TA holding skyrockets as it invests in technology and outsourcing
DCI
It's been long ago since carrying cargo on trucks throughout Brazil meant the isolated work of a driver behind the steering wheel of an old truck. Transportadora Americana (TA), headquartered in the city of São Paulo it was named after, had income of R$ 210 million (US$ 119.3 million) in 2010 (20% more than in 2009) and it expects to earn R$ 250 million (US$ 156.3 million) this year (another 20% more). The strategy is to use the most modern technology to grow, and an administration focused on efficiency and cost reduction. That is what led it to be, last year, the first company in Brazil to issue an Electronic Bill of Lading (e-BL) - which was launched by the Ministry of Finance to replace the paperwork so far used whenever a cargo is shipped by truck.
The savings TA had adhering to the news get to R$ 50 thousand (US$ 31.3 thousand) a month. Currently, 95% of the company operations already take place using the digital document. TA is the main issuer of e-BLs in the country. Another R$ 800 thousand (US$ 500 thousand) have been saved until April this year with an unprecedented action of the company: the outsourcing of the management of the tires of its fleet, delivered by Transportadora Americana to DPaschoal - which is responsible for the tire changing, calibration, alignment and everything else the company trucks require. Result: 26% fall in the expenditure on the purchase of new tires and 2% in the consumption of fuel, besides a 14% increase in the number of reused tires.
Founded in 1941, the TA Holding is controlled in equal parts by the Luchiari and the Panzan, two traditional families of the city of Americana. The company features an infrastructure that is very common to the South and Southeast of the country. Since 2002, the holding has a commercial agreement with FedEx, which gives it access to the international transport network of the American company. According to the company, TALog (logistics operator), TAExpress (air, land or sea express shipping), Wind Express (specialized in the transport of urgent packages, such as perishable goods), TABens (aimed at the real estate sector) and the University of Transport (Universidade do Transporte) the first corporate university of the sector, integrate the organization.
Its focus are clients with special needs. "Today, the customer doesn't only want to know if the product has been delivered; the customer wants to know how and when it happened, on what conditions, who signed the receipt ... and the customer wants to know that all immediately", remarks Celso Luchiari, CEO of the company. "Our specialty is to provide such data better than any other company". It is only possible to make all that available and still make money, opting for technological sophistication and bold management. "In 2011, we invested heavily on the fleet, equipment and improvements in the warehouses, and in systems of information to the customer, such as traceability of goods", details Luchiari. And they have also invested in the opening of new units.
From the end of 2009 to the beginning of this year, the holding says it has already opened 7 branches: two in Rio Grande do Sul (Caxias do Sul and Lajeado), three in Santa Catarina (Blumenau, Criciúma and Itajaí) and two in São Paulo (São Carlos and Sorocaba). Today, TA has 28 subsidiaries, distributed in the South and Southeast, and it is analyzing the opening of 7 other subsidiaries in the States of Paraná, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais until the end of the year.