The nominees have been announced and voting is now underway in the inaugural FreightWaves Shipper of Choice awards. The Shipper of Choice Award is in partnership with Convoy.
During the months of January and February, FreightWaves, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) solicited nominations through their respective websites. Over 140 shippers were nominated for the award, which recognizes shippers that promote a healthy freight community through their actions and interactions with carriers on a daily basis.
“For the first time, FreightWaves will recognize the manufacturers, distributors and retailers who do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities, and understanding what it takes to remove efficiencies from the supply chain,” Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves, said. “The Shipper of Choice Award is about ensuring that the best of the best in the shipping world are honored for treating carriers and their drivers with the professional respect they deserve.”
Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM) will manage the Shipper of Choice vote to ensure a credible and independent process. KSM previously managed voting for FreightWaves’ Freight.Tech 25 Award.
Carrier-members of TCA and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) will vote on the nominees over the next several weeks and the 25 winners will be announced at FreightWaves’ Transparency19 conference in Atlanta on May 8, 2019.
“I am very pleased to announce the inaugural FreightWaves’ Shipper of Choice nominees in partnership with Convoy and am excitedly awaiting the voting results from the TCA and BiTA members and looking forward to the sealed envelope presentation from Katz, Sapper & Miller at Transparency19,” Arlen Stark, FreightWaves’ Executive Vice President of Research, said.
Voters will complete a short five-question survey on each shipper, ranking qualities such as flexibility and detention on a five-star scale, with a possible total score of 25 points. The shipper with the highest score will receive first place while runners-up will be awarded based on score.
Some shippers have always been a “Shipper of Choice,” if not in name, certainly in practice. Much has been written in the past few years about how shippers could become a shipper of choice, but until now, no one has formally recognized shippers who achieve this status. Among some of the tips most agree can help a shipper achieve this status is to pay carriers quickly and accurately, not to delay drivers through unnecessary detention, be flexible regarding delivery and pickup times, and improve visibility and transparency. Treating carriers and their drivers like one of your own employees can also go a long way to improving carrier relations.
The nominees for FreightWaves’ Shipper of Choice in partnership with Convoy are: (listed in alphabetical order):
ACH Foods
Agri-Mark
Agropur Cooperative
Amazon
American Crystal Sugar Co.
American Foods Group LLC
American Woodmark
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Associated Milk Producers
B&G Foods
BAYER CROPSCIENCE
Beam Suntory Inc.
Best Buy
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bonduelle N.A.
Borden Dairy Co.
Boston Beer Co.
BP
Brakebush Brothers
Brown-Forman Corp.
Cal-Maine Foods
California Dairies Inc.
Campbell Soup Co.
Cargill Inc.
Charlotte Pipe & Foundry
CHEP Canada
Chobani Inc.
Coca-Cola Company
Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Commercial Metals Company (CMC)
Conagra Brands Inc.
Constellation Brands
Cott Corp.
CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley
Dairy Farmers of America
Danone North America
Darigold
Dean Foods Co.
Del Monte Pacific Ltd.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
E&J Gallo Winery
Ecolab
Essity
Faribault Foods
Fastenal Company
Ferrero USA
Flowers Foods Inc.
Foremost Farms USA
Foster Farms LLC
General Mills Inc.
Georgia Pacific
Gilster-Mary Lee Corp.
Glanbia USA
Golden State Foods
Gorton’s Seafood
Grassland Dairy
Great Lakes Cheese Co.
Hain Celestial Group
Hearthside Food Solutions LLC
Hershey Co.
Hilmar Cheese Co.
Home Depot
Hormel Foods Corp.
Hostess Brands Inc.
IFCO Systems
InstaCart
IXM (fka Louis Dreyfus Company)
J. R. Simplot Co.
J.M. Smucker Co.
J&J Snack Foods
JBS
John Deere
Johnsonville
Kellogg Co.
Keystone Foods
Koch Foods Inc.
Kraft Heinz Co.
L Brands
Lactalis American Group
Lancaster Colony Corp.
Land O’Lakes Inc.
Leprino Foods Co.
Lindt & Sprungli
Lozier
Maple Leaf Foods
Mars Wrigley
McCain Foods
McCormick & Co. Inc.
McKee Foods Corp.
Michelin North America, Inc.
Mid America Pet Food
Molson Coors Co.D
Mondelez International
Monogram Foods LLC
Morton Salt Inc
National Beef Packing Co.
National Beverage Corp.
Nestle
Niagara Bottling
North American Stainless
Nucor Corporation
OSI Group
Outdoor Voices
PepsiCo
Perdue Farms Inc.
Pilgrim’s Pride
Pinnacle Foods
Post Holdings Inc.
Prairie Farms Dairy Inc.
Pratt Industries
Preferred Freezer Services
Premium Brands Holdings Corp.
Reser’s Fine Foods
Rich Products Corp.
Ross Stores
Sanderson Farms
Saputo Inc.
Sargento Foods Inc.
Schneider Electric
Schreiber Foods
Schwan’s Co.
Seaboard Corp.
Seneca Foods
Sephora
Shaw Industries
Smithfield Foods Inc.
Southeast Cooler Corp.
SugarCreek
T-Mobile
Target
Technicolor
TreeHouse Foods Inc.
Triumph Foods
Tyson Foods Inc.
Unilever U.S.
UPS Frieght
Walmart
Wayne Farms LLC
Wells Enteprises Inc.
Weston Foods
Wheelworx