S&C Electric Co. is one of 25 companies that met the criteria for the 2023 Shipper of Choice awards, presented by FreightWaves in partnership with TriumphPay. The awards recognize manufacturers, retailers and distributors that nurture carrier relationships by removing impediments to efficient operations.
S&C, based in Chicago, is a global provider of equipment and services for electric power systems.
Why S&C Electric Co. made the cut
S&C manufactures components for the electric grid such as panels and cases. Certain work is outsourced to suppliers to stamp, build or paint a product. Vendors send back finished products or subcomponents.
S&C is building a 275,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Palatine, Illinois, about 25 miles from its 47-acre headquarters and manufacturing campus in Rogers Park. The company employs 3,500 team members globally and more than 2,000 in Chicago, making it one of the largest manufactures in the city.
About S&C
| U.S. headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Shipper of Choice | First appearance |
| Employees | 3,500 |
What sets S&C apart from most shippers is the ability to manage inbound and outbound freight, and have it ready for motor carriers at the designated pickup time, which eliminates wasted hours for drivers, says Arthur Mroz, vice president at CXI Trucking.
The local drayage carrier consolidates freight at its terminal from more than 40 S&C vendors in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor into 200 trailers per month for onward delivery to S&C or one of its customers. All the work is done with very little manual communication because S&C is diligent about uploading all shipment information into CXI’s system.
“We got all these other customers that have to communicate with us on a daily basis and make 20 phone calls to make things right. And we’re only getting a quarter of the volume from them. We’re getting such high volume on this customer. And it just works,” said Mroz.
And S&C always has a drop trailer ready to go so when the CXI driver pulls in with a load, he or she can quickly hook and go with the outbound shipment. That eliminates the need for multiple trips back and forth with empty trailers.
“We’re doing up to two to three trailers in this fashion per night. That could be a daylong process with some of our other customers to receive in and to ship out the product. We’re able to do that in a short period of time because of how well they’re able to work with us,” Mroz added.
“They’ve got their system so down pat, they don’t even have to speak to us,” he said.
About Shipper of Choice partner TriumphPay
TriumphPay is the transportation industry’s premier payment network trusted by leading shippers, brokers, factors and carriers. Its innovative and highly automated fintech payment solution brings cost savings and efficiencies to antiquated transportation payment processes for network participants. Integrated financing options leverage the strength of TriumphPay’s parent bank and can provide liquidity and cash flow visibility.
TriumphPay is a division of Triumph Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: TFIN).