2022 Shipper of Choice Profile: Dick’s Sporting Goods

Presented by FreightWaves, in partnership with TriumphPay, the Shipper of Choice award recognizes the manufacturers, distributors and retailers that do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities and understanding what it takes to remove inefficiencies from the supply chain.

Among the top 25 Shippers of Choice for 2022 is … Dick’s Sporting Goods.

About Dick’s Sporting Goods

How Dick’s Sporting Goods made the cut

As the largest sporting goods retailer in the U.S., Dick’s Sporting Goods is highly dependent on the trucking industry to deliver products to its five distribution centers and retail stores. In 2021, the company’s retail stores received over 90% of their merchandise through its distribution network, with the remaining goods shipped directly to stores from vendors.

To keep ahead of the competition in the highly fragmented, $120 billion retail sporting goods market, the company emphasizes strong partnerships with its trucking partners. One of those partnerships is with Marshfield, Wisconsin-based Roehl Transport Inc., which nominated Dick’s Sporting Goods as a Shipper of Choice.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods shares a joint concern with their carriers for issues facing the drivers in the industry,” Mason Gukenberger, Roehl Transport’s customer marketing and engagement manager, told FreightWaves. “This past year they have strengthened our partnership by supporting our drivers in our detention/dwell initiative. Their support, along with others, has allowed us to reduce driver dwell and increase productivity, resulting in higher driver compensation.”

Roehl Transport predicted that reducing dwell time to 30-60 minutes per stop location across its customer base would allow its drivers to add on average roughly 14,000 more miles per year.

“We are honored to receive the FreightWaves Shipper of Choice award,” Lara Davis, senior manager of inbound logistics for Dick’s Sporting Goods, told FreightWaves in accepting the award. “We are thankful for Roehl Transport’s partnership and will continue to support all the hardworking drivers who help keep our business moving forward.”

Because Dick’s Sporting Goods uses outside vendors in addition to their own distribution centers, it “may not have any control over [outside vendors] and we recognize that can be a challenge,” Gukenberger added. “That is why we decided to work together with [Dick’s Sporting Goods] to figure out a way to reduce overall dwell time and compensate drivers accordingly when detention occurs, no matter the facility.”

This year’s Shipper of Choice award winners were chosen out of nearly 400 companies nominated by FreightWaves readers on social media.

Shipper of Choice nominees completed a survey addressing operational data, including dwell times, overages/shortages and damages, hours of operation, communication protocols and facility attributes, including the availability of showers, bathrooms and break rooms for drivers.

About Shipper of Choice Partner TriumphPay

TriumphPay is the transportation industry’s premier payment network trusted by leading shippers, brokers, factors and carriers. Our innovative and highly automated FinTech payment solution brings cost savings and efficiencies to antiquated transportation payment processes for network participants. Integrated financing options leverage the strength of our parent bank and can provide liquidity and cash flow visibility.

TriumphPay is a division of TBK Bank, SSB, Member FDIC, and a member of the Triumph Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: TBK) group.

Related articles:

• 2022 Shipper of Choice Profile: The Boston Beer Co.
• 2022 Shipper of Choice Profile: Tractor Supply Co.
• 2022 Shipper of Choice profile: Schreiber Foods