Happy Thanksgiving
We are so thankful for our employees, customers & partners. Have a happy & safe Thanksgiving! Our U.S. offices will be closed Nov. 25-26.
Introducing Logistics Plus South Africa
Logistics Plus South Africa (aka LP South Africa) officially opened in June 2021. The LP South Africa office will primarily focus on moving high-value products from the United States and the United Kingdom to the most challenging countries worldwide. Several Fortune 500 clients rely on Logistics Plus for shipping high-value equipment around the globe, and this region is a critical piece to the puzzle. Logistics Plus helps organizations meet vital project deadlines by taking advantage of our import, export, and local delivery services and sourcing and procurement.
Logistics Plus COO Yuriy Ostapyak commented on the opening of yet another global office. “Logistics Plus continues to remove the uncertainties of global shipping by having 
operations in the most complex countries. The new South African office can move critical products virtually anywhere globally as part of the growing Logistics Plus global network.”
Meet Clinton Barendse
Clinton Barendse
Clinton Barendse is the Director of LP South Africa. Clinton completed his first IT diploma (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) in 2000 at the age of 19. He then left South Africa to start his career in the UK as a junior field engineer that same year. Twenty years later, after moving to multiple countries and holding various positions, Clinton joined Logistics Plus to open up a South Africa office. Clinton said, “To deliver a competitive and reliable service, we need to take a global approach by removing the ‘smoke and mirrors.’ Adding this new office and having boots on the ground in some of the most complex countries enables us to take control of the entire shipping process from start to finish.”
Clinton also shared the following about himself:
- I’m a highly motivated and dedicated person. NO does not exist to me. I will always try to find a solution.
- I enjoy the outdoors. Camping, fishing, hunting, and various sports (mostly golf and karate).
- I am a dad and acting step-dad to four incredible children. I would not be able to do what I do if it wasn’t for my amazing ‘other half.’
- You can connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/clintonbarendse.
Rugby Sponsorship
As a fan of sports and community involvement, Clinton opted to sponsor a local kids’ rugby team. The primary schools in his province are currently hosting multiple rugby events, which more than 20 schools attend. Clinton noted that it was important for LP South Africa to get involved in the community to support the kids and spread the word about our new office.
Please email [email protected] for any South African supply chain needs. We thank you for all current business and future opportunities, and we look forward to assisting you.
From Political Activist Truck Driver to Global 3PL Entrepreneur
Looking for an interesting company and CEO? How about this story about a political activist truck driver who became a successful global 3PL entrepreneur?
Logistics Plus Inc. was founded in 1996 by Jim Berlin, a former truck driver/political activist turned entrepreneur and our current CEO. Jim created Logistics Plus on nothing more than a 1-year purchase order from GE. Today, as we enter our 28th year of business, we have over 1,200 global employees, and we have grown every year except one with global revenues that now surpass $600M.
With Jim’s leadership, we continue to adapt and evolve as the world keeps changing. During the pandemic, when traditional business was down, we leveraged our global connections to source, warehouse, and distribute over 12 million pieces of PPE to organizations in need (much of it donated more recently). We have raised over $1M for relief efforts in Ukraine and have doubled down on rebuilding efforts by acquiring an in-country Ukrainian logistics firm, expanding our presence in the country to over 70 employees.
As a result of these activities and more, Logistics Plus has tripled in size in the last seven years, won four consecutive Inc. 5000 private company growth awards, been certified a Great Place to Work for five consecutive years, and been named twice top 100 medium workplace by Fortune magazine. Inc. magazine also named Logistics Plus to its “Editors’ List” as one of twelve companies that created a great work environment during a pandemic. Top media outlets have named us a leading 3PL within the industry.
How’s this all possible? In large part due to the vision of our CEO, Jim Berlin, to evolve, adapt, and re-focus our company into new areas (we’re as much a technology company today as we are a logistics company) – all without a business plan (except for ‘growth’) or an organization chart. Even as we have grown, we have remained highly diverse in age, gender, race, and tenure. Our proudest symbol of diversity is our global headquarters in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Berlin purchased the historic train station in 2003, a dilapidated building in a troubled rust-belt city, then renovated it and turned it into a beacon of pride for Erie kicking off a renaissance of new development. On top of this building, we fly flags from 50 different countries – each one representing the nationality of one of our employees or a place where we do business.
Though no longer a fire-breathing revolutionary, Jim believes that he is helping to bring about some of the goals he fought for so long ago as a political activist in the early 1970s: an end to racism and sexism in employee hiring, the abolition or attenuation of workplace hierarchies, an attempt to end the blight of inner-city neighborhoods, the expansion of opportunities for minorities, the amelioration of poverty’s impact, and so on. Even if his methods are different (and trust me, they are), these are meaningful changes. His impact has spread to employees, their families, and the local community and positively affects the future of them all. Many employees openly express their gratitude to Jim for the opportunities he’s provided them. Women are proud to use the word “career” because they had always thought one was outside their realm of possibility; young men are relieved to know that if they leave their hometown and family and friends, it’ll be because they want to, not because they have to; working-class millennials, many without college degrees, being rewarded for what they do rather than the credentials they hold; people still in their twenties and early thirties buying their own homes. Mr. Berlin’s political revolution failed. But his business revolution may be long-lived. Not bad for a former truck driver and political activist.
Not bad for a former truck driver and political activist (and purported dancing partner of Angela Davis).
Let me know if you are interested in our story and an interview with Jim, or if there are any questions we can answer or topics we can address for your publication.
Thank you,
Scott G. Frederick
CMO & LTL Carrier Relations
Logistics Plus Inc.
814.240.6881 phone
330.304.5030 mobile
[email protected]
Inventory: 2nd Shift Supervisor – Ontario, California
Job Title: Inventory 2nd Shift Supervisor
Where: Inventory Bays in Ontario, California
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Family: Inventory & Warehousing
Description:
An Inventory Supervisor will investigate identified inventory discrepancies, consolidate bays to group products together and create free bays for new products, finalize outbound loading of late arriving carriers, finalize put-aways that were not completed during the day, and facilitate safety audits.
You Must:
- Use CargoWise for Stocktake functionality.
- Utilize CargoWise to identify prior transfers, adjustments, outbounds, or inbounds of material.
- Update CargoWise to show bay movements to keep accurate inventory locations and amounts.
- Notify WeWork Warehouse Operations Manager of excessive inventory issues and disorganization within bays due to staff negligence (Identify and resolve root causes)
- Ensure bays are in proper order:
- Partials in front
- Location labels are visible and scannable
- High pile storage areas are safely stacked
Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: Logistics Plus is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Interested candidates can send a cover letter and resume to:
Tom Kelly (Regional Director of Warehousing)
[email protected]
Logistics Plus Hand-Delivers Critical Shipments to Puerto Rico
Like most logistics companies right now, Logistics Plus (LP) is not immune to the challenges and tribulations of getting shipments delivered to the hurricane impacted island of Puerto Rico. However, true to LP form, our team continues to work tirelessly to “make it happen” when our customers come calling. One such customer, Amphenol – one of the largest manufacturers of interconnect products in the world – came to us immediately after Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean to see if we could help deliver a satellite phone from St. Marys, PA to its Añasco, Puerto Rico manufacturing facility. The facility had virtually no power and had lost all communications, and the satellite phone would be its lifeline to the outside world. Since LP already provides dedicated transportation and compliance services to Amphenol, it was only natural they should turn to us for this critical shipment.
Rosy Trevino, the LP logistics and compliance specialist dedicated to Amphenol, immediately recruited Libby O’Hara from the LP North American transportation team. Together, working day and night (and through the weekend) they found a personal courier who would then hand-carry and deliver the satellite phone to Añasco, Puerto Rico. Since no cargo planes were flying to or from Puerto Rico, the courier was booked on a passenger flight – one of only a few allowed to land in Puerto Rico. Upon landing, the courier had to rent a car and then drive three hours west of the airport – through hurricane ravaged areas – to finally deliver the shipment. In the end, the satellite phone was delivered in just two days after the hurricane hit, allowing the local Amphenol facility to resume communications with customers and suppliers.
In the subsequent days that followed, Rosy and Libby arranged for additional deliveries of critical manufacturing components, including two packages of parts from California and 30 packages from Michigan – both shipments hand-delivered to Puerto Rico via personal courier services arranged by the LP team! Additionally, we continue to work relentlessly to get more shipments to the Amphenol facility in Añasco, Puerto Rico, including an ocean container from China that was initially re-routed to Jamaica but will finally deliver today.
A big thank you to Rosy and Libby and the rest of the LP team that has worked behind the scenes to support this important customer and their critical shipments going into Puerto Rico. Your passion for excellence has not gone unnoticed!
Logistics Plus Middle East and Africa Updates
The Logistics Plus (LP) Middle East and Africa offices continue to enjoy fast growth and success within the region. Here are some updates from the LP team operating within this important area of the world.
Logistics Plus Dubai (UAE)
- LP Dubai primary team members: Suchit Sehgal, Siew Hua, Anjali Malik, Dhanraj Naidu, Ramesh Reddy, Reuben Alphonse, and Ronan Yuchitcho.
- Handling 100% of refurbished engine shipments for major power company. Additional shipments for Rwanda plant to begin Q3 2017.
- Moving shipments from UK, China and Germany to the Middle East for worldwide office furniture manufacturer. Quoting additional warehousing operations in Jebel and Dubai.
- Moved first shipment for a major painting and coatings manufacturer. Multiple more shipments are in the pipeline with support from LP Turkey.
- Moving shipments for cement company with plant located in Ras al-Khaimah.
- Bidding on multiple power transmission projects in Malawi and Ethiopia for major global power company.
- Moving agricultural company shipments from Ethiopia to Middle East with opportunity for 30-50 containers per month.
Logistics Plus Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
- LP Jeddah primary team members: Raza Rizvi, Bakar Jafar, Omar Khalid, and Imran Ramzan.
- Handling over 1,000 40′ HC containers per month for major electric company.
- Secured small contract to support logistics for a marine cargo company.
- Hotel project in Saudi Arabia for a prominent leader in the agribusiness.
- Working with an association partner to move regular shipments from Saudi Arabia to UAE.
- Bidding on multiple projects in Dammam and Rabigh in support of local freight forwarder.
Logistics Plus East Africa (EA)
- LP Uganda primary team member: Julius Nyaika
- Bidding and handling various tenders for the United Nations (UN).
- Making in-roads with various companies in the oil and gas industry.
- Moving animal feed to and within Sudan in conjunction with a regional airport operator.
- Bidding on multiple projects in Kenya and Uganda in support of a major transport and logistics operator.
- Working with a Chinese petroleum company on multiple projects in East Africa.
Do you have supply chain or logistics needs in the Middle East or Africa? If yes, contact us and let our global experts go to work for you. Click the button below to complete our online inquiry form, or email [email protected] – our general manager for the Middle East and Africa
