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Redwood Logistics

“We connect to WIN,” says Jane Shaughnessy, Lead Marketing Communications Coordinator at Redwood Logistics, regarding the culture of one of Chicago’s biggest third party logistics providers. “For over 20 years, our mission has been to bring energy and innovation to logistics, and help businesses prosper in a high-demand world,” she continues.

As global supply chains continue to become increasingly intricate and difficult to navigate, the market for third party, solutions-based logistics experts like Redwood is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 5.9 percent over the next 5 years, according to IBIS world. With a specific focus on helping companies bridge the gap between technology and logistics, Redwood is uniquely positioned within this space to help companies adjust to the vast number of Pandemic-era changes that have come to define the industry — specifically as they pertain to transportation solutions.

“The supply chain and logistics industry as a whole has changed significantly compared to just a few years ago,” Shaughnessy says. “The pandemic forced rapid evolution and adoption of technology to streamline operations. In the next several years, this trend will only continue to grow with automated processes and innovative products that collect, organize, and produce data that can inform better choices all around,” she continues.

One of the keys to Redwood’s advantage is their ability to coordinate less-than-truckload (LTL) solutions at a highly competitive price via a technology ecosystem that houses a number of cutting edge tools from pricing data science to operations automation technology. This, in tandem with their intermodal brokerage services and specialized haul capabilities, allow them to provide customized solutions across a number of different modes of distribution.

Easy to lose in all the tech jargon, though, is perhaps an even bigger component of Redwood’s growth — their commitment to workforce development and connectivity.

“Our focus on employee development covers everything from day 1 and beyond and continues evolving every day to meet the needs of the business and our teams,” says Shaughnessy. “From cyber security to preventing unconscious bias to department specific training - we aim to provide resources for all employees to be successful and thrive.”

In addition to giving new colleagues the adequate tools and training to meet the evolving demands of their current positions, Redwood also invests in them as managers of the future.

“Management training (at Redwood) is continuously created to support both new managers on their first promotion as well as tenured business leaders,” says Shaughnessy.

As a continuously growing enterprise, Redwood is always in need of highly educated professionals. If you think you may be interested in a position, please check out the links at the bottom of the page — each of which highlight a different career at Redwood.

Along the same vein as workforce development is Redwood’s commitment to operations development — especially regarding the advancement of sustainable supply chains. With the effects of the climate crisis creeping into nearly every industry in 2022, it’s impossible to comment on the logistics space without addressing the microscope it’s come under for carbon emissions usage. As one of the industry's major players, Redwood is on the forefront of implementing green technology across their distribution channels and has put a lot of resources towards establishing eco-friendly supply chains. Some of their initiatives and partnerships include:

1. SmartWay Partner Accreditation: Redwood has been a member of SmartWay® Transport Partnership since 2011. We are proud to continue contributing to the Partnership’s savings of 279.7 million barrels of oil, $37.5 billion in fuel costs and 134 million tons of air pollutants. Each year, our asset division F/X, moves the needle on equipment optimization, reducing idle time, and decreasing fuel waste.  
2. Empty Mile Reduction: Redwood’s key contribution to driving a positive environmental impact comes from the elimination of carbon emissions. Our teams are making progress in reducing carbon emissions by enhancing the ability to connect shipments more effectively and reducing empty miles, optimizing, consolidating, and accurately determining the best mode and shipping location. 
3. Strategic Partnerships: Aligned with our mission to reduce waste, Redwood has created strategic partnerships with companies that pursue excellence in sustainability supply chain. Through our newly designed Redwood Sustainability Curve, we work with companies to reduce their carbon footprint by increasing the efficiency of their respective supply chains.
4. Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Consolidation: We consolidate LTL into full TL and work with customers’ overall network design to further reduce the carbon footprint produced in moving the freight. 
5. Serverless Infrastructure: Redwood’s investment in RedwoodConnect™ is built almost exclusively on Serverless Infrastructure with an Open-Source model in mind. Rather than spinning up more computers, we use the excess dormant capacity inside AWS data centers, enabling control over capacity and by extension, energy consumption. Additionally, in 2020 we decommissioned physical servers as part of the data center consolidation project.

With a devotion to development across its operations, workforce, and the environment, Redwood sets a standard not only for its clients, but for 3PL’s across the country. Their recent growth is not a result of one isolated segment, but rather the coordinated connectivity of each. If the goal is to win by connection, Redwood is the 90’s Bulls of 3PL’s.

Career Opportunities
Interested in working at Redwood Logsitics? Check out their current list of job openings.