Optimism in the logistics industry has fallen to record levels. Source: unsplash.com
Quickly and promptly – that should be the motto of any self-respecting logistics company. Indeed, what can be more important than speed or accuracy for a transportation and logistics services provider?
Today PaySpace Magazine would like to talk about the largest and most successful logistics companies in the world.
1. XPO Logistics Inc.
XPO Logistics is considered to be company #1 when it comes to logistics and transportation services. This firm operates as a 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) or third-party provider in thirty-two countries, while the number of clients has surpassed the 50,000 mark. What’s more, the company spends no less than $450M yearly on tech investments in order to keep giving impetus to the field forward.
In 2020, XPO operates in 30 countries, covering such regions as North America, South America, Western/Southern/Eastern Europe (Including the UK and Ireland), Northern Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan, China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore), Australia, and Russia.
The main headquarters is located in Greenwich, CT, the US, while Leon, France, is the city where the European headquarters of the XPO Logistics is located.
Pros & Cons:
➕ Wide coverage area
➕ A big number of foreign offices
➕ Mostly deliver on time
➖ Frequent delays related to Costco and Samsung purchases (particularly in areas where Samsung is contracted with XPO to perform delivery and installation)
➖ High incidents of driveway/kitchen/other property damage
➖ Not the best (sometimes unreachable) customer support service
Three interesting facts about XPO Logistics:
- As of the first half of 2019, there are more than 100,000 employees working for XPO Logistics
- The company continues to invest in robotics and automation, customer service and visibility. The major aim is to improve the digital freight marketplace and the area of data science
- In both 2018 and 2019, XPO Logistics was ranked as the logistics company #1 by net revenue
2. UPS Supply Chain Solutions
UPS Supply Chain Solutions (UPS SCS) is a part of the UPS (United Parcel Service) parcel delivery and supply chain management company. UPS used to deliver more than 16.9M shipments to more than 9.4M receivers on a daily basis. UPS SCS is in charge of supply chain management. As of today, UPS has no less than 481,000 employees.
UPS provides services in more than 175 countries and territories worldwide. The company has four major headquarters: UPS World Headquarters in Atlanta, GA, the US; UPS Asia Pacific Region Office in Singapore; UPS Europe in Brussels, Belgium; UPS Americas and the Caribbean in Miami, FL, the US.
Pros & Cons:
➕ UPS has lots of expedited shipping options, including next-day delivery and same-day delivery in some cases
➕ It is affordable compared to most worldwide delivery companies
➕ Discounts and lower rates for large quantities
➕ Detailed tracking system
➕ Additional services, such as notarizing documents, making copies, and 3D printers (at some branches)
➖ Additional fees and surcharges for heavier packages
➖ Doesn’t offer free package pickup
➖ Sometimes implies tricky extra fees for international shipping
Three interesting facts about UPS Supply Chain Solutions:
- In 2018 and 2019 the company was ranked #2 logistics firm by net revenue
- UPS was founded in Seattle, Washington (U.S.) in August 1907
- As of 2018, the company declared total assets of around $50B
3. DHL Supply Chain
DHL (Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn) is one of the most famous logistics companies worldwide. It was founded in San Francisco, CA (U.S.) as a parcel, courier, and express mail delivery firm. Now, it is a part of Deutsche Post DHL German Logistics company. DHL Supply Chain specializes in handling the processes of cataloguing and shipping goods of their clients (mostly large companies) worldwide.
DHL operates in 120,000 cities from 220 countries. Moreover, it has no less than 84,000 branches, around 98,000 delivery vehicles, and 260 planes.
Pros & Cons:
➕ Reasonable pricing
➕ Door-to-door delivery
➕ Air and sea delivery
➕ No pickup fees
➖ Sometimes can charge extra fees and surcharges
➖ Less presence on the US market (apparently, a disadvantage for US citizens only)
Three interesting facts about DHL Supply Chain:
- DHL Supply Chain is a division of Deutsche Post AG and has 200,000 employees
- In 2017, the company’s annual revenue was around $68.3B
- Bayer Healthcare, Chrysler, Coty, Diageo, Campbell’s Soup, Rodan + Fields, Lego, and Nike are key customers of DHL Supply Chain
4. J.B. Hunt Transport Services
J.B. Hunt Transportation Services is a transportation and trucking services firm, and it is one of the largest logistics companies in the U.S. This company is a real expert when it comes to Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Intermodal (JBI), and Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) segments.
The company operates in the continental US, Canada, and Mexico. As of today, J.B. Hunt owns more than 12,000 trucks.
Pros & Cons:
➕ A wide range of LTL (less-than-truckload) solutions
➕ A wide array of temperature-controlled solutions (refrigerated trucks, etc), which is good, for example, for perishables delivery
➕ A decent specialised Final Mile service
➖ Troubles with the installation of appliances
➖ Sometimes delivery delays
➖ Some clients have experienced issues with Costco-related purchase delivery
Three interesting facts about J.B. Hunt Transport Services:
- J.B. Hunt Transportation Services was founded in 1961 by Johnnie Bryan Hunt
- In 2017, the company’s annual revenue was around $7.2B
- As of 2017, the company had more than 24,700 employees
5. C.H. Robinson Worldwide
This company operates as a 3PL (Third-Party logistics) and transportation services provider since 1905. As of 2017, the company had more than 300 branches and no less than 15,100 employees. This firm is considered to be an expert in air and ocean freight forwarding and dedicated contract carriage. In 2014, C.H. Robinson managed to handle 14.3M shipments to 46,000 clients.
C.H. Robinson offers its services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, has five headquarters over these regions (except for South America), and runs more than 300 offices.
Pros & Cons:
➕ Freightview is a reliable tracking tool
➕ Offers fast and flexible air charter service
➕ Robinson Fresh option offers quality perishables delivery
➖ Not the cheapest option
➖ The coverage area is not competitive compared to other large delivery companies
Three interesting facts about C.H. Robinson Worldwide:
- In 2017, the company’s annual revenue was around $14.87B
- In 1997, the firm renamed itself C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., and went public. Thus, that IPO helped them to raise more than $190M
- Microsoft, Walmart, Lowe’s, HSNi, Sunny Delight, Evergreen Packaging, Tesco, Coca-Cola, Ocean Spray, and Newell Brands are the key customers of C.H. Robinson Worldwide
6. Ryder Supply Chain Solutions
Ryder Supply Chain Solutions is a part of Ryder System, Inc., which is a large American supply chain management and transportation provider. As of 2017, Ryder’s revenue was estimated $7.3B, while supply chain segment is in charge for 26% of the revenue (about $1.6B). Moreover, the firm has more than 50,000 clients.
Ryder works in North America, South America, Europe (including the UK), and Asia. The headquarters is located in Miami, FL, the US. As of today, the company has around 10,000 drivers, and more than 272,000 vehicles.
Pros & Cons:
➕ The high on-time delivery rate
➕ More than 55M sq. ft of warehouse space
➕ A large number of community, customer, industry, and media awards (not every delivery firm can say that)
➖ Pricing
➖ Had some scandals related to lobbying and not-paying-taxes issues
Three interesting facts about Ryder Supply Chain Solutions:
- Named by Forbes as one of America’s best employers in 2018 for the fourth year in a row
- The company is considered to be one of the most tech-advanced since they use drones, autonomous vehicles, and many other modern technologies in their smart warehouses
- Ryder’s management has divided the company into three segments: Supply Chain Solutions, Dedicated Contract Carriage, and Fleet Management Solutions
7. Expeditors International of Washington
Expeditors International is an U.S.-based freight-forwarding and logistics company. The firm is well-known for its unique compensation structure, which is quite unusual for other players of the market. Basically, each of the firm’s branches are independent profit centres and the primary compensation for the branch management group comes in the form of incentive-based compensation calculated directly from the operating income of that branch.
The company operates in North America, South America, Europe (including the UK), Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Overall, it delivers items in 103 countries. The major headquarters is located in Seattle, WA, the US.
Pros & Cons:
➕ A wide range of transportations options
➕ Good customer support service
➕ Robust Supply Chain Solution
➕ A high rate of on-time deliveries
➖ Not the widest coverage area (compared to major delivery firms)
➖ Air delivery can be too expensive
Three interesting facts about Expeditors International of Washington:
- In 2018, the gross revenue of the company exceeded $8.1B
- In 2019, the company was ranked #5 logistics firm by the net revenue (#7 in 2019)
- Expeditors International has more than 17,000 employees
8. Penske Logistics
Penske Logistics specializes in providing large firms with modern and competent supply logistics solutions. The firm works with the largest companies and can offer versatile service packages, from warehouse management to transportation services.
Penske Logistics operates in more than 340 locations worldwide, the US, Canada, China, Brazil, and Western European countries.
Pros & Cons:
➕ Penske Corporation has a big number of diversified holdings, which helps to enhance business
➕ Advanced supply chain management solutions
➕ Received a lot of delivery-related awards
➕ Advanced tracking system
➖ The coverage area is not competitive
➖ Was involved in discrimination-related scandals in 2019
Three interesting facts about Penske Logistics:
- Penske is one of the few logistics services providers to look into using blockchain technology in order to manage logistics data
- In 2019, the company was ranked #8 logistics firm by net revenue
- BMW, Daiman, Sony, General Motors, Kroger, Whirlpool, Toyota Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Schnucks, Novelis, Delphi, and Adient are key customers of Penske Logistics
9. Lineage Logistics
Lineage Logistics is a relatively young yet already successful company, which has proven to be a reliable logistics and transportation services provider. They’re constantly expanding to make sure they’re in a position to provide logistics support to any company in need.
The company works in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its headquarters is located in Novi, MI, the US.
Pros & Cons:
➕ Lineage Logistics is considered to be the world’s largest refrigerated warehousing company
➕ The company offers innovative technologies in different areas (automation, blast freezing, energy consumption, etc)
➖ Small coverage area
➖ Lineage is a relatively new company, which can be an issue for some clients
Three interesting facts about Lineage Logistics:
- Lineage Logistics was founded in 2012. However, in 2019, the company was ranked #9 logistics firm by net revenue, which is quite impressive (taking into account its age, compared to their nearest competitors)
- As of 2018, the company had more than 7,200 employees
- In 2018, Lineage’s management reported that they began developing their first fully automated warehouse
10. FedEx Logistics
FedEx is a famous American courier delivery services firm, which is known for providing 3PL solutions for companies of all sizes. This company has always been on the list of top 20 logistics companies worldwide for the last 10 years. FedEx is able to deliver 3.5M items daily to no less than 220 countries with the help of 57,000 vehicles and 640 aircraft.
FedEx works in more than 220 countries. The company’s major headquarters is located in Memphis, TN, the US.
Pros & Cons:
➕ A highly reliable tracking system
➕ Delivery management option (you can hold your package at the branch, or reschedule delivery)
➕ Sometimes the company offers the option to negotiate for lower delivery prices for large volumes of packages
➖ High shipping rates
➖ Not the fastest delivery company
➖ Doesn’t offer package pickup
Three interesting facts about FedEx Logistics:
- As of 2018, no less than 425,000 people were registered as FedEx workers
- In 2018, the company reported total assets of $52.3B
- In 2018, the company was ranked #8 logistics firm by the net revenue. However, in 2019, FedEx lost a step and was ranked #11
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