28 Companies Attend 7th Nistevo Network Community Meeting
MINNEAPOLIS--July 2, 2001--Nistevo Corp., a leading provider of a Web-based Collaborative Logistics Network(SM), today announced its 7th Network Community Meeting attended by 28 of Nistevo's shipper and carrier member companies, including Church & Dwight, General Mills, Georgia-Pacific, Land O'Lakes, Seneca Foods, C.R. England and Dart Transport.
Shipper and carrier community members discussed issues affecting the transportation industry, reviewed antitrust guidelines and interacted with peers. The meeting took place in Minneapolis on June 19th and 20th.
New Member Orientation, Collaborative Sessions
The Community Meeting provided participants with a range of topics, including a breakout session where new Nistevo members, such as Seneca Foods, were led through a step-by-step process for building collaborative logistics strategies within their organizations, as well as a new member orientation session.
Through one-on-one demonstrations, Nistevo network members were also able to view the latest features of Nistevo's technology, such as robust contract management and exception management capabilities.
"As a new member, it was incredible to be part of a forum where major companies are coming together to make efficient logistical collaboration a reality," said Gene Schaetten, vice president of transportation for Seneca Foods. "Nistevo provides all the necessary tools to facilitate collaborative logistics, and the additional product features unveiled at the meeting will deliver immediate value to our logistics process."
Carrier Advisory Board Members Integrated With Shipper Members
Members of the Nistevo Carrier Advisory Board assembled during the Community Meeting to discuss the state of the trucking industry and measure charter activities identified at the board's last meeting. The board, which advises Nistevo on product functionality and collaborative practices that benefits the carrier community, includes representatives from 10 of the transportation industry's leading carriers.
Dedicated service, the concept of arranging continuous, scheduled truck tours with shipper customers, was presented as a key component to the trucking industry's future success. According to the meeting's survey, the attending shippers indicated that they plan to convert an average of 25 percent of their transportation use to dedicated service.
"Trucking bankruptcies are up almost 40 percent from five years ago and industry capacity is steadily decreasing," said Mike Bunnell, senior vice president of sales and marketing for C.R. England. "We see dedicated service as playing a major role in the future of profitable transportation services. Dedicated service not only helps carriers improve driver satisfaction and increase truck utilization, it also provides carriers with a fixed revenue stream."
Nistevo enables shippers to build collaborative tours, which helps the carrier convert available assets from over-the-road service to dedicated service. Therefore, shippers can reduce their logistics costs and improve customer service while the carrier can more efficiently use available assets and improve profit margins.
Antitrust and Collaborative Arrangements
A keynote address on antitrust and collaborative arrangements was delivered by William C. MacLeod from the law firm Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC. The presentation examined the intention of antitrust policy and the principal laws that apply to collaboration, while providing participants with some basic guidelines for business collaboration.
"Collaborative ventures are becoming a way of doing business today - and the government is applauding this effort to increase efficiencies, so long as companies adhere to the basic antitrust rules," said MacLeod. "As Nistevo's member base continues to grow and companies enter into more and more collaborative arrangements with one another, it is essential for them to be informed about antitrust and to employ sound guidelines. Nistevo has done an excellent job of guiding its members through this process to ensure they realize the bottom-line benefits of collaborative logistics."
A white paper examining the antitrust topic in detail will be released by Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC and Nistevo in July 2001.