We are operating a brand new site out in Arizona, tagged as BP Arizona. We just got them up and running this past Monday, so a week ago yesterday. You’re going to see them ramping up; it’s obviously a smaller site than mine, more like the interstate battery size sites. One of the big selling features for us with the customer was Load Proof. The fact that we can capture inbound right out of the gate is significant. They have a very strenuous inbound quality process regarding minor dents, labels, and similar issues. With Load Proof, we’re capturing all that for them, not just how the truck looks inbound, but all of their quality checks too. For the first time, they can hold their manufacturing partner accountable.

That started up last Monday. The customer brought in a group of about 15 people to observe the process, and they were impressed. The system works; Load Proof works. This was another opportunity for us to showcase it to the customer. The go-live for outbound will be on the 30th, and I’ll be back out in Arizona that week as we kick off the outbound photos. Now that they see what it can do, they’ve already added on additional photos they want.

What product are they moving? Motor oil. This is similar to ExxonMobil. We actually handle three of them right now: ExxonMobil in Arizona, Shell in Pennsylvania, and now BP. All of these are common options for car oil—the one quart or five-quart B30, and the bigger drums for industrial oils. Walmart’s oil change products, Valvoline, and others have those DRS. We were able to sell that right into the startup with Load Proof, and it should keep going from there.

I appreciate the updates, especially since Kenko and I have been partners for a long time. Typically, updates like this don’t come through, so thank you for sharing. One thing I love about Kenko is the top-down approach. Even though Kenko is a large 3PL, when management understands and recommends Load Proof, it gets buy-in from site managers and operations managers. About 90-95% buy into it.

There’s always a customer who might push back if they think it’s unnecessary. We struggle with this with other 3PLs, especially the large ones, which are ridiculously decentralized. Management recommendations often don’t have an impact, and each site runs like an independent company, strictly adhering to customer requirements. I prefer the Kenko approach, where management recognizes the need for preventive measures, realizing the value of Load Proof.

Kenko management is forward-thinking, and they understand it beautifully. Middle-level managers adapt well and spread the word. It’s tough to stay on top of technology trends in the old-school 3PL business. However, Kenko handles this challenge and takes advantage of new technologies. That’s another reason I love working with Kenko so much.

The unique aspect of 3PLs is their ability to offer the best recommendations when manufacturers seek them out. It’s essential for them to take those recommendations seriously, and I appreciate that.

We don’t see that across the board so I mean you know so you know I always you know love working with Kenko. You know jumping in any meetings, any type of presentation, any type of joint partnership activity. So yeah, I mean thank you very much for the update and you know um you know yeah I mean you know that helps a lot to understand and uh you know thank see what’s going on on your end.

Yeah, no and I think you’ll see more of it coming because it’s funny when we first started it here. Obviously they were using it just a very small way. Yep, when we started using it then the customer Lixel, you know in our case, right? Yep, they suddenly started seeing that wait a minute they could defend themselves now to their customer. Yep, you know Home Depot, Lowes.

When we took over the site up in Ohio, um you know obviously we knew of it. Ohio wasn’t really using it at all; they were using it very small. Yeah, um well everybody that was involved in that takeover saw what it could do. Yeah, so like this case here, the director who’s overseeing the Arizona site, he was up there with us when we did the takeover in Ohio. Yep, so when the first things they did, one of the first things they did when they got the contract signed with BP is we had a conference call with their QC folks to go through. Yep, how we use Load Proof.

Because it’s funny; customers very often are like no we don’t need it. Yep, until you’re able to show what exact how it covers. I mean for lack of a better term, it covers your butt. Okay, all right, I mean it does. So like for example this customer here, they have an issue where if a pallet is shipped, the pallet, the wood itself, yep if it’s damaged when it gets to Walmart. Yep, okay yep they get fined.

Now Walmart sends them a picture of it but it’s already on their dock. Yep, so they have no way of saying well or they have had no way of saying no no we sent a good pallet; your guys butchered it when it got there. Right exactly exactly, they just paid the fee. Yep, well when we showed them what it could do for us last week with all their quality stuff, yep they sat us down and said how about this, and we’re like well look at the bottom of the pictures now. Yep, and so now they know when Walmart comes back and says no no sorry you owe us money for a pallet. Yep, they’re going to be able to pull up the picture and go no that’s how it looked when it left.

Correct, okay so you know again a customer that really didn’t care at the beginning now they see that now they’re like wow man. Well because all of the individual headaches they’ve had. Yep, you know not all of them but a lot of them we can cover. Yep, and it’s not additional time. You know yes, everyone’s always perspective is oh this is going to add on a half an hour. No, that’s not true at all. I mean yeah, and looking at the you know at the end of the day especially having these tricky conversations and the damage that these things do to your reputation, you know that’s tremendous.

And having that photo, you know that’s what we tell our customers too. Hey you have this photo and you pull it out and share it with your supply chain partner. You know the problem in the butt, right? I mean you’re not letting it sit there and two people are talking about it, five people are talking about it, ten people are talking. Now the entire company is talking oh this problem, right? All that you can nip it in the bud.

Yeah, exactly yeah. So that that’s definitely what we’ve been able to do and it’s again it’s working. So this site’s up and running with you, just kind of see it expanding as they get the outbound going, uh and then we’ve got a couple of other sites that we’re talking with as they’re about ready to try to open. So you’re going to see more. I’ll be back to you with more things as we go.

Okay, I’ll keep bugging you. Okay, um but again it’s it works, it makes sense, and from a quality standpoint there’s nothing better to be able to have that everything at your fingertips. I’m today I’m in Texas; I was able to pull up photos from Arizona on my laptop. Okay, okay, and I was able to send them off to BP in Louisiana. Okay, in five minutes. Okay, and they could see exactly what was going on on load. Yep, y okay absolutely.

You know that’s a key benefit for anybody. Okay, got it, got it, got it. Absolutely, absolutely, I mean you know thank you for sharing that feedback. I mean that no problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that helps us a lot. And I mean you know that’s been pretty consistent with all the feedback that we’ve been getting, you know from everybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But other than that no, they just like I said we’re happy with it. Um, issues at any of these three sites and even the IB site so all four correct. If you guys say hey you know what hey this is a new capability that might be useful for us. Right, if you guys have any such feedback we’ll be open to those feedback as well. And you know anything new or any other you know different areas that you can apply to any other thing that you can do with it.

You know hey you know this would be helpful if this is available for a driver that’s making delivery or something like that. Right? I mean you know I know something. Yeah, one of the things we have looked at is you have a section on here. Hold on let me pull it up. Okay, I think it was like forms. Okay, which we don’t use; we have not historically used.

That’s a new tool that we have launched basically that’s slightly different from Load Proof. Load Proof is more you know hey photo capture photos and then tag those photos with the metadata. This is you know if you have a safety audit that you have to do if you’re doing an inspection form or if you have an OSHA form that you have to fill out. Right, that’s what this is more of a you know digitizing a paper-based form that you guys fill out today.

You know and obviously right along with that add photos to it as well. Right, that’s can you do me a favor? Um, no rush. That is something particularly for these newer sites. I would like to see if you could have whoever on your team is the tech guy who’s going to be heading or is heading that up. Yep, I’d love to see some examples.

Um, because yes right now for example on these inbound they have to fill out a vehicle inspection sheet paperwise. Okay, and then they take a photocopy of that into Load Proof. Could you is it possible to send some samples of that? Just a photo of the paper document we can set it up in this system and you guys can do it digitally. Yes, okay let me I just write that down for myself right now.

Yeah, yeah please. Yeah, okay yeah, U all right no problem at all I will send it off to you. Because like I said I saw a thing about forms and I was like huh. Yep, let me take a look at that. Yeah, yeah we can do a demo for you as well. I mean if you would like um you know and I mean if you send that inspection form we can set it up.

We can set it up and then you can play with it. We can give you some free trial and stuff like that and you can play with it and you know give us feedback and for any enhancements that we have to do we will be happy to do that as well. Yeah, okay that sounds good.

Yeah, I’ll I’m going to send you off this two forms if you don’t mind. Absolutely to look at one is the vehicle inspection that’s done during the inbound. It would be part of the six photos they take and then one is what we call a non-conforming. It’s the quality one. Okay, where basically right now a lot of it’s done by hand. You know they circle where an error is and they make a note of it whereas and then got to take a picture.

Yep, so it would be very simple to be able to go picture, hit this button, hit this button, hit this button, hit this button and now you know everything wrong with that pallet. Absolutely so it’s okay I’ll send those off to you and again no rush. Uh but if you could have your team then get back to me absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely we could do something like that that would be a nice up thing for them as well. Absolutely yeah we’ll be happy to help. Yeah, I mean you know we’ll take a look at it and then we can potentially go and you know set that up in our demo environment and then we can print it out and you can have some you know we can do a demo as well for you guys.

Yeah, absolutely that sounds fun. Yep, yep is that all John or you have anything else? Yeah, that was the big thing. Yeah, absolutely I mean you know yeah please reach out anytime and you know we’ll be happy to help you guys. And Kenko is a major partner you know of ours and you know we want to do everything. I mean any type of technological solution that we can build for you guys and make you successful we are more than happy to do that.

Yeah, you got it no problem at all sir. Absolutely. Yeah all right sir listen you have a great day. Okay thank you thank you very much John. Thank you thanks by where are you biggest out of sir? Atlanta Georgia. I’m here right here sitting in Georgia Tech. Okay oh really Georgia Tech Georgia Tech exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All righty sir well listen you have a great day.

Okay thank you thank you very much. All right thank you sir bye bye.