DOWNERS GROVE, IL and ATLANTA, GA -- February 25, 2003 -- Hub Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUBG) and Velant, Inc. have announced a strategic alliance to provide a seamless transportation planning and execution program for their private fleet clients. Hub Group and Velant will share responsibilities for delivering and managing this joint service.
Hub Group, headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, is a leading non-asset based third party logistics provider (3PL) and Velant, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a high-tech provider of premium transportation planning solutions. The alliance combines Hub Group's long history of transportation operations expertise with Velant's next-generation optimization technology. Together, Hub and Velant will provide clients an end-to-end managed service that will dramatically cut transportation costs and increase operational control through optimized planning and execution of their transportation operations.
"We are very pleased to announce this significant joint program with Velant," said Mark Yeager, President of Field Operations for Hub Group. "While Hub has other IT initiatives in place, Velant's technology provides us with a unique fleet route optimization tool that will greatly enhance our ability to serve clients, by delivering to them greater transportation equipment utilization, improved performance reporting, and ultimately, reduced supply chain costs. This partnership creates a valuable new transportation optimization service for the clients of both companies by blending next-generation technology with the operational asset management expertise that Hub brings to the table."
Under the agreement, Velant will work closely with Hub Group's Supply Chain Solutions operation to integrate its unique Transportation Management Center (TMC) solution with both Hub Group operations and each end client to provide a fully-integrated managed service. Order and shipment data for each client will be automatically transferred to the Velant TMC, typically on a daily basis. The Velant solution will generate an optimized plan of loads, routes, and schedules based on that day's orders and automatically transmit this plan electronically to Hub Group and client logistics specialists. From there, Hub Group specialists take responsibility for execution, exception-management, tracking, and other critical operational functions for the client.
"We feel that the world-class operations experience that Hub Group is known for is an excellent complement to Velant's best-of-breed transportation optimization technology," said Don Ratliff, President and CEO of Velant. "Clients of our joint solution will enjoy tremendous benefits, including dramatic transportation cost reduction, greater control over transportation operations, and the freedom for client personnel to manage core business and strategy challenges while Velant and Hub handle technology and execution issues. We are excited to be working with the Hub team to offer this combination of operational expertise and next-generation technology."
"When manufacturers and retailers outsource, they expect their service providers to offer best-in-class people and technology. It's the combination of these two factors that ultimately defines a successful partnership," notes ARC Advisory Group Director Adrian Gonzalez. "This alliance between Hub Group and Velant points to a growing trend in the industry, namely the integration of managed services from complimentary providers in order to enable a complete, cost-efficient, and timely solution."