International works with are tracked on a
partnership model that illustrates the
service expectations in both directions – a
time-consuming effort that ensures the
right fit, whether it’s with a company that
shares its U.S.-based home turf or one that’s
headquartered across the globe in far-flung
places within Europe, Asia and South
America.
And the partners can be in varying
industries as well – including ocean carriers,
airlines and trucking companies whose
locations can rangefrom large metropolitan
areas to remote rural outposts.
“It’s a relationship,” he said. “It’s a mindset
and an understanding that there is an
objective behind that partnership and that’s
the only way we will grow.Typically, we
negotiate and sign multi-year agreements
with our vendors with specific clear terms
and service requirements. Our first year
focus e s on ach i e ving our c l i ent ’s
requirements and objectives, identifying
non-compliances using a root-cause
analysis tracing a problem to its origin.
Before we get into our second year, we
achieve a number of unexpected-cost saving
results while improving visibility and
reporting tools that enhance our client’s
productivity and ours,thereby,keeping our
overall cost down.
“Idea l ly, ever ybody becomes more
productive and profitable. It’s almost like a
positive virus. As business grows, all your
supply chain representatives also grow as
well. We definitely help grow some jobs by
whatwe do andhowwell we do it.”
The parent company, Alliance Shippers,
was established in 1977 by a pair of owners
who ran independent trucking services
between Chicago and the northeast
corridor – each based on opposite ends of
that territory.
They created a 50/50 partnership and,
thanks to a series of successes over 25 years,
the company began branching out into
other areas like warehousing/distribution,
protective services, refrigerated services,
int ermoda l , tr uck broker a g e and
international services – including customs
and logistics.
The latter is the California-based De La
Torre’s wheelhouse, though he concedes
May 2014
| BusinessWorld | 77
