Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/959367
66 commercial carrier journal | april 2018 COVER STORY 2018 INNOVATOR of the YEAR for management feedback and liaisons between the office and the road. "They'll come in for a week of training and learn from every department head what is happening here so they can have some rationale when they talk with [other Werner drivers] on the road," says Chris Polenz, Werner Enterprises vice president of recruiting. Werner follows up regularly on con- ference calls with Werner Road Team members to get a better understanding of what problems its drivers are having on the road and what issues management needs to address. "That's just one way we stay in touch with 75 percent of who Werner is, and that's truck drivers," says Polenz. "The rest of us are just here to support the profes- sional driver. Without them, we are not here, and I think people need to under- stand that." GOING THE FINAL MILE Werner Enterprises has exhibited a his- tory of innovation and achieved a num- ber of industry firsts as it has grown from a one-truck operation in 1956 to a 7,435- truck publicly traded corporation. Werner was the first company to employ electronic logging, receiving approval from the Federal Highway Administration to make the switch in 1998 and completely eliminate paper log books. In 2001, the company was the first to introduce a full-motion driving simulator, part of a multimillion-dollar joint venture with Lockheed Martin. Today, Werner has an array of modern simulators at training facilities across the country to use for both remedial and systemic training. It also has two dedicated tractor-trailers with mobile simulators that visit drivers for the company's 4,000-truck dedicated fleet across the country. "That technology continues to evolve," says Schelble. "Now we have the ability to throw in all the sleet and ice conditions, summer driving and road construction simulations." Today, Werner is working with cus- tomers to enhance freight visibility and optimization from a network level, load level and SKU level, even helping custom- ers build loads and select the appropriate transportation modes. "We do site selection work with our customers to help them build new facilities, pick locations and reopti- mize their store delivery patterns, all based on technology investments we've made," says Leathers. As Werner works toward deeper inte- gration with its customers' systems, it has more than doubled revenues for its Wer- ner Logistics division in the last five years. In 2017, the business unit accounted for $417 million of Werner Enterprises' $2.12 billion annual revenues. "One of the things our custom- ers expect of a company our size is to have a one-call portfolio ability to buy," says Leathers. "They want to buy from us across the portfolio and solve their domestic and North American issues, and increasingly want our help on sourcing issues abroad." Just as it leverages its logistics divi- sion to get upstream of its traditional asset-based truckload operation, Werner announced last year it was entering the final-mile space with a downstream logistics solution. Werner Final Mile uses a nonasset model and proprietary e-commerce software plat- form to deliver large or heavy items to the home with a partner carrier network with 200 locations. "We are in the early innings, but our customers increasingly expect us to solve problems across their supply chains … ," says Leathers. "Logistics is a big part of what we do, but people still think of us as a trucking company, and we will always be proud of that being our roots." ABOUT THE AWARD Commercial Carrier Journal's editors recognize innovators throughout the year and select one for special recognition as the CCJ Innovator of the Year. Innovators considered for the current award were those recognized in the magazine in 2017. Innovation in any aspect of the operation is eligible for recognition. To qualify, the carrier must operate at least 10 power units in Classes 3-8 and maintain a satisfactory safety rating, if rated. Selection of innovators for recognition is at the sole discretion of CCJ's editorial staff. This year's award was announced and presented at the CCJ Innovators Summit, a networking event for current and prior-year CCJ Innovators held Feb. 7-9 in Key Largo, Fla. Representatives of the innovative trucking opera- tions updated one another on their initiatives. The CCJ Innovators program is sponsored by Cummins, Freightliner Trucks, Omnitracs and Shell Lubricants. For more information on the program and links to previously recognized CCJ Innovators or to fill out the online nomination form, go to www.ccjinnovators.com or contact Jeff Crissey, CCJ editor, at 205-248-1244. Werner's graduate hire rate from Roadmaster and AIT students has remained constant before and after the acquisitions at just under 40 percent.