RoadLink USA: serving the nation

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :07/12/2007 09:06:03

Already the nation’s largest intermodal trucking company, RoadLink USA is relying on a success merger strategy to grow and increase efficiency even move over the next two years.

By David Weldon

One of the most efficiently designed creatures in all of evolution, sharks all have one distinct drawback - if they stop moving, they’ll die.

The same holds true for companies in the logistics and distribution space. Success depends on getting goods to their final destination quickly, safely, efficiently, and cheaply — or else.

No company knows that better than RoadLink USA, the nation’s largest intermodal trucking and logistics company, headquartered in Bethlehem, PA.

As the intermodal leader, RoadLink does not maintain large fleets of 18-wheeler rigs that truck large loads from coast to coast. Long-haul and cross-country delivery is more likely done by railroad. Instead, the primary role that RoadLink plays in the distribution supply chain is the so-called “last mile” of delivery — taking goods from a port or railhead to their final destination, generally less than 500 miles from pick-up point.

“Containers from overseas are moved by ship, arrive at a port, often then moved inland by rail, and finally move by truck to their destination,” explains Mark G. Fornasiero, senior vice president of finance and acquisitions at RoadLink. “We take those goods the last step, and are the ones who actually see the customer.”

Because of that, RoadLink needs to always be at the top of its game. Customers will quickly blame missing loads, late deliveries, or damaged goods on the last carrier in this global relay race.

Traveling many last miles

There are a lot of last miles in the nation’s distribution system, so RoadLink relies on over a thousand owner-operators, as well as its own fleet of trucks, to quickly and efficiently…

To read the full article, click here