Presented by FreightWaves, in partnership with TriumphPay, the Shipper of Choice award recognizes the manufacturers, distributors and retailers that do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities and understanding what it takes to remove inefficiencies from the supply chain.
Among the top 25 Shippers of Choice for 2021 is . . . Tractor Supply Co.
About Tractor Supply Co.
| NASDAQ | TSCO |
| Headquarters | Brentwood, Tennessee |
| 2021 revenue | $12.73 billion |
| 2021 net income | $997.1 million |
| Shipper of Choice history | First appearance |
Tractor Supply Co. was founded by Charles E. Schmidt Sr., who established a mail-order tractor parts business from his kitchen table at his home in Chicago in 1938. Today, the company has more than 2,000 stores in 49 states and is one of the largest operators of rural lifestyle retail stores in the United States.
Tractor Supply’s philosophy on logistics and transportation is centered around trusting a core group of transportation providers, said Erick Osburn, the company’s vice president of transportation.
“Our philosophy at TSC is to create long-term strategic partnerships with our carriers,” Osburn told FreightWaves. “We keep the size of our network compact and offer core carriers who have performed well over time the opportunity to grow with us. We do not bid our entire network every year — we prefer to keep incumbent carriers in place when service is strong and pricing is in line with the market. We have found this philosophy to be mutually beneficial and appreciated by our partners.”
This year’s Shipper of Choice award winners were chosen out of nearly 400 companies nominated by FreightWaves readers on social media.
Nominees for Shipper of Choice completed a survey addressing operational data, including dwell times, overages/shortages and damages, hours of operation, communication protocols and facility attributes, including the availability of showers, bathrooms and break rooms for drivers.
“Tractor Supply Co. makes every effort to keep drivers driving by minimizing wait times at our distribution centers and stores,” Osburn said. “We regularly review and update our processes and signage to make getting in and out of our distribution centers as efficient as possible.”
Osburn said stores are always ready “for their freight and can usually have a trailer unloaded in under an hour and the drivers do not need to assist with the unload.”
He added, “We have also shared the importance of providing a great experience for truck drivers with our entire vendor base since they are an extension of our brand.”
Tractor Supply also provides driver-friendly facilities, such as restrooms.
“Each distribution center and store has its own spin on driver-friendly facilities and amenities, but drivers are always welcome to use our restrooms, grab a coffee or snack for themselves and can almost always count on a treat for their four-legged co-pilots when in tow,” Osburn said. “We are the Tractor Supply Co. after all.”
Tractor Supply sells up to 20,000 products at each of its retail locations, everything from work and recreational clothing to lawn and garden tools, home goods, fencing, truck beds, chicken coops, pet food, and feed for farm animals.
With such a diverse product range, shipments can come at different times of day and night. Keeping flexible hours for carriers to complete their shipments is a key focus, Osburn said.
“Our distribution center yards and operations are open 24/7,” Osburn said. “We have worked with many of our vendors to support night and weekend pickups and operations as well.”
At each Tractor Supply distribution center location, truck parking solutions vary based on physical limitations, but newer locations should include more parking for tractor-trailers.
“The company is in the process of opening three new distribution centers over the next 36 months and each will contemplate parking and amenities for our drivers to use while on-site,” Osburn said.
About Shipper of Choice Partner TriumphPay
TriumphPay is the transportation industry’s premier payment network trusted by leading shippers, brokers, factors and carriers. Our innovative and highly automated FinTech payment solution brings cost savings and efficiencies to antiquated transportation payment processes for network participants. Integrated financing options leverage the strength of our parent bank and can provide liquidity and cash flow visibility.
TriumphPay is a division of TBK Bank, SSB, Member FDIC, and a member of the Triumph Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: TBK) group.
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