The company that
today is known as
Magnum Express
began life in 1989
as the
entrepreneurial idea
that any start-up
trucking company had
to have a niche in
the marketplace to
survive. What niche
was most defensible?
There wasn’t any
tractor or trailer a
fledgling motor
carrier could
purchase that every
other trucking
company couldn’t
purchase. There
wasn’t any
destination a
start-up carrier
could serve that any
other trucker
couldn’t serve. And
there certainly
wasn’t any price for
services the young
company could offer
that a competitor
couldn’t beat. So
how, then, would
this start-up
compete and, God
willing, survive
against large
companies like J B
Hunt or Schneider
who have seemingly
unlimited capacity
and resources?
Service. Top
Notch,
Can’t-Be-Beaten,
Always On Time,
S-E-R-V-I-C-E !
It was simple;
shippers would use
any motor carrier,
regardless of their
service levels, when
the economy was
booming. Capacity
would be tight for a
while, so
manufacturers and
distributors would
increase inventories
and add warehousing
so they could meet
their customers
demands. However,
the minute the
economy cooled off
all of those same
shippers would begin
to look for ways to
reduce their
inventories and
eliminate
warehousing. The
motor carriers with
mediocre service
that were adequate
for helping to keep
the pipeline full
during times of high
demand couldn’t
provide the
“Just-in-Time” kind
of service necessary
to help shippers
eliminate
inventories and
return to shipping
direct to their
customers. There it
was, the defensible
niche and the means
to prosper and grow
in a weak economy,
all rolled up in one
simple concept:
On Time, On Purpose.
It was apparent that
the key to providing
outstanding service
was the quality of
the truck driver
recruited. There
were certainly
quality, dependable,
professional truck
drivers in the
industry. Some were
driving tractors
owned by their
employers. However,
most were
owner-operators.
Owner-operators are
business people
themselves. They
understand the value
of high levels of
service, both to the
customer and to
their own bottom
line. This start-up
trucking enterprise
would have it’s
greatest chance to
succeed if it
provided the highest
possible levels of
service and did it
with a fleet
comprised solely of
owner-operators.
This became the
foundation for
Magnum Express, Inc.
Between January of
2000 and the end of
the first quarter of
2004 nearly 11,000
trucking companies
declared bankruptcy.
These bankruptcies
were the result of
skyrocketing
insurance premiums
and hikes in the
cost of diesel fuel,
coupled with weak
demand and depressed
freight rates. How
did Magnum Express
survive in this
climate when larger,
better-established,
better-capitalized
companies did not?
There are several
answers but they can
be summed up in one
simple answer:
divine intervention.
When Magnum Express
was founded it was
founded on the
principle that
everything we have
comes from God’s
hand. It all belongs
to Him. So Magnum
Express would set
aside the first
fruits of its labor
and tithe annually
from its profits.
God has honored that
commitment by
blessing Magnum
Express with
wonderful employees,
outstanding
owner-operator
partners, and
exceptional
customers. Magnum
Express and Magnum
Logistics today have
a management team
far more experienced
and capable than
they should have
given the size and
age of the
companies.
In July of 1999
another bit of
divine intervention
came along. The
company then known
as Ball-Foster Glass
Container, the
result of the merger
of Ball Glass
Container and
Foster-Forbes Glass,
announced that they
were going to
sole-source their
plant in Marion,
Indiana. This
sole-sourcing
contract would take
the form of having a
motor carrier or a
third party
logistics provider
outsource the
transportation
personnel on-site
and take
responsibility for
moving all 16,000
truckloads of
freight annually
from Marion to
Ball-Foster Glass
Container’s
customers around the
country at a fixed
price. Magnum
Express was invited
to bid on this
project. Amazingly,
the bid process came
down to two
companies, Magnum
Express, with five
employees, and a
publicly held,
multi-billion
dollar,
multi-national
company, then the
second largest third
party logistics firm
in the nation.
Magnum Express was
awarded the contract
after offering to
open its books for
review on a
quarterly basis so
the client could see
they were receiving
the best
transportation value
for their dollar.
With that, Magnum
Logistics, Inc.
was born. Today
Magnum Logistics
provides on-site
transportation
management,
dedicated carriage,
warehousing,
benchmarking, and an
array of other
supply-chain
management services
to manufacturers and
distributors and is
responsible for
moving thousand of loads of truckloads of
freight each year
for it’s clients.
The development of
Magnum Logistics
from a start-up to
an established third
party logistics
provider is the
result of the
ingenuity and hard
work of numerous
people. Today,
Magnum Logistics has
an IT
infrastructure, a
network of motor
carrier partners,
and a group of
knowledgeable,
professional
managers in the
field that are
second to none.
The mission for
Magnum Express and
Magnum Logistics
has not changed
since the companies
began. Today our
goals remain the
same:
- Honor God
with our time
and our talents
and remember
from whom all
blessings flow.
- Provide our
customers and
clients with the
absolute best
value possible
for their
transportation
dollar.
- Provide our
owner-operator
partners with
the best
opportunity to
use their skills
and their assets
to provide for
their families.
- Provide our
employees with
the best quality
of work-life
possible;
recognition and
rewards for a
job well done
and the
opportunity for
personal and
professional
growth.
Founder and
President
Jim Sharp
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Our
Mission:
A full service
transportation
solution provider, Magnum
partners with the client to achieve
strategic goals by providing
customized, affordable, functional
and value-added logistical and
asset-based services.
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IBJ Fastest Growing Private Companies
IBJ Fastest Growing Private Companies