Editors’ Note

Hector Rodriguez brings more than 30 years’ Supply Chain experience to Active. Prior to joining the company in 2007, he was CEO of Lumec Transportation Services, a transport and warehousing company. Before this, he managed supply chain and logistics for the Kingsford Products Company, a division of Clorox. He has also managed supply chain networks for Perrigo and Colgate Palmolive.

What services does Active Freight & Logistics offer?

We offer maritime carriage, air freight, and surface transportation for numerous industries as well as warehousing as it pertains to basic storage, pick-pack, cross-dock, deconsolidation, and consolidation. We also offer our clients the ability to finance different components of the supply chain. We can purchase inventory, issue trade credits, and retire trade credits through our supply chain services.

Our newest offering enables us to provide supply chain financing for Active clients, whether it is through early payment programs with client suppliers, factoring receivables or asset-based lending. We have created a reciprocal, value-added, and vertically integrated supply chain for our customers. This has resulted in physical distribution efficiencies, superior customer service, and the shortening of cash to cash cycles.

How does Freight & Logistics fit into Active’s services?

Historically, Active International has worked with numerous customers from a marketing and sales perspective. However, if marketing budgets are cut or we’re working with customers that don’t place a lot of media, we need to offer other avenues to retire trade credits. Freight & Logistics is a viable alternative because supply chain is the lifeblood of any organization. If you’re not shipping or distributing your goods, you might as well shut down.

Best-in-class supply chain efforts have concentrated on lowering cost and delivering superior customer service. While these components are extremely important, there are other essential attributes that warrant serious consideration. For instance, consumer buying patterns and retailer inventory control practices require the handling of small orders and more frequent deliveries. Managing physical distribution with less inventory is a pre-requisite. This dramatically changes the dynamics of global supply chains. Active’s Freight & Logistics’ offerings provide numerous transparent solutions that thrive in this new environment, while attaining economic and service benefits.

Through our business model, Active’s clients can accelerate the movement of inventory throughout the transportation lifecycle so they can allocate in-transit inventories to orders that are waiting at a distribution center. Consequently, our clients do not have to stockpile inventories and they can significantly reduce their cash to cash cycle.

What is the advantage of Active’s global footprint?

Active can purchase inventories globally, issue trade credits, and provide global supply chain efficiencies. In negotiating rates with our transportation vendors, we can balance and optimize the utilization of equipment. The ability to leverage our global footprint is a unique advantage. For a company headquartered in Europe with divisions throughout the world, Active can strategically and efficiently permeate value throughout their global supply chain.•