SMC³ Winter Meeting Features Bill Zollars’ First-Hand Look at the Yellow Roadway Merger
Yellow Success Story Provides Valuable Insight into Corporate Change
Peachtree City, GA - February 1, 2005—Transportation executives explored industry success stories and eye-opening statistics to set a foundation for their competitive strategies during SMC³’s 50th Annual Winter Meeting, which took place January 25-26 in Atlanta.
The meeting, “Shifting the Balance: Predicting the Impact of Industry Change,” focused on how the industry might evolve in the near term and looked ahead at changes that could be experienced in the next three to five years.
“I was delighted with the number of transportation industry leaders who were in attendance to explore the evolution of the industry and how to stay competitive during consolidation and change,” Jack E. Middleton, SMC³ president & CEO, said. “You can’t find a better case study for industry consolidation and change than the Yellow Roadway story.”
William D. (Bill) Zollars, chairman, president and CEO of Yellow Roadway Corporation, described how he and executive management created and implemented a new vision for Yellow - a journey that began in1997 when he became president of Yellow Transportation, Inc. Detailing the company’s actions through the December 2003 acquisition of Roadway Corporation, Zollars explained point-by-point how Yellow positioned its people, processes and technology to become the nation’s number three ground-based transportation company.
“This is one of those opportunities that you get probably once in a business career to really change the competitive landscape in the marketplace, and I really believe that bringing together these two great brands allowed us to do that,” Zollars said. “These companies were both doing very well on their own, but this is truly a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
Zollars also spoke about trends he thought would be fundamental to the industry in 2005 and beyond - consolidation, capacity, infrastructure challenges and the battle for talent.
“Consolidation is going to continue. Customers are going to continue to ratchet up requirements, and people are going to have a harder and harder time getting over the bar,” Zollars said.
Following Zollars’ presentation, Satish Jindel, principal consultant, SJ Consulting Group Inc., explored distribution patterns, LTL market trends and the implications of change within global carriers’ business plans. Stressing the importance of marketing and technology in his strategies for LTL carriers in the consolidation era, Jindel emphasized technology as a major contributor to change in the ground business.
Three presenters focused on global supply chain trends affecting the transportation industry. Susan Alt, president and CEO, Volvo Logistics North America, Inc., spoke about her company’s core values and the intricacies of the carrier-shipper relationship. John Mascaritolo, director of global logistics, corporate global procurement, NCR Corporation, discussed sourcing trends in global supply chain management and the effect outsourcing has had on NCR’s bottom line. John H. Vande Vate, executive director of the Executive Masters International Logistics Program at Georgia Institute of Technology, explored the impact of globalization on the transportation infrastructure and innovative approaches to supply chain management and design.
The meeting concluded with the anticipated geopolitical update sessions. Nationally-recognized transportation attorney John R. Bagileo, principal, The Law Office of John R. Bagileo; renowned economic forecaster Donald Ratajczak; and energy expert Michael J. Economides, professor, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, spoke about political factors, legislation, economic trends and energy costs that will affect operations within the transportation industry.
SMC³’s two annual meetings provide transportation industry professionals with the most up-to-date industry information and trend forecasts. With a customer base covering all aspects of freight movement, the company strives to make its educational meetings and seminars the most comprehensive and valuable opportunities available.
For more information on SMC³’s products, services and educational offerings, please visit www.smc3.com, phone 800.845.8090 or e-mail info@smc3.com.
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About SMC³
Shippers, carriers and logistics service providers look to SMC³ for the technology, industry data, educational services and general know-how to achieve greater success in the transportation marketplace. Founded in 1935, SMC³ has built a reputation among industry professionals as a central knowledge base for decision support, improved collaboration and streamlined processes in the movement of freight via motor carriers. The company is headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga., and has a satellite office in Louisville, Ky.
Company keywords: Pricing Expertise, Data, Technology, Education, LTL