C.H. Robinson CEO Wiehoff champions collaboration, flexibility
The key to prospering is collaborating with supply chain partners and being responsive to the inevitable volatility that comes with moving freight, said John Wiehoff, C.H. Robinson president and chief executive officer, at the Intermodal Association of North America/National Industrial Transportation League Intermodal conference in Anaheim Monday.
'Faster change is requiring integrated relationships for customers and carriers,' he said. 'When the world starts to move, you need to be tied together. Volatility means you have to have redundancies, flexibility, backup plans and alternative solutions.'
Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Wiehoff said C.H. Robinson, a leading third-party logistics company, has grown its profits by a greater percentage this year than any of the past 99. He attributed the growth of 3PLs, among other things, to their ability to invest in superior information technology systems that companies that must maintain physical assets can't invest in.
Wiehoff said the 3PL market touches about 10 percent of the total value of U.S. supply chains, or about $85 billion, and that that share will likely grow significantly.
'Wall Street, which controls the capital, sees the industry moving this way,' he said.