XPO Logistics

XPO Logistics, Inc

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: XPO
Predecessor	Express-1 Expedited Solutions
Key people	Bradley S. Jacobs (Chairman & CEO)
Services	Less-than-truckload shipping, truckload shipping, intermodal shipping, freight brokerage, drayage, contract logistics, last mile logistics, ground and air expedited freight, global freight forwarding, managed transportation
Revenue	$15 billion
Divisions	Transportation, logistics[1][2]
Website	www.xpo.com

XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO) is a U.S. corporation and one of the world's ten largest providers of transportation and logistics services. The company has approximately $15 billion in revenue,^[3] serves more than 50,000 customers, and operates a network of over 88,000 employees and 1,440 locations in 34 countries.^[4][5]

XPO is the second-largest freight brokerage provider in the world, the second-largest contract logistics provider in the world,^[6] and the second-largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier in North America.^[3][7] In Europe, it has the largest owned trucking fleet and the largest platform for outsourced e-fulfillment.

XPO's corporate headquarters is located in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. Its European headquarters is in Lyon, France.^[8]

Operations

XPO Logistics operates on a global scale as a third-party provider of end-to-end goods management services. Its supply chain operations encompass approximately 1.5% of the $1 trillion transportation and logistics industry, making XPO one of the 10 largest providers of these services in the world.^[9]

The company’s physical assets include 9,000 53-foot rail containers, another 9,000 chassis for transporting those containers by road, and 19,000 tractors and 47,000 trailers to haul goods.^[9] It operates 438 cross-dock facilities to transfer freight from rail to road and back again, and 748 warehouses with more than 150 million square feet of space for e-commerce fulfillment; reverse logistics; omnichannel support; factory and aftermarket support; and integrated manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.^[3]

XPO obtained most of its physical assets by acquiring a variety of companies within the supply chain arena. The diversity of their services has been cited as key to the company’s stability when the economy dips, or when factors like inclement weather impact specific modes of transportation, such as rail.^[10] XPO makes additional capacity available to its customers through contracts covering 10,000 independently owned and operated trucks; and access to over one million brokered trucks supplied by approximately 50,000 independent carriers.^[11]

XPO’s operations are part of the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under the program, freight shippers, carriers, and logistics companies voluntarily collaborate to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.^[12]

Goods management

XPO Logistics provides end-to-end goods management through a variety of supply chain services, including freight brokerage, contract logistics, last-mile logistics, less-than-truckload transport, full truckload transport, intermodal (rail) transport, drayage, expedited ground and air shipping, global freight forwarding, and managed transportation.^[13]

Freight brokerage

Prominent among the company’s services is freight brokerage: the act of connecting road carriers with companies that need to ship raw material, parts or finished goods. As a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, XPO brokers these connections, cutting costs for both shippers and carriers using market intelligence and carrier rankings based on their load profiles – the amount and types of goods they move.^[14]

Freight brokerage represents one of XPO’s highest growth areas and the driver of some of its largest profit margins.^[14] With the acquisition of several longstanding brokerage businesses including French logistics group Norbert Dentressangle and the U.S.-based Con-way, the company became the second-largest brokerage provider in the world.^[6]

Contract logistics

After acquiring New Breed Logistics in the U.S. and Norbert Dentressangle in France, XPO became the second-largest provider of contract logistics in the world.^[15] 3PL contract logistics involves the non-transport handling of goods on behalf of other companies: warehousing, sorting, packing, e-fulfillment of orders, handling of returned goods, distribution management, and other similar services.

E-commerce fulfillment

With its acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle, XPO became Europe’s largest provider of e-commerce fulfillment – the processing and distribution of durable goods purchased online. Much of XPO’s resiliency during sluggish economic periods has been attributed to its engagement in e-commerce (which also encompasses reverse logistics) and the arranging of in-home (last mile) delivery of large items from big box retailers and others – purchases too heavy and bulky to be handled by traditional parcel carriers.^[16] XPO is the largest last mile logistics provider for heavy goods in North America.^[17]

Less-than-truckload transport

XPO is one of the world’s largest providers of less-than-truckload (LTL) transport, which is the trucking of small freight to different destinations by using a hub-and-spoke distribution system. The majority of XPO’s LTL truck capacity arose from its acquisitions of Norbert Dentressangle, a leading LTL carrier in Europe, and Con-way in the U.S. The Con-way transaction made XPO the second-largest LTL carrier in North America.^[18][19]

XPO was named one of 2015’s most valued U.S. providers of LTL shipping by Mastio & Company.^[20] Less-than-truckload transport, in combination with XPO’s other asset-heavy businesses, represents approximately one third of the company’s total revenue.^[16]

Technology

XPO Logistics has a technology organization of over 1,500 IT specialists and will invest over $400 million in IT in 2016.^[21] The company has developed a brokerage platform that uses cloud-based data mining to predict prices and optimize its network, and uses this technology to manage its last-mile customer experience.^[22] It’s also been credited with handling more expedited shipments than any other freight manager, thanks to two factors: a high contracted capacity with independent carriers, and a proprietary expedite bid system that automatically matches loads to carriers through a web-based auction portal.^[23]

The company has invested in voice-to-text technology to create paper- and keyboard-free offices; tagging technology for shipping containers to help ease port congestion; and GPS tracking for intermodal shipping containers.^[22][24][25] It's also developed specialized, technology-enabled services for omni-channel distribution, reverse logistics, transportation management, lean manufacturing support, aftermarket support, and supply chain optimization.^[26][27]

History

XPO Logistics was founded in May 1989 by Michael Welch and Keith Avery as Express-1 Expedited Solutions, which specialized in time-critical, high-value shipments.^[28] The company was purchased in August 2004 by Segmentz, Inc., a transportation firm that traded publicly as NYSE AMEX: SZI.^[29] In 2006, Segmentz changed its name to Express-1 Expedited Solutions, which had become its main operating unit, and began trading its stock under the new symbol XPO.^[30]

In September 2011, American businessman Bradley Jacobs gained approximately 71 percent ownership^[31][32] in Express-1 when he led an investment of up to $150 million, including up to $135 million through his firm Jacobs Private Equity LLC, which is XPO's largest stockholder.^[33] He assumed the roles of chairman of the board and CEO, announced plans to move the company's headquarters from Michigan to Greenwich, CT, and changed its name to XPO Logistics.

In March 2012, XPO opened a national operations center in Charlotte, N.C.^[34][35][36] with the help of a job development investment grant awarded by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee.^[37]

On June 14, 2012, XPO Logistics listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.^[38]

In March 2013, the office of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory announced that XPO's expansion of its national operations center would bring 287 new jobs to Charlotte within 21 months.^[39][40]

On September 11, 2014, XPO announced an agreement with several investment organizations to channel $700 million into the company for future acquisitions.^[41] On June 1, 2015, a larger group of global investors agreed to funnel an additional $1.26 billion of equity into XPO.^[42][43]

In June 2016, XPO Logistics joined the Fortune 500 for the first time.^[44] One month later, XPO was named the Fortune 500's fastest-growing company.^[45]

Acquisitions

Since March 2012, XPO has acquired 17 companies through a combination of cash and stock transactions. According to CEO Bradley Jacobs, the goal of these acquisitions is to make XPO a one-stop shop for supply chain services across a variety of geographies and customer verticals.^[46]

A number of these acquisitions were significant for expanding XPO’s role in various segments of the industry. On the following dates, XPO purchased these companies:

• August 16, 2013: 3PD, Inc., the largest heavy goods home delivery provider in North America.^[17]
• December 28, 2013: National Logistics Management (a Landstar System business), North America’s largest online manager of expedited shipments.^[15]
• March 31, 2014: Pacer International, Inc., the third-largest intermodal provider in North America and the leading provider of intermodal services between the U.S. and Mexico.^[47][48][49]
• September 2, 2014: New Breed Logistics, a large U.S. provider of contract logistics solutions for blue chip customers.^[26][27]
• June 8, 2015: French logistics group Norbert Dentressangle, a leading contract logistics provider in Europe and the owner-operator of the largest truck fleet in Europe.^[18][19]
• October 30, 2015: Con-way Inc., the second largest less-than-truckload transport provider in North America, with additional operations for global contract logistics, managed transportation, truckload and freight brokerage.^[50][51][52]

Awards and recognition

Industry

• 2009 - 2010: National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council Expedited Carrier of the Year^[53][54]
• 2010: Great West Casualty Company National Safety Gold Award^[55]
• 2010: Inbound Logistics Top 100 Motor Freight Carrier^[56]
• 2011: SupplyChainBrain Great Supply Chain Partner^[57]
• 2012: Transport Topics Top 25 Freight Brokerage Firms^[58]
• 2016: Forbes Most Innovative Growth Companies, #17
• 2016: Forbes America's Best Employers, #263^[7]
• 2016: Fortune 500, #353

Customers

• 2011: UPS Urgent Services Carrier of the Year^[59]
• 2011: Whirlpool Corporation Special Services Supplier of the Year^[60]
• 2015: GE Appliance Agent of the Year, Northeast
• 2015: Home Depot Mid-Size Truckload Carrier of the Year^[61]
• 2015: Logistico dell’Anno Award (Italy) for supply chain innovation^[62]
• 2015: Mastio LTL Customer Value and Loyalty Report, #1 in eight categories
• 2015: Ryder System LTL Carrier of the Year
• 2015: Sam's Club Supplier of the Year, Consumables, Health and Wellness
• 2015: Whirlpool Corporation Intermodal Carrier of the Year^[63]
• 2016: Diebold Platinum Award for Global Supplier Excellence
• 2016: Navistar Diamond Supplier Status
• 2016: Samsung Gold Award for Excellence
• 2016: Sears Tier One Banner Winner

Environment

• 2015: SmartWay Excellence Award for environmental improvement^[64]
• 2016: Label of Objectif CO₂, French Ministry of Environment and the French Environment and Energy Agency (ADEME)

Military

• 2016: Patriot Award, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Department of Defense

See also

• Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (X)
• Economy of Connecticut

References

External links

• Official website