35th Annual Quest for Quality Awards Dinner

For more than 30 years, Logistics Management’s (LM) Quest for Quality Survey has been regarded in the transportation and logistics industry as the most important measure of customer satisfaction and performance excellence—and the annual Quest for Quality Awards Dinner has been widely considered the most productive evening of the year for carrier, port and 3PL executive networking.

This year’s Awards Dinner was no different: On Tuesday October 2nd at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, during this year’s CSCMP Annual Global Conference in Nashville, our editorial staff presented the 2018 Quest for Quality Awards to the 138 deserving winners. Following cocktails, dinner and the awards presentation, attendees were treated to some laughs with a live comedic performance by Rodney Laney.

Winning Quest for Quality gold:

About our research

To determine who wins the vote, LM readers evaluate companies in all modes and service disciplines, choosing the top performers in categories including motor carriers, railroad and intermodal services, ocean carriers, airlines, freight forwarders, third party/contract logistics services, and ports. From January through May of this year, LM and Peerless Research Group (PRG), a division of Peerless Media, surveyed readers who are qualified buyers of logistics and transportation services.

This year our research group received more then 4,500 total responses. In order to be a “winner,” a company had to receive at least 5% of the category vote. The result of this overall effort offers the logistics market a crystal clear look at a broad list of companies that finished above the average—the winners of Quest for Quality gold.

Transportation service providers are rated on LM’s five key criteria: On-time Performance, Value, Information Technology, Customer Service, and Equipment & Operations. Due to the nature of services offered by third-party players, a different set of criteria is used to judge this category. Third-party logistics providers are rated on the following attributes: Carrier Selection & Negotiation, Order Fulfillment, Transportation & Distribution, Inventory Management, and Logistics Information Systems.

Again this year we split our third-party logistics providers (3PLs) into two categories in our ballot questionnaires with the help Armstrong & Associates Inc., the leading third-party logistics analyst firm in the market.

Four years ago we re-established our Ports category, using Ease of Doing Business, Value, Ocean Carrier Network, Intermodal Network, and Equipment & Operations as the five key criteria to measure service success. We’re pleased to be delivering the scores of the top North American Ports once again this year—and for many years to come.

Evaluating who reached the top

The evaluation itself is a weighted metric. The scores take into account the importance that readers attach to each attribute. Each year, readers are first asked to rank the attributes in each category on a five-point scale, with a score of 5 representing the highest value and a score of 1 representing the lowest value.

The PRG research team then uses those attribute rankings to create weighted scores in each category. For example, readers have historically placed the single highest value on the On-time Performance attribute—and they’ve done so again in 2018.

In fact, the attribute was rated between 4.80 and 4.54 across the various carrier categories. The second highest value again this year was placed on Information Technology.

After readers have ranked these key attributes in order of importance, they grade each provider they currently use on each of the five core Quest for Quality attributes, rating them on a scale of 1 to 3 (1=poor, 2=average, 3=outstanding). To produce a weighted score, the research team then multiplies the provider’s average scores for each attribute by the attribute’s ranking. Next, the weighted scores are calculated for all five attributes for a given vendor and added together to create an aggregate number.

Companies score a Quest for Quality win when their total scores exceed the average total weighted score in their category. But remember, providers must receive a minimum number of reader responses to qualify for a win—at least 5% of the total base for the category. 

Lynden

What differentiates your company in the market?

Lynden began with a clear mission: put the customer first, deliver quality, and be the best at what you do. With 2018 awards in the Western Regional LTL and Airfreight Forwarders categories, we’ve now received a combined 38 Quest for Quality Awards over the years, proving that our commitment to customers has never been stronger. We offer the largest network in Alaska and provide services throughout the U.S., Canada and the world via land, sea and air.

What new opportunities will you be providing shippers in 2019?

Over land, on the water, in the air—or in any combination—Lynden has been helping customers solve transportation problems for more than a century. We continue to offer innovative multi-modal solutions that allow customers to only pay for the speed they need. Lynden also continues to invest in technology that benefits customers, including the ability to receive e-mail tracking notifications for important shipments and a new mobile app for better freight management on the go.

PITT OHIO

What differentiates your company in the market?

PITT OHIO develops high-performance transportation solutions that leverage the assets in our enterprise and those of our strategic partners. Our customers access one point of contact to seamlessly solve transportation problems, improving their service and reducing their logistics costs.

What new opportunities will you be providing shippers in 2019?

PITT OHIO provides our customers with the types of solutions they need in today’s evolving business environment, working with them to differentiate their own business with their customers. PITT OHIO offers surface transportation solutions across North America, including an industry-leading Protect From Freezing service, Heat Track, which now extends between Maine and Nebraska. Our investments in technology solutions will strongly improve integration with our customers, providing them with access to more information at their convenience, giving them the ability to work closer with their customers to help move everyone’s business forward.

Purolator International

What differentiates your company in the market?

Purolator International is the expert in cross-border shipping with an unmatched Canadian network. Our ground and air distribution network reaches 100% of both commercial and residential addresses throughout Canada. Combined with efficient transit times, a loss ratio of less than 1%, and proven reliability, Purolator International offers shippers peace of mind with a wide range of service levels and superior customer service that includes end-to end-visibility and proactive communication from pickup to final delivery.

What new opportunities will you be providing shippers in 2019?

Purolator will continue to develop enhancements that support our customers’ plans for the future. Capitalizing on our solid framework of flexible, customizable shipping solutions, our enhancements will include better tracking using a GPS-based predictive shipment tracking platform; development of innovative final mile delivery options like mobile service trucks; and investment in our shipping hubs to take advantage of the latest technology.