For the first time, FreightWaves and its partner Convoy have recognized the manufacturers, distributers and retailers who 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.
Kellogg’s took home the first-place trophy in the awards after voting that was managed by Katz, Sapper & Miller to ensure a credible and independent process.
Nestle took home second place, followed by Walmart, Conagra and Home Depot.
Carrier members of the Truckload Carriers Association, along with members of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance, voted on the winners.
“Shippers who embrace best practices don’t just benefit carriers, they drive down costs across the market for all participants,” said Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves.
The Shipper of Choice is determined by a simple points system based on how each voter ranks the industry’s most innovative and/or disruptive companies. A company receives 25 points for each first place vote, 24 for second and so on through to the 25th company, which receives one point. The rankings are set by listing each company’s point totals from highest to lowest. The mathematical formula is the same as the one used for the Amway College Football Coaches Poll, the AP Pro32 rankings and the AP Top 25 rankings for men’s and women’s college basketball.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
- Kellogg Company – 1st
- Nestlé – 2nd
- Walmart – 3rd
- Conagra Brands– 4th
- Home Depot – 5th
- Schreiber Foods – 6th
- The Campbell Soup Company – 7th
- The Kraft Heinz Company – 8th
- UPS Freight – 9th
- General Mills, Inc. – 10th
- Land O’ Lakes, Inc. – 11th
- PepsiCo, Inc. – 12th
- Niagara Bottling, LLC – 13th
- McCormick & Company – 14th (tie
- TreeHouse Foods, Inc. – 14th (tie)
- The Coca–Cola Company – 16th
- The Hershey Company – 17th (tie)
- Shaw Industries – 17th (tie)
- Georgia Pacific – 19th (tie)
- Morton Salt, Inc. – 19th (tie)
- Target Corporation – 21st
- Smithfield Foods, Inc. – 22nd (tie)
- Unilever, USA. – 22nd (tie)
- American Foods Group – 24th
- The J.M. Smucker Company – 25th
Grant Goodale, co-founder and chief technology officer of Convoy, remarked on why having shippers of choice as customers is so important to Convoy.
“The big reason for us is that we’ve seen the impact that shipper of choice can have on our shipper partners,” Goodale said. “The difference between being a shipper of choice and not is material, even when the market isn’t tight.”
Goodale said that shippers that have worked with Convoy’s Innovation Lab to remove waste and inefficiencies from their networks have seen significant reductions in their transportation costs. Waiakea, a high-growth beverage company based in Hawaii, cut its freight costs by 40%.
“Carriers have long memories, they talk to each other, they know who treats them well and who does not,” Goodale said. “Our goal is endless capacity and zero waste, and the only way we get to that goal is if everyone has respect for each other and everyone’s needs are being met.”
