CEVA Logistics CEO feels good about company’s future prospects

As shippers’ businesses go, those of third-party logistics (3PL) services providers follow suite, according to CEVA Logistics CEO Marv Schlanger.

Speaking at a media breakfast at last week’s Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Annual Conference in Denver last week, Schlanger cited various drivers of CEVA’s customers business that extend to the Netherlands-based 3PL, including market volatility which in turn makes supply chain control and visibility critical to customers.

“It is no surprise that the global economy is tough,” he said. “There are very few sectors today where feel comfortable with volume and margin pressure. This means we have to perform, provide better quality and be more adaptive for both the products and services we offer.  Today everything is global, especially our customers. They need to know where their goods are at any given point in time. The demands of our customers’ customers are increasing, which means we have to focus on quality, speed, and price. That puts pressure on us, because our customers are talking about procurement spend, needing flexibility in their operations, and about inventory optimization.”

Other factors playing a role in how 3PLs need to react to customer needs cited by Schlanger include costs and growing demand in emerging markets, as a 3PL’s footprint becomes critical to customers and their ability to meet the requirements of their own customers, too.

Shifting over to CEVA’S performance as a company, Schlanger said 2013 has been an interesting year for CEVA, explaining in many ways it had to rebuild the foundation of the company.

“This time last year, we announced a cost reduction program, taking $100 million Euros ($137.8 million U.S.) of costs out of the company in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013,” he said.  “We also announced the recapitalization of the company, where we rebuilt the balance sheet by eliminating $1.3 billion Euros of debt ($1.7 billion U.S.) and receiving receive a capital infusion of a minimum of $301 million ($230 million euros) for investment in its business plan. That was very significant and important in order to build a strong financial future for CEVA.”

With a healthier balance sheet intact, Schlanger said CEVA is now able to focus on growth for its customers, bringing in new services and investments to help support their business, which is being reflected in recent customer wins with large shippers, including Ford, Michelin, and IBM, among others.

“We have really good traction in the marketplace, and we are happy with our position today,” said Schlanger. “We are focused on growing our footprint and our position in the marketplace. Our goal is to create value and logistics excellence, which is our theme and what our customers want and want to hear from us.  We feel good about the company and have put a number of issues behind us, and the company is well positioned for future success.”