Shake-up at Tibbett & Britten’s U.S. unit

Shake-up at Tibbett & BrittenÆs U.S. unit    Third-party logistics provider Tibbett & Britten Group plc is searching for a new management team for its North American division after sacking president Michael Sprague and two of his top deputies.
   The package of changes was necessary to take advantage of different growth opportunities, according to a company spokesman. Also replaced were Dick Alston, chief financial officer, and Nancy Olive, senior vice president of business development.
   Sprague 'was instrumental in building Tibbett & Britten North America to its current scale, but the company is looking for a different skill set in its current management,' spokesman Joshua Orzech told American Shipper.
   Tibbett & Britten, headquartered in London, quietly made the change Jan. 2 and has launched a search for a new president.
   Ron Tomiuck, senior vice president of operations, will lead the division until Sprague's successor is appointed, Orzech said. The duties of Olive and Alston will be divided among other managers on an interim basis.
   The North American unit provides warehousing, distribution, transportation and inventory management for manufacturers, retailers of food and beverages, clothing and other consumer products.
   Toronto-based Tibbett & Britten North America was not making a lot of money. One of the 20 largest value-added warehouse and distribution 3PLs on the continent, the division had a net profit margin of 1.7 percent in 2002, according to estimates compiled by logistics consultant Richard Armstrong. Figures for 2003 are not available because the parent company does not break down financial results by division.
   The company operates by setting up separate subsidiaries dedicated to an individual customer or business sector. The company tends to follow a cost-plus business model, meaning customers agree to pay a fixed percentage above the total cost to manage the warehouse facility.
   'It's tough to make a profit because you are always getting picked apart on the cost,' Evan Armstrong, vice president of Armstrong & Associates, said.