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BLUEGRACE® HISTORY
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BlueGrace Logistics has been on the fast track ever since logistics veteran Bobby Harris decided to simplify and automate what he was convinced was an overly complex industry. The solution: to form his own company based on a technology that would make managing all the details involved in moving goods from Point A to Point B -- from routing to tracking to reporting – seamless, smooth and streamlined.
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After 18 years in various positions with several of the leading companies in the industry including 4 years as president of Metro Mar Ventures, a holding company that became the single largest franchise group in the country, Harris knew that transportation management was not rocket science. It was, however, confusing, time-consuming, and less efficient than it needed to be. This was a particular challenge for smaller companies lacking the resources to create their own custom transportation management systems.
He was convinced that if he built an innovative, technology-driven company, priced its services competitively, maintained excellent relations with his carrier partners and provided stellar customer service support, customers would come and the company would thrive. It was with this vision that Harris created BlueGrace in November, 2007, with the clear goal of becoming the most progressive, innovative transportation, logistics and technology provider in the 3PL industry.
His vision and timing, proved to be precisely on target. From day one, Harris and his initial team of eight talented and dedicated transportation and technology professionals, found a marketplace more than eager for their unique brand of transportation management services. By 2008 the company had 13 employees and more than 250 customers. Next year, BlueGrace added 600 new customers and doubled its staffing to accommodate the growth.
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By this time, the fast-growing company had outgrown its 2,000-square-foot facility in Apollo Beach. When the BlueGrace staff increased to 35 employees the company relocated its corporate headquarters to a 12,000-square-foot Class A building in Riverview just outside of Tampa in January, 2010,
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where the sales team, management and technical team, and training facility are housed. The new facility provided the necessary space to accommodate the 50 additional positions they needed to fill immediately, with room for the future growth anticipated.
Today, BlueGrace has more than 70 employees in its headquarters and satellite offices throughout the U.S., providing its integrated total supply chain solution across all major modes of transportation to 2,500 customers across the nation. BlueGrace solutions include less than truckload, truckload services, international and domestic air freight, ocean freight and parcel shipping. In addition, BlueGrace provides freight bill auditing services to help customers ensure accuracy and control their freight costs, and parcel service auditing for their high volume shippers to detect service failures, incorrect fees and surcharges for additional transportation savings.
The company continues to focus on becoming the technological leader in its industry, with innovations such as its release of BlueGrace Mobile Freight Optimizer, the first iPhone application to provide real-time access to shipping quotes calculating freight rates and transit times from multiple carriers in early 2010.
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Recently the company introduced a new technology called "Dock to Doc" giving its customers direct online access to proof of delivery, original bills of lading, and weight and inspection certificates via their BlueShip™ transportation
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management system. The new technology increases the efficiency of BlueGrace customers as well as the level of service that they are able to provide, giving them a competitive edge that is extremely valuable in today's economy.
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With the BlueGrace brand firmly established and a solid track record of steady growth, the company is now registering to provide for the sale of franchises in all 50 states. Harris sees this as the next logical step in the company's aggressive growth strategy. With the company's technological and management infrastructure firmly in place, franchises are expected to bring even more strength and stability to BlueGrace's partnerships with customers and partners, and help continue BlueGrace's expansion. Projections call for the addition of another 50 or more professionals to the BlueGrace team to accommodate the double-digit growth Harris forecasts for 2011 and 2012.
For a PDF version of this company history, please click here.
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