PROPELLED BY LOGISTICS
For Taylored Services, Georgia is an ideal logistics location because it offers advantageous distribution networks, excellent infrastructure, convenient access to global markets, and the support of both a business-friendly environment and exceptional workforce development. Taylored Services provides a variety of logistics services in Georgia, focusing on areas such as global logistics, regional trucking, dedicated regional truck eets, and warehousing services. The company has invested heavily in innovation, including software and technology upgrades. The 3PL has also invested in a new customer relationship management system to improve communication with customers and ensure improved customer service. In the near future the company will introduce a self-service portal enabling customers to access their accounts and make changes online. SMC 3 : WHIPSAW AND REBOUND “The pandemic caused a whipsaw in demand and then supply, straining supply chains around the world,” says Brian Thompson, chief commercial of cer of SMC³, a Georgia over-the- road data and solutions provider, optimizing freight transportation across the supply chain. “But the logistics sector has risen to
the challenge so that supply chains are now more diversi ed, connected, and resilient than prior to the pandemic,” he adds. Headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Peachtree City, SMC³ has a unique perspective of logistics in Georgia. In conjunction with faculty at Georgia College & State University (GCSU), SMC³—a “one-stop knowledge hub of everything LTL”—developed an online educational curriculum and the only program that certi es LTL expertise.
Taylored Services works with Georgia’s local and state government organizations to identify and utilize the best resources available to expand and improve the logistics capabilities of the state. The company collaborates with regional partners to develop and execute initiatives that enhance and strengthen transportation, supply chain, and infrastructure networks. It also provides training and technical assistance to increase the capability and capacity of local logistics service providers. EDUCATION AND INNOVATION Taylored Services has leveraged the expertise of the state’s technical college system and Georgia’s Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). Through the Georgia Quick Start program, the company was able to quickly onboard staff at the start of the pandemic, as well as help retrain existing staff to keep up with industry changes. Moreover, Georgia’s Innovation Fund has been instrumental in providing additional capital for the company’s Logistics Computer and Software Upgrade project, completed in late 2020. And the Logistics Certi cation Program offered by the GDEcD has provided a number of certi cations to members of the company’s staff, allowing them to remain up to date on industry standards, regulations, and best practices.
The company produced the program in partnership with
LogisticsTrainingCenter.com, headed by GCSU logistics professor Dr. Karl Manrodt. The LTL Online Education program offers ve courses from the fundamentals of LTL to advanced topics like LTL business analytics.
ADDRESSING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The pandemic’s effects have especially impacted e-commerce and digitization in the industry, Thompson says. More frequent, smaller shipments have become more common as ful llment centers proliferated near population centers, and that has translated into stronger demand for LTL and parcel. Tight capacity strongly affected carrier service performance in the LTL business. “This unpredictability in service intensi ed shipper interest in shipment visibility as they struggled to manage inventory,” he says. “The need to leverage the bene ts of technology drove many shippers to seek solutions from 3PLs that already had access to advanced technology solutions.” Despite a slowdown in LTL bid activity for the past three years, Thompson says, good news has returned. “Pent-up demand and easing capacity in early 2023 resulted in increased interest from shippers to test market prices through formal bid events,” he says. SMC³ has bid technology that enables shippers to reach out to a broad set of providers for capacity and price offers through automation of the many components of the bid process.
Taylored Services marked its 30th anniversary as a leader in 3PL warehouse, distribution, and fulfillment services in 2022. With both East Coast and West Coast locations, the company recently opened a distribution site near the Port of Savannah.
68 Inbound Logistics • March 2023
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