Longtime Lease Customer Moves to Dedicated Fleet
In 2006, Aim Transportation Solutions and Olympic Steel shook hands for the first time. The deal began as a handful of full-servi
ce trucks at the steel distributor’s Chambersburg, PA, site, one of their 41 locations nationwide. Since then, the partnership between Aim and Olympic Steel has been one of mutual growth, trusted relationships and persistent support. This history, confidence and reliability has led to the next evolution in Aim and Olympic Steel’s partnership: dedicated fleet services with Aim Integrated Logistics.
“Knowing the people at Aim and the history we had was really a good kickstart to take it to the next level,” said Jim Post, Olympic Steel’s Regional Vice President and General Manager. “The relationship with Mr. Gurska [COO of Aim Integrated Logistics] and some of the other people there since 2006 really has grown and provided us this opportunity.”
For the uninitiated, dedicated fleet services (also known as dedicated contract carriage) with Aim Integrated Logistics—ranked 22 on Transport Topics Top 50 Dedicated Carriers list—provides businesses with dependable, efficient trucks and safe, well-trained drivers. And it’s that second part, the drivers, that’s key, particularly with the worsening national driver shortage (and truck shortage) disrupting every link in the national supply chain. Moreover, Aim Integrated Logistics comes in with many value-added services beyond managing the fleet and hiring and retaining drivers. Those include: reduced liability, continual route optimization, 24/7-365 operations and roadside support, administrative relief and much more.
Rock solid relationships between the two companies aside, the decision for Olympic Steel to outsource part of its transportation function to Aim didn’t come without hesitation. Apprehension to an all-encompassing logistics service such as this, despite its innumerable benefits, is universal for any company considering such an endeavor. Understandably so. After all, Olympic Steel, a leading U.S. metals service center, has successfully managed its shipping independently since the company began in 1954.
So how did the experts at Aim Integrated Logistics alleviate these anxieties?
“After starting off a little apprehensive, I can’t tell you how happy I am with the transition [to a dedicated fleet]
,” Post said. “Everybody on the team surpassed my expectations. They had people here every week making sure the transition went smoothly—not only from a safety perspective as a transition of drivers but also meeting with our shipping-receiving people to make sure the paperwork was correct. I was totally impressed by the number of people that were here and how often they were here.”
That’s the bedrock of Aim Transportation Solutions, a family-owned and -operated company: continuous, personalized attention and support.
One of the key concerns for Mr. Post was what would become of the current team of Olympic Steel drivers. Many of them had been with the company for many years and had become an integral part of their relationship with their customers. The solution was simple: The drivers simply changed over from Olympic Steel employees to Aim employees. In doing so, Olympic Steel has not only made sure their current employees were taken care of, but they maintained that important close-knit relationship formed between the driver and customer.
“It was very important that the current employees we had transitioned over to Aim employees, and I’m happy to say that a hundred percent of them did," Post said. “I continue to follow up with them, and they’re very happy with the transition and how it’s gone.”
Almost mirroring that first handshake between Aim and Olympic Steel 16 years ago, the dedicated fleet partnership began small, with a single truck and driver in Milford, CT, and has grown from there. Coming full circle, Mr. Post and the rest of the leadership team at Olympic Steel have expanded to multiple dedicated units in Chambersburg, PA; and they recently announced they’ll be doing the same on a larger scale in Winder, GA, with plans to convert even more of their facilities to dedicated fleets with Aim in the future.
“If you’re asking me if I’m
happy [with Aim], the response is we’re going to transition all of our fleet in my region over and beyond,” Post concluded.
With countless disruptions making it increasingly difficult to move products and services from point A to B, many companies are trusting their shipping operations to the experts at Aim Integrated Logistics. If you’re struggling to hire and retain drivers, experiencing late or missed deliveries or simply looking for relief from the burdens of transportation, reach out to info@aimntls.com to start the conversation.
In this video, Aim Director of Marketing, Jessica Deane, sat down with Olympic Steel Regional Vice President and General Manager, Jim Post, to discuss the two companies' 16-year partnership and the steel distributor's experience as an dedicated fleet customer with Aim Integrated Logistics.
