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Customer Highlight

GP Transco & PaperWorks: a Case Study

$5,200,000+

of business year to date

Over 8,500

PaperWorks loads are hauled by GP Transco annually

98.7%

Is the on-time delivery rate of all loads year to date

Over 50%

of all PaperWorks products are hauled by GP Transco

Meet GP Transco

GP Transco is a trucking and logistics company headquartered just outside of Chicago, with over 600 drivers operating across the lower 48 states. The business is driven on building a culture centered on safety, people, technology, and earth.

  • Safety – GP Transco believes Safety is more than simply following Federal, State and Local laws and regulations. It is about continuing to build a culture in which everyone chooses to work and drive safely and are appropriately trained and recognized for doing so.

  • People – Being highly selective when it comes to hiring office staff and professional truck drivers. In fact, as of June 2022, the average experience of GP Transco’s driver fleet is over 13 years. Just as they have elevated expectations for their drivers, their office staff is also held to an extremely high standard. Performance evaluations are performed quarterly to provide feedback and to provide a forum for open communications regarding the employee's level of performance and progress and to ensure the exacting standards are maintained.

  • Technology - Since GP Transco’s early days, it was clear to the founders that technology would play a key role in differentiating GP Transco from hundreds of thousands of competitors. When GP Transco’s doors opened over 16 years ago, the industry still relied heavily on paper transactions and other antiquated methods of operations. The company founders came to the industry with different career backgrounds, having worked in industries that relied heavily on investing in modern technology.

  • Earth - GP Transco is dedicated to minimizing its carbon footprint in ways ranging from custom-ordered trucks built to specific efficiency standards, ensuring that their in-house fleet maintenance facility is using the latest technologies and most environmentally friendly fluids and chemicals.

"During the 2021 era of COVID, trucking rates went through the roof, and there was a lot of high-cost brokerage activity, and GP didn't gouge. They kept their service, and they kept their rates normal. It showed strong partnership and dedication to our business model, and never forget that that's for sure. So, I hope GP will be here for a long time.”​
 
-Jeff Rusett, Director of Logistics & Fiber Strategies at PaperWorks

GP Transco + PaperWorks

PaperWorks and GP Transco’s partnership began in 2018 and has grown year over year with 2023 showing continued growth with over 3,000 loads hauled, over $5.2 millions dollars spent and with GP Transco accounting for 50% of PaperWorks' carrier coverage in their network of 5 locations with an over 98% on-time delivery score year-to-date up to this point. “I would say that GP does 50% to 52% of our business. It's about 8,500 loads a year. They're hauling for PaperWorks branches from Nebraska all the way to New York State over to Massachusetts. Almost coast to coast for us, for sure” Russett states.

“So, I've been working with GP Transco for about four years now. We started small. I was really looking for a mid-sized carrier to jump in, look at our business, and become a dedicated carrier on the US side. So, I opened our book of business, showed GP, and the rest is history” Russett added. “We tried large national carriers but found that bigger isn't always better. They struggled with service and communication, and we do like the small one-two truck carriers; they're great, but really what we're looking for is that mid-sized carrier, and GP Transco was the fit. The communication was strong with GP Transco, the equipment was good, and the drivers are next level. We're noticing that dealing with GP Transco certainly has benefits that way” Russett stated.

“Live shipment tracking typically ranks tops, but customers also favor OpenRoad’s geofence-driven status updates, HOS information sharing and shipment delay prediction”.
-Sergey Bort, GP Transco's VP of Marketing & Strategy

“My Canadian operations, I've got some long-term relationships, I was looking for the same thing in the US, and so far, four years into it, GP Transco has certainly become that partner, committed, dedicated to what we need. Very rarely do they turn down an option for a load. What I like about GP Transco or other strong carriers is to reach out and be proactive. If you're running behind, if the weather is bad, let us know before you fail, and GP is good at that. GP Transco’s on-time scorer is very good at around 98.7% with hardly any cargo claims or accidents” Russett continued.

“Ever since GP Transco started running dedicated lanes, we have looked for partners who would work and grow our business together. Working through various obstacles that face our industry with Stacey and Jeff, it was clear to see that they invest in the future and want to build a relationship. It is truly great to see a shipper that understands driver needs and is willing to have a dialogue for problem resolution”, Darius Diemintas, Senior Account Manager, responsible for PaperWorks at GP Transco.

“I think the dispatch and my Account Manager Darius Diemintas, of course, were the main keys in the relationship between GP Transco and PaperWorks. I kind of describe our operation like a hub and spoke. Our Wabash location is the hub, and the loads go out the spokes, to the packaging plants, then we reload from the plants back to other locations with scrap or finished goods. GP Transco’s dropped trailer set ups were very helpful. This allows drivers to drop and hook and save time wasted unloading and reloading at times. Also, very little empty miles on reloads. Drivers were allowed to sleep at our locations too. I think most of the GP Transco drivers are accepted well at our docks, whether receiving or shipping a load. They seem to have good skills, good abilities, and their transit times over the road are top-notch. I could see PaperWorks working with GP Transco for many years to come”, Jeff stated.

GP Transco prides itself on investing in top-of-the-line equipment, which leads to outstanding fuel savings and dramatically reduces its environmental footprint. It all starts with the Freightliner Cascadia - a highly advanced semi-truck, which makes up much of their fleet. The truck's aerodynamic features allow for a significant reduction in drag, which saves fuel and reduces emissions. Automatic tire inflation system (ATIS) on all trailers ensures proper tire pressure is achieved, leading to better fuel efficiency. Working with partners such as Samsara allows GP Transco to precisely track the consumption of fuel and utilizing an in-house transportation management system (OpenRoad TMS) gives them the ability to route their trucks and drivers in the most fuel-efficient manner possible. The company’s Fuel Utilization Efficiency Leaders (FUEL) program for drivers encourages their fleet to drive in the most efficient way possible and rewards them for it. These are only some of the investments that GP Transco has made over the years to become a much greener carrier in the industry.

GP Transco began in 2006 as a small motor carrier but has since grown to include a maintenance department, brokerage division, and even a custom-built TMS. With nearly 18 years of experience in the industry, GP Transco has also expanded to 518 drivers, 520 tractors, and 861 trailers across the lower United States. The company prides themselves on their rate of innovation, leveraging new technologies to create a better experience for their drivers and customers while also improving their operations.

GP Transco’s strategic partnerships with companies such as SamsaraLove’s, the Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)Smart-TruckingFreightWaves, and Freightliner (just to name a few) create a seamless operation where each part has a unique, highly important purpose for their customers, drivers, and office staff. The company thinks long and hard when determining which organizations and vendors to work with and understand the importance of not settling for outdated trucking industry practices.

GP Transco is highly selective when it comes to hiring office staff and professional truck drivers. In fact, as of June 2023, the average experience of their driver fleet is over 13 years. Performance evaluations are performed quarterly to provide feedback and to provide a forum for open communications regarding employee levels of performance and progress and to ensure the exacting standards are maintained.

“Having a clear united vision across the departments allows the company to grow and stay focused on our priorities”.
-Ivy Posada, GP Transco’s Vice President of HR, and Talent Acquisition
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