by Fronetics | Jan 12, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
LinkedIn is a must for companies and for professionals.
Profiles, company pages, and LinkedIn groups each serve a purpose, and each are tools which can be used and leveraged by both companies and individuals. With more than 3 million company pages, more than 332 million users (and with an average of 2 users joining every second), and close to 2 million LinkedIn groups determining “the best” can be challenging.
In December 2014 Fronetics Strategic Advisors conducted a survey to learn which LinkedIn company pages and LinkedIn groups are the favorites within the logistics and supply chain industries. The results are in.
LinkedIn company pages
Cerasis is a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker. The company consistently distributes valuable industry content via their LinkedIn page.
Note: Cerasis was also named the best blog of the logistics and supply chain industries.
Quintiq’s vision is to transform the world’s supply chains. One way the company does this is through their LinkedIn company page. The company’s LinkedIn page is updated regularly with content that is valuable and relevant to the logistics and supply chain industries.
Quintiq also uses LinkedIn to attract and identify new talent. There are currently 12 open positions posted via LinkedIn.
Note: Quintiq was also named a “must-follow Twitter account for those within the logistics ans supply chain industries.”
Transplace is a North American 3PL and technology company committed to helping manufacturers, retailers and distributors reduce costs and improve service. The company’s LinkedIn page is a wealth of information for those within the logistics and supply chain industries.
C.H. Robinson is one of the world’s largest 3PL providers. The company provides freight transportation and logistics, outsource solutions, produce sourcing, and information services to over 45,000 customers through a network of offices in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
The company’s LinkedIn page is a great resource of industry news and insight.
The Apparel Logistics Group, (a division of The Apparel Group Ltd.) provides the fashion and apparel industry with 3PL services . The Apparel Logistics Group offers a wide variety of logistics services and solutions to support customer needs world wide. The company’s apparel services include transportation management, warehousing and distribution, customs clearance management, vendor managed inventory (VMI) programs, and technical support such as EDI.
LinkedIn groups
Procurement Professionals is an open networking group. The group has more than 290,000 members and is one of the best and largest international networking group for all executives, directors, CFO’s, CPO’s, VP’s, procurement professionals, head hunters, job seekers, recruiters, consultants, financial managers, supply chain and sourcing specialists, and buyers and purchasers.
The Supply Chain Optimization Group is a global community, uniting all Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Warehouse, Scorecard, SCOR, Auditors, Continuous Improvement experts, Management Consultants, Program Managers, Executives, Business Owners, Students, Professors, and Engineers.
The group is a central hub for authors books, articles, white papers, podcasts, blogs, events and conferences. Consultants, and thought leaders are visiting regularly to support members in projects, productivity, training, skills development, coaching, mentoring, financials, statistical software, simulation, teams, organizational development, and more.
The Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) is a collaboration between supply chain partners, including manufacturers, poolers, distributors, retailers, educators, and policymakers, to promote the environmental, safety, and economic benefits of reusable packaging.
The RPA leverages its collective voice of industry leading knowledge to advance the adoption of reusable packaging by clearly demonstrating supply chain efficiencies, environmental benefits, ergonomic improvements, and cost advantages to end users in all industries.
The LinkedIn group is a private group.
by Fronetics | Jan 8, 2015 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
Social media is driving a business revolution. Companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are beginning to take part in the revolution. Companies within the logistics and supply chain industry are adopting social media as a business strategy – and reaping positive results.
In December 2014 Fronetics Strategic Advisors conducted a survey to learn which industry blog is your favorite. The results are in.
The number one blog within the logistics and supply chain industries is: Cerasis
As a third party logistics company, the Cerasis mission is to decrease freight management inefficiencies and to provide maximum hard and soft cost savings for our customers in the process of shipping LTL (less than truckload) or truckload freight and small package freight by providing logistics solutions through our powerful and proprietary web-based proprietary transportation management system, the Cerasis Rater, and integrated managed transportation services.
The Cerasis blog is a wealth of information for those within the supply chain and logistics industries. The blog covers industry trends, educates, explains rules and regulations, busts myths, and has awesome infographics.
Other valued industry blogs include:
![The Santa Supply Chain [Infographic]](https://fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Santa-Supply-Chain-Infographic-799x675.png)
by Fronetics | Dec 2, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
“Gartner likes to publish the Top 25 Supply Chains every year. Unfortunately, there’s one supply chain the esteemed analyst firm continues to overlook. And it just so happens to be the greatest supply chain success story of all time. I’m talking about The Santa Claus Supply Chain.”
Richard Howell’s 2011 article proposing that Santa’s Supply Chain is superior to those on Gartner’s list leaves little room for argument. Let’s be honest, is there another supply chain that can (using just one sleigh) deliver orders to 822 homes per second and has a:
- Committed workforce with a 0% turnover rate (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen are loyal and long-serving);
- 100% order rating; and
- 100% on-time delivery?
I think not.
Check out Howell’s article for more interesting facts, and our Santa Supply Chain infographic for holiday fun.
by Fronetics | Nov 18, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing
Cerasis is a top North American third party logistics company offering logistics solutions with a strong focus on LTL freight management. In 2012 the company decided to move from a traditional approach to marketing (ads in print publications and a heavy reliance on referrals) to a digital strategy – inbound marketing.
Within 25 months:
- Visits to the Cerasis website increased by 1,141%;
- Visits to the company blog increased from zero to 46,404;
- Traffic driven by social media increased by 376,150%;
- Organic traffic increased by 4,066%.
Moreover, Cerasis gained 715 leads. Fourteen percent of these leads converted to customers. The 98 new customers Cerasis gained through their inbound marketing efforts generated a 14% increase in revenue.
To learn more about Cerasis’ approach to inbound marketing and for more results, download the case study: 3PL company Cerasis acquires 98 customers through inbound marketing.
by Fronetics | Nov 13, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Founded in 1997, Cerasis is a top North American third party logistics company offering logistics solutions with a strong focus on LTL freight management. For 15 years the company utilized traditional marketing strategies – placing ads in glossy industry publications (print) and relying heavily on referrals. This strategy was effective. The company acquired new customers, retained current customer, and realized positive growth. However, Cerasis was not attracting larger and more sophisticated shippers, and brand awareness was low. Moreover, Cerasis was not perceived as a leader within the industry. The company recognized that in order to catch the attention of their preferred customers, increase brand awareness, and be perceived as a leader within the industry they needed to make substantial changes to their marketing strategy. To overcome these challenges Cerasis decided to shift from their traditional approach to an inbound marketing strategy.
Strategy matters
Understanding that strategy is critical to success, Cerasis took the time to put a strategy in place. Taking a research-based approach to strategy development, Cerasis studied internal company data, trends, and metrics and conducted market research. Using this information Cerasis determined the type of messaging it wanted to share, identified their target audience (buyer persona), and identified the platforms it felt would be the most effective.
Adam Robinson, Director of Marketing at Cerasis, notes that the company took a measured approach:
“Once we had a strategy in place we needed to execute it. We started simply – we posted one piece of content each day.”
Revenue matters
Cerasis’ strategy paid off. Within 25 months Cerasis realized a 14% increase in revenue. This increase was directly attributable to inbound marketing. In addition this stream of revenue, the company’s sales team was able to generate revenue totaling $20 million during this period – more than double the previous two years combined. This can also be linked to the company’s inbound marketing efforts as they increased the company’s brand awareness and positioned Cerasis as a leader within the industry.
To learn more about Cerasis’s approach to inbound marketing and the results realized, download the case study: 3PL Cerasis acquires 98 new customers through inbound marketing.
