Logistics Plus
Erie, Pennsylvania USA Site Visit
November 21, 2017
By
Richard Armstrong

Attendees:
Jim Berlin – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Scott Frederick – Vice President, Marketing

Logistics Plus was founded by Jim Berlin in 1996 to be a lead logistics provider for GE Transportation.  (GE gave Berlin a 6-month trial PO for three people and $120,000 and then signed him up to an evergreen 3-year agreement shortly thereafter.  GE manufactures locomotives in Erie, PA).  Logistics Plus has grown to 500 employees and serves more than 20 countries worldwide.  Its global revenue will grow to approximately $195 million in 2017.

Logistics Plus has asset based and non-asset based operations.  Its trucking operation, National Truckload (dba NTL), has 40 drivers with a mix of trailers operating out of Erie, PA.  Lexington, NC is its second location.  Much of the traffic between Erie and Lexington is flatbed.  Logistics Plus also runs triple axle lowboy step deck, double drop RGN (removable goose neck) trailers.  Service is provided by National Truckload as equipment is available.

Additional transportation services are provided by Logistics Plus’s freight brokerage operation, which was ranked #70 on the Armstrong & Associates/Transport Topics 2017 Top Freight Brokerage Firms list.  Forty-eight states and cross border to Mexico and Canada coverage is provided by the North American Division (NAD) operation in Erie, currently managed by Libby O’Hara.  Logistics Plus’s freight brokerage operation provides full truckload, expedited, less-than-truckload (LTL) and specialized equipment services.

Logistics Plus has eight primary service lines:

1. Less-than-truckload Freight
2. Truckload Solutions
3. Warehousing and Fulfillment
4. International Division
5. Project Cargo Logistics
6. Customs Clearance and Trade Compliance
7. 4PL and Supply Chain Solutions
8. Amazon Global Selling Solutions Provider

Logistics Plus has four licensed customs brokers.  Two are in Erie, PA and two are in Charleston, SC.  The customs brokers and its International Division handle about 200 shipments a day.  Exports are 40%; imports are 60%.  Logistics Plus handles 30,000 ocean TEUs (20’ Trailer Equivalent Units) and 7,000 metric tons of air freight annually.

Logistics Plus’s culture is modern and laid-back yet very entrepreneurial.  All of the employees are cordial and on a first name basis.  Teams tend to be tight and members work closely with each other.

GE is Logistics Plus’s largest customer.  For GE Transportation, Logistics Plus maintains International Transportation Management personnel in GE’s Erie facilities.  In addition, Logistics Plus has 20 Transportation Managers in its Erie office involved in primarily Domestic Transportation Management.  GE took Logistics Plus to China, Europe, India and Indonesia.

Logistics Plus now has over 40 offices around the world, including five offices in India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Jalandhar, Mumbai and New Delhi) and two offices in Indonesia (Jakarta and Surabaya).

WeWork is Logistics Plus’s second largest customer.  WeWork installs offices for its customers.

Recently, Logistics Plus installed a 400-desk Amazon office in Vancouver, BC and a 350-desk Expedia office in Chicago, IL for WeWork.  Installations are measured by the number of desks and square footage.  Each desk is a work area with trashcans, filing cabinets, artwork and other specific items.  Logistics Plus also sets up conference rooms, break rooms and other spaces as required.  Installations are made by companies on Logistics Plus’s approved list and are supervised by Logistics Plus.

WeWork has recently put in offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and smaller locations.  Logistics Plus provides transportation and warehousing and manages contracts with local installers, allowing it to build a significant “final mile” network.

For Canadian Solar, another one of its top customers, Logistics Plus completed the logistics for an electricity generating yard with hundreds of solar panels in Imperial Valley, CA (the largest of its kind at the time).  Logistics Plus continues to coordinate logistics for multiple manufacturers within the solar industry.

Logistics Plus operates with a portfolio of proprietary software.

Logistics Plus’s eShipPlus is a complimentary and powerful transportation management system (TMS).  It is subscription-free and provides instant cost-effective freight quotes for the top LTL freight carriers in the industry, including FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, XPO Logistics, YRC Freight, Estes Express, Dayton Freight, Holland, Pitt Ohio, Ward Transport, AAA Cooper, and Reddaway.

Here are its time-saving features:

• Get instant LTL shipment quotes for multiple top tier carriers
• Access standard, guaranteed and volume LTL service options
• Create bills of lading and schedule shipments
• Track your LTL and truckload shipments, including access to MacroPoint load-tracking services
• View shipment dashboards and run reports on all of your North American shipping activity
• Enjoy back-office auditing and freight invoice consolidation expertise (in conjunction with Advanced Freight Traffic Service)
• View and pay invoices online

Logistics Plus’s global cargo management and warehousing applications are conducted using eWorldPlus (powered by CargoWise One).  Its programs are robust and straightforward to use.  More and more, Logistics Plus is developing mobile-based application and data intelligence systems to supplement its core application and provide its clients with greater insights into their supply chains.

Sources: A&A Primary Research, http://www.logisticsplus.net/