SAN FRANCISCO and AMSTERDAM, March 12,
2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Based at Menlo's European headquarters
in Amsterdam and operated by a
specially recruited team of experienced transport managers, Menlo
Freight Brokerage has undergone a year of preparation and trial
operation and is now being launched across Europe.
"Menlo has operated a successful and growing freight brokerage
operation in North America since
2007 under our sister company, Con-way Multimodal," noted
Tony Gunn managing director for
Menlo Logistics in Europe. "We
have adopted best practices from our North American colleagues and
combined those with our Lean tools and a team of European transport
specialists to create a unique service offering for European
shippers. We are confident that our philosophy of reducing cost and
minimising waste in the freight transport process will appeal to
the European market for freight brokerage services. The test
strategy we have employed over the past twelve months has validated
this approach and we are very pleased with the up-take from a wide
range of customers."
New Service Offering Gaining Market Traction
Indeed
the nascent European Freight Brokerage operation, at the end of its
trial period is now managing over five hundred shipments per month
across all types of freight and modes of transport including:
truckload, parcel, groupage, full container and LCL, air freight
and ocean shipments. The majority of the volume has been
intra-Europe in extent but Asian and North American destined cargo
has also been handled.
Gunn added that Menlo expects a rapid growth in volumes in the
future but for the modal mix to be in line with that experienced so
far. "Key to our service offering is a multimodal, consultative
approach to our customers' transport needs. We will advise the
optimum routing and modal mix for any given European shipment
profile. Our emphasis is on value, of which price is a component
but not everything, which is consistent with the value-add approach
Menlo takes with all of our supply chain offerings. This product is
highly complementary to our portfolio and adds a capability which
our customers have been inquiring for some time.
Europe Launch Complements Menlo's Global Transportation
Management Strategy
The launch Menlo Freight Brokerage in
Europe also is in line with
Menlo's larger global strategy of building consistent, reliable
freight brokerage capabilities across and within the world's
geographies. Explains Tommy Barnes,
president of Menlo's U.S.-based brokerage operation Con-way
Multimodal: "Geographic diversification is a key part of our
strategic vision. By extending our brokerage services into Europe,
we can tap a new market and support existing Menlo operations and
customers in securing flexible, cost-efficient transportation
capacity for customers. Through our combined efforts, we should be
able to further reduce costs and take additional waste out of
customers' supply chains. Our Europe expansion supports Menlo's
overall business growth goals and provides the opportunity to
extend our Lean process improvement capabilities into a critical
new area for our clients."
For its European transportation management system, Menlo Freight
Brokerage uses CargoWise, which is a proven technology platform and
has solid daily transportation management functionality for both
domestic and international shipments. Menlo's Europe brokerage team
also liaises with its U.S. brokerage counterparts, which allows for
synergies and the development of collaborative service solutions
for global customers with brokerage needs in both the U.S. and
Europe.
Dedicated European Brokerage Operation Established in
Amsterdam
The European
freight brokerage operation is based at Menlo's offices in
Amsterdam and is headed up by
Richard de Ritter who has eight
years with Menlo managing transport solutions for customers of the
Company's logistics services. His career stretches over nearly
twenty years working for blue-chip supply chain service providers
and container transport operators.
He cites the significant advantages Menlo's new brokerage
service gains from Menlo's long-standing logistics and supply chain
management business in Europe. "We
are able to leverage the wealth of experience and knowledge of the
European transportation and logistics market already existing
within the Menlo organisation," highlights de Ritter. "This
provides the opportunity for Brokerage customers to learn about and
consider the broader logistics services of Menlo."
A core value of the company's operation is a commitment to waste
reduction and the philosophy of pruning processes where savings in
both time and money can be identified. Menlo sees this aspect
as a key differentiator of its service when compared with brokers
that merely quote a rate and find a truck. Concludes Menlo Europe's Gunn: "The transport element of
the supply chain is often over-looked as a link to be managed with
careful analysis of cost versus performance and the necessary
amount of visibility. We are bringing a higher degree of
management standards to a process that many in the market see as
simple trucking."
About Menlo Logistics Europe
In Europe, Menlo
Logistics maintains seventeen dedicated and multi-client logistics
centres located in the
Netherlands, Belgium,
Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. This warehouse network can
serve as pan-European distribution solution using one or several
facilities. Supply chain and transport management solutions as well
as 3PL, warehousing and distribution services are offered to a
variety of vertical industry sectors including: fashion &
apparel; healthcare and medical equipment; hi-tech electronic and
data network equipment; automotive; defence and government services
and retail e-fulfilment. The European headquarters is at the
multi-client Amsterdam Distribution Centre in the Netherlands.
www.menloworldwide.com/europe
Follow Menlo on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MenloLogistics
About Menlo Logistics
Menlo Logistics, LLC, is
a US$1.6 billion global provider of
logistics, transportation management and supply chain services with
operations in five continents, including North America. As a third-party logistics
provider, San Francisco-based
Menlo Logistics' services range from dedicated contract logistics
to warehouse and distribution management, transportation
management, supply chain reengineering and other value-added
services including packaging, kitting, order fulfilment and light
assembly through a strategic network of multi-client and dedicated
facilities.
With nearly 20 million square feet of dedicated warehouse space
in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America, and industry-leading
technologies, Menlo Worldwide Logistics creates effective,
integrated solutions for the transportation and distribution needs
of leading businesses around the world. Menlo Logistics is a
subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $5.5 billion diversified freight transportation
and logistics company.
An archive of all Menlo Logistics news releases and photographs
is available from the ISIS Communications Press Room at
www.isiscomms.com
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SOURCE Menlo Logistics