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, serves more than 50,000 customers, and operates a network of over 91,000 employees in 1,444 locations across 32 countries.
XPO ranks as the second-largest provider of both freight brokerage and contract logistics services in the world. It has the largest owned trucking fleet in Europe, operates the largest platform for outsourced e-fulfillment, and in Western Europe is the leading provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) services. In North America, XPO is the second-largest LTL carrier, the largest manager of expedited shipments, the largest provider of last-mile logistics for heavy goods, and the third-largest intermodal provider.
XPO's corporate headquarters is located in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. Its European headquarters is in Lyon, France.
Video XPO Logistics
Operations
XPO Logistics operates on a global scale as a third-party provider of end-to-end goods management. Its supply chain operations encompass approximately 1.5% of the $1 trillion transportation and logistics industry, including 63 members of the Fortune 100, making XPO one of the 10 largest providers of these services in the world.
The company's physical assets include 10,000 53-foot rail containers, another 5,200 chassis for transporting those containers by road, and 16,000 tractors and 39,000 trailers to haul goods. It operates 440 cross-dock facilities to transfer freight from rail to road and back again, and 767 warehouses with 166 million square feet of space for e-commerce fulfillment; reverse logistics; omnichannel support; factory and aftermarket support; and integrated manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.
XPO obtained most of its physical assets by acquiring a variety of companies within the supply chain arena. Their diversity of 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. XPO makes additional capacity available to its customers through contracts covering 11,000 independently owned and operated trucks; and access to over one million brokered trucks supplied by approximately 50,000 independent carriers.
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.
Goods management
XPO Logistics provides end-to-end management through a variety of supply chain services, including contract logistics, freight brokerage, less-than-truckload transport, full truckload transport, last mile logistics, intermodal (rail) transport, drayage, expedited ground and air shipping, global freight forwarding, and managed transportation.
Contract logistics
XPO is the second-largest global provider of contract logistics: the management of other companies' transportation and logistics needs over the long term. Its services include omni-channel and e-commerce fulfillment of orders; warehousing and distribution; the handling of returned goods (reverse logistics); supply chain optimization; and managed transportation, including the transportation of hazardous or temperature-sensitive materials. It offers those services to companies in retail, e-commerce, high tech, aerospace, telecom, food and beverage, healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Freight brokerage
One of XPO's more prominent services in both North America and Europe 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 a custom platform (See § Technology, below.), market intelligence, and carrier rankings based on the amount and types of goods they move.
Less-than-truckload transport
XPO is one of the world's largest providers of less-than-truckload (LTL) transport: the trucking of pallets to different destinations by using a hub-and-spoke distribution system. The company is the largest LTL carrier in Europe and the second-largest in North America. Its network includes more next-day and two-day shipping lanes than any other North American provider.
In combination with XPO's other asset-heavy businesses, less-than-truckload transport represents approximately one third of the company's total revenue.
XPO employs over 12,500 LTL drivers, 890 of whom have driven between one and three million miles without accident. They have collectively accumulated over 1.1 billion accident-free miles.
Last mile logistics
Last mile, the delivery of bulky goods that aren't handled by parcel carriers, represents one of XPO's highest growth areas due to the goods' increased popularity online. XPO facilitates over 13 million deliveries a year through a network of 5,000 contracted drivers and installers.
Approximately 77% of the U.S. population lives within 125 miles of an XPO last mile delivery center. The company plans to increase its footprint to 85 locations, reaching 90% of the population by the end of 2018. Between this proximity and other XPO services such as contract logistics and LTL transport, the company hopes to reduce delivery times of large items from five or six days to just two, bringing them in line with regular parcel delivery.
Intermodal and drayage
XPO owns or leases 10,000 53-ft. intermodal boxes and 5,200 chassis to transport them by road. It operates a drayage network of 2,200 independent owner-operators, with access to over 25,000 additional trucks. XPO's intermodal and drayage businesses have run on a custom platform called Rail Optimizer since 2015.
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 high growth has been attributed to its engagement in e-commerce (which also encompasses reverse logistics) and arranging in-home delivery of bulky items. Retail/e-commerce is the company's largest end market, accounting for 26% of sales.
Maps XPO Logistics
Technology
XPO Logistics employs approximately 1,600 IT specialists and annually invests $425 million in technology, split between four areas:
- Warehouse automation: The company is building drones with RFID and OCR capabilities to handle inventory management.
- Tracking and visibility: Its last-mile tool allows retailers to see the state of product and lets customers track heavy-goods shipments.
- Logistics marketplaces: Its expedite bid system uses an automated web-based auction portal to match loads to carriers.
- Big data and machine learning: It employs over 100 big data scientists, and develops Freight Optimizer and Rail Optimizer, two cloud-based platforms that use data mining to predict prices and optimize the company's network.
History
XPO Logistics was founded in May 1989 by Michael Welch and Keith Avery as Express-1 (Express One) Expedited Solutions, which specialized in time-critical, high-value shipments. The company was purchased in August 2004 by Segmentz, Inc., a transportation firm that traded publicly as NYSE AMEX: SZI. 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.
In September 2011, American businessman Bradley Jacobs gained approximately 71 percent ownership in Express-1 when he led an investment of up to $150 million through his firm Jacobs Private Equity LLC, which is XPO's largest stockholder. 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. with the help of a job development investment grant awarded by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee.
On June 14, 2012, XPO Logistics listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
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.
On September 11, 2014, XPO announced an agreement with several investment organizations to channel $700 million into the company for future acquisitions. On June 1, 2015, a larger group of global investors agreed to funnel an additional $1.26 billion of equity into XPO.
In June 2016, XPO Logistics joined the Fortune 500 for the first time. One month later, XPO was named the Fortune 500's fastest-growing company.
In May 2017, XPO completed re-branding efforts in the wake of its 2015 purchase of Con-way (See § Acquisitions, below.), and announced it had improved the business's profit margins by over $200 million.
On June 9, 2017, XPO reached #191 on the Fortune 500.
Tour de France
XPO has handled logistics for the annual Tour de France bicycle race for the past 37 years. The company transports all official equipment used during the event, including podiums, barriers and gates, furniture, audiovisual equipment, sponsor merchandise, and marking paint. It also manages logistics for a Tour de France sister competition, the Tour de France à la voile yachting race.
Acquisitions
Since March 2012, XPO has acquired 17 companies through a combination of cash and stock transactions. According to the company, the goal of these acquisitions was to make XPO a one-stop shop for supply chain services across a variety of geographies and customer verticals.
A number of these acquisitions were significant for expanding XPO's role in various segments of the industry. They include:
- August 16, 2013: 3PD, Inc., the largest heavy goods home delivery provider in North America.
- December 28, 2013: National Logistics Management (a Landstar System business), North America's largest online manager of expedited shipments.
- 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.
- September 2, 2014: New Breed Logistics, a large U.S. provider of contract logistics solutions for blue chip customers.
- 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.
- 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.
In June 2017, after a period of consolidation within the company, CEO Bradley Jacobs announced plans to spend as much as $8 billion on new, asset-light acquisitions in North America and Western Europe. The investment would surpass the combined costs of XPO's two largest purchases, Norbert Dentressangle and Con-way. According to Jacobs, similar multi-billion dollar acquisitions would be easier to handle than in the past, although they will likely take a year or longer to complete. Deals for smaller purchases could be finalized within months.
Selected awards and recognition
Industry
- 2009 - 2010: National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council Expedited Carrier of the Year
- 2010: Inbound Logistics Top 100 Motor Freight Carrier
- 2012: Transport Topics Top 25 Freight Brokerage Firms
- 2016: Forbes Most Innovative Growth Companies, #17
- 2016: Forbes America's Best Employers, #263
- 2016: Logistics Management, Top 50 Trucking Companies
- 2017: Transport Topics #1, Top 50 Logistics Companies
- 2017: Fortune 500, #191
- 2017: Forbes Global 2000 Growth Champions, top performing U.S. company
Environment
- 2015: SmartWay Excellence Award for environmental improvement
- 2017: Inbound Logistics G75 Supply Chain Partner
See also
- Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (X)
- Economy of Connecticut
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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