newsworthy
BNSF Logistics poised
to forge own identity
AFTER NEARLY A DECADE OF WORKING IN THE SHADOWS
of its more visible railroad parent, BNSF Logistics is preparing a
coming out party of its own.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based third-party logistics service
provider (3PL), an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of
BNSF Railway, is embarking on an aggressive strategy of organic
growth and acquisitions that its chief predicted will catapult it
from a company with about $350 million in revenues to one whose
top-line is measured in the billions.
“I will be disappointed if we can’t turn this into a billion dollar
company, and something well beyond that,” said Raymond B.
Greer, a logistics industry veteran who held top jobs at FedEx
Corp. and Ryder Integrated Logistics and served as CEO of contract carriage provider and 3PL Greatwide Logistics Services until
In a July 26 interview with DC
VELOCITY, Greer said one of BNSF
Logistics’ key objectives will be to integrate all types of rail service—not just intermodal—into its value
proposition for customers. “Anyone can talk about doing import
and export, or do truckload and LTL. But few have developed a
core competency of incorporating [all] rail as an alternative mode
in the solution. That’s our core competency,” he said.
Greer said one of BNSF’s target markets will be customers who
spend broadly across the transport modes but don’t have an intimate knowledge of how to work with the rail infrastructure to get
the most out of rail service. The unit’s acquisition strategy is
designed in part to beef up its rail capabilities, which, to this point,
have not been developed to levels Greer said are needed to accommodate future demand for the company’s services.
Greer would not comment on specific acquisitions but said the
railroad and ocean sectors would be the likely focal points of any
buy-out activity. Toward that end, BNSF Logistics has hired
Richard M. Metzler, another long-time transport logistics executive, who will serve as a consultant and oversee M&A matters along
with Greer and the three other members of BNSF Logistics’ board.
Despite its ownership structure, BNSF Logistics is and will
remain “rail-neutral,” Greer said. It relies on all of the country’s
railroads because a customer’s situation may demand a national
solution and there is no national railroad, he added. p. 18
Estevez sworn in for top
military logistics post
Alan F. Estevez has been sworn in as assistant secretary of defense (logistics and
materiel readiness), becoming the first
career federal government official to
hold what is one of the military’s top
logistics posts.
Estevez was sworn in Aug. 8, six days
after the Senate confirmed his nomination. In his new role, he will manage
logistics policy and processes to support
war-fighter operations in various military
theaters, and help oversee the
Pentagon’s $190 billion-a-year logistics
budget.
In March, President Obama announced
that he had tapped Estevez as his nominee for the position. Historically, an outsider from the private sector has held the
job.
Estevez had been principal deputy
assistant secretary of defense (logistics
and materiel readiness). In that role, he
was responsible for ensuring open supply
lines to U.S. military and civilian support
anywhere in the world. He also helped
coordinate the logistics behind the military’s drawdown in Iraq and buildup in
Afghanistan.
Estevez was named by DC VELOCITY as
one of its 2004 “Rainmakers” and was
also profiled as a “Thought Leader” in
the magazine’s August 2010 edition. ;
—M.S.
