Stacking the deck: Logistics company’s local presence adds to sustainable push
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007
CaseStack is opening an office in Fayetteville, in part to help foster sustainable practices in shipping.
Dan Sanker, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based logistics company, said after about five years of making visits to the area, he decided it was time to open an office here.
Sanker is a member of the board of directors of the Center for Retailing Excellence at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He said that at a minimum he wants to have an office here. At a maximum, he said, the company may figure out how to help drive the logistics industry.
"Right now I want to make sure CaseStack gets an office here, is productive and to have a return for shareholders," Sanker said. "Then I hope to learn how we can put more of a long-term structure around that."
The company provides logistical support for consumer packaged goods companies, which includes warehousing and shipping as well as the use of proprietary software.
Sanker said he first became interested in sustainability when Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott spoke to the retailing excellence board about two years ago. Sanker said he left that meeting a bit confused, but the more he thought about it the more he felt it was a "huge concept."
From there, Sanker said he started a biodiesel program and started working more on consolidation programs "so companies can ship less air. "
Sanker had just gotten off the phone with a client that is considering its options, including stopping its work with Wal-Mart, because of its high shipping costs. He said that the way the product is packaged, only 6, 000 pounds of it can fit on a truck, while about 40, 000 pounds should be able to fit.
That type of company was doing well selling a product for $ 4. 88 when diesel cost $ 1. 80, but now it costs $ 3 per gallon, Sanker said. In that example it could be that traditional packaging could end up pushing that business over the edge and 200 people out of a job, he said.
He said it's an easy concept: "When somebody wastes something, somebody pays for it."
It comes down to the fact that by reducing a company's carbon footprint, which is especially important in shipping, the company is reducing its overhead, Sanker said. It is better for the environment, especially as more countries become industrialized, but it also makes sense from a business perspective, he said.
Sanker said he plans to work with the 1, 300 or so vendors in the area, as well as Wal-Mart, which is a driving force in sustainable practices. He said he would like to see all the players come together to share ideas, as they do in Silicon Valley.
"Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas area, is poised to be a center for sustainability because I think everyone here gets it. They're so far ahead on the concept, and I want to help be part of the team," Sanker said. "We need to be ahead of the curve or we're not going to succeed. It's a competitive world out there for us."
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody said he is pleased that Sanker is opening an office here.
"It fits perfectly with our vision for the future," Coody said.
Coody said the location of CaseStack has significant implications on the community's future. He said that the fact businessmen like Sanker have such a strong interest in sustainability means the city is right to head in that direction.
"This is a crucial element for bridging all these different parties," Coody said.
With Wal-Mart Stores pushing the private sector, the UA leading the way in education and the city taking an active role, the area can be established as a sustainability center, he said. The fruit of that cooperation is represented in companies like CaseStack, which will increase the momentum, he said.
"Things are really starting to fall together even better than we had hoped," he said.
Jeff Koenig, chairman of the Fayetteville Economic Development Council, is also pleased by the announcement.
"We're thrilled to death," Koenig said.
He said the council shares Sanker's hope that he will be instrumental in "marrying the sustainability and logistic components."
One advantage to the area is that it is centrally located, which makes it a natural fit for the logistics element, Koenig said. It is also home to major trucking lines and companies like Tyson Foods Inc., and of course Wal-Mart Stores.
"Hopefully Dan (Sanker ) 's company will become a major player in those efforts," Koenig said.
More information about the company can be found at www. casestack. com.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
