has explored artificial intelligence and machine learning, enabling it to continue searching for efficiencies within its processes.
understanding of customs regulations, as well as strong relationships with customs and border protection agencies in both Canada and the United States, Cox says. He and his team also have been very deliberate in investing in technologies that enable Polaris’ clients to work in a digitally transparent fashion. Polaris ships a range of commodities, with a specialization in dry goods and high-value products. It also works in all transport modes. Along with its cross- border service, Polaris offers third-party logistics, warehousing, distribution, and supply chain management services. Customers come in all sizes. “Smaller companies may move a handful of shipments a month, but those shipments impact their business, their well-being, and their reputation. I am equally in love with those businesses as much as I am the larger ones,” Cox says. Four companies make up Polaris; three are Polaris Transport, Polaris Global Logistics, and Polaris Commercial Warehousing. In 2019, with the launch of NorthStar Digital Solutions—the fourth Polaris company—the head office housed a state-of-the-art digital lab. Among other initiatives, NorthStar Digital Solutions
from various regions within the United States. For this program, Polaris directs the companies’ shipments to a hub in the central United States, and then transports the cargo across the border on a single trailer. “Shippers gain savings and certainty,” Cox says. They can be confident of the date their inventory or merchandise will arrive in Canada. This is harder to predict when products move in a piecemeal fashion. Along with technology, Cox has been deliberate about searching for top employees, implementing best-in-class processes, and making sustainability a foundation of Polaris. “Whether it’s the environment or the social issues that affect business and the communities we’re working within—these are important to me as a business owner,” he says. SUNSET TRANSPORTATION: FAMILY ROOTS AND GLOBAL REACH The employee roster at Sunset Transportation includes a farmer, an Emmy winner, an Arabic speaker, a hometown pageant queen, and an amateur tractor pull competitor, along with several military veterans. The range of interests and experience among Sunsetters, as the employees are known, mirrors the broad roster of transportation and logistics services Sunset offers. Sunset Transportation was founded in 1989 by Jim Williams. However, Sunset traces its start to 1861, when Jim Williams’ grandfather opened Williams Paper Company, which remains in operation today. Williams Paper Co. expanded its operations in 1970, when Jim Williams began managing the business’s fleet of trucks and established a thriving backhaul program. In 1989, Sunset Transportation launched. In 2022, Sunset joined Armada Supply Chain Solutions, a food and restaurant logistics company. For companies looking to do business between the United States and Canada, Sunset offers transportation services in all 10 Canadian provinces. It also provides import/export transportation
MAKING STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND WORKFORCE Polaris has also invested in robotic processing automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. By
deploying a mobile driver application (FR8Focus) and integrating it into their TMS, clients can check the location of their freight through the customer portal in real-time. “Everyone wants to know where their shipments are. This needs to be transparent,” Cox says. That holds true even when Polaris is working with supply chain partners, such as other carriers. “It’s seamless, transparent, and digital,” Cox says. The use of systems like intelligent document workflow for order entry, accounts payables, and other functions, offers a “wealth of insight that enables the Polaris team to focus on managing complex situations,” Cox says. Polaris operates a consolidation program for several U.S.-based clients that are shipping products to Canada
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Sunset Transportation offers all the services shippers need to conduct cross-border trade, from import/export transportation management to warehousing and transloading services.
74 Inbound Logistics • April 2024
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