APPS Transport Group

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :3/18/2008 3:34:15 AM

Although the US economy is a cause of concern for many, APPS is financially sound and looks to the future with increased optimism. Exec learns more about the transportation firm

Written by Ian Armitage and Produced by Jason Wright

In 1985, a 24 year old entrepreneur by the name of Rob McDonald started up APPS Transport. With one truck, one contract and the asset of youth, he embarked on his journey. Today, that company has 51 power units, 164 trailers, more than 200 containers, 155 staff, facilities in Brampton, Ont., Calgary and Vancouver. It does $75 million a year in business, and has an annual growth rate that most companies can only dream of.

In fact, you might say APPS Transport Group is a great example of how to build a successful company from scratch. Indeed, operating through a North American-wide network of partners, APPS Transport Group has a large share of the North American transport and logistics business.

In recent years it has posted annual growth figures that have left competitors green with envy. The company is now working towards reaching the dizzy heights of $100 million by 2010.

Service-rich, asset-lean

APPS is service-rich and asset-lean. Most competitors choose to have their own fleet of trucks to meet all customer needs, but APPS focuses on its fleet mainly in Ontario, which represents 20 percent of its business. To service the West, the company uses CN intermodal – a combination of rail and truck services – which accounts for 70 percent of its business. To service Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the United States, APP uses a variety of partnerships with regional carriers.

The advantages of this approach are considerable. First, the company need not worry about finding freight to haul back from points outside Ontario or picking up shipments from the west, east or south. Second, it has no significant debt load to pay for an extensive fleet. Third, its drivers do not face long hauls.

Ultimately though, this focus on intermodal transportation means significant savings for customers.

Business as usual

There is no doubt that the US economy is stuttering and there are currently many reasons why organizations are preparing for lean times. But not APPS Transport, where it is business as usual.

When the company’s February 2008 newsletter asked McDonald, President of APPS, what the company was doing to weather the current storm, he said: “We are aggressively investing in sales and marketing, while keeping a close eye on operational expenses. The average company’s philosophy is ‘there is no work anyway, so why bother spending money on a sales rep or an advertising campaign’.”

He continued: “But we believe the strategy – whether the economy is up or down – should be to get out and tell your story. If you’re not telling yours, someone else will be telling theirs. So we are continuing to build our sales team and sustain our marketing efforts. This is our strategy at all times, but especially in tough times.”

To sustain marketing efforts, the company has expanded its sales team from three to eleven people over the past couple of years. This rapid expansion proves McDonald’s point.

When asked by the same newsletter what challenges APPS will face during this downturn, he added: “The challenges are the same as they always are - delivering on our commitments and meeting our promise of performance. We also have a challenge to find the right people to build our team. These challenges are always there.”

Secret to success

As APPS has grown from a local cartage company to the business we know and love today, it has always maintained its “promise to perform” philosophy. Its knowledge, experience and shared commitment mean customers get a quality service and support in what is an increasingly demanding marketplace.

APPS continues to listen and learn so that it can better understand its customer’s needs and concerns. Commentators suggest the key to APPS success is the unique business model, which gives it the ability to adapt quickly to changes in the industry.

Committed to growth

APPS, it seems, is committed to growth. But one challenge will be to sustain the pace. “As the numbers get bigger, it gets harder to sustain growth at the same pace. But I can easily see us continuing to grow 15 to 20 percent annually,” said McDonald.

Regardless of what is happening in the economy, McDonald is a man of experience and guile. He has been through tough times before and is confident that the company is financially strong and shouldn’t be too concerned about the supposed “lean times”.

The company also plans to continue its focus on building relationships and sustaining strong customer service. As part of this, it recently took over terminal operations of Western Reload in Calgary and Legacy Transport in Richmond, BC – a move which will enable APPS to manage its clients’ intermodal shipments more effectively.

Its core values will never change! After all, why change something that isn’t broken?

Click here to view the corporate brochure on APPS