Hidalgo, J. (2010, November 14). "Reno logistics firm diversifies to stay competitive". Reno Gazette-Journal , p. 1. Retrieved 15 Nov 2010:

As a logistics and transport company with a global reach, there isn't a continent in the world outside the range of Griffin Global Logistics.

Well, no continent except for one.

"I don't think we've ever had a shipment to Antarctica," said Russ Romine, company president.

Ever the loyal company man, Russ' director of client solutions, Kyle Krug, immediately offered a response befitting of his job title.

"But if someone ever needed something delivered to Antarctica, I'm sure we'll find a way to get it over there," Krug said with a chuckle.

Founded in Reno in 1975, Griffin Global Logistics started as a simple air freight and delivery company that handled things like customs clearance for importers in Nevada and California.

These days, the company has leveraged its decades of experience and business relationships into an expanded operation that stretches far beyond Northern Nevada's borders. Besides transport logistics, the Reno-based company now also does warehousing and distribution, operating three facilities and about 300,000 square feet of distribution space between Reno, Los Angeles and Indianapolis.

Among its list of clients: tech giant Google.

"They've basically asked us to manage the order process between their manufacturing entity for enterprise-level servers and their sales and customer service entity," Romine said. "So we created an electronic process that integrated both entities and allowed them to communicate better. We then take that information to manage their shipments of servers with proprietary Google software to clients all over the world on a door-to-door basis."

Partnerships

One reason for Griffin Global Logistics' reach is its wide range of partnerships with other businesses worldwide. These include large shipment forwarding groups in the Far East to smaller agents based in less developed countries.

As a non-asset-based logistics company that doesn't have its own fleet of planes and cargo vessels, Griffin Global Logistics also has relationships with such asset-based carriers as trucking companies, ocean carriers and airlines for transportation.

Building such relationships -- along with a strong core of business and manpower resources -- is essential to succeed in a very competitive field, Romine said.

"Frankly, we have many, many competitors," Romine said. "So we need to be on the front end of technology for transportation and distribution, and we need to have good people and a strong sales force. We don't win them all, but we have a pretty good chance once we get our foot in the door."

Diversifying the business is also important, especially given the impact of the global economic slowdown. In 2009, Griffin Global Logistics saw business drop by 17 percent as client activity fell. But the addition of warehousing and distribution prevented an even bigger decline, Romine said. Both posted strong results in 2008 and 2009 as the transportation side of the business saw a drop in activity during those years.

"Diversification really helped us weather the downturn," Romine said. "We took a leap of faith with warehousing and distribution in 2007, which didn't do well at first. But we got a better feel for it and everything eventually worked out."

So far, 2010 is seeing strong performance for all facets of the business, Romine said. Now, Griffin Global Logistics is focusing on growing its operations in Africa, which is a new market for the company.

Since purchasing the company from former Reno mayor Jeff Griffin in 2001, Romine has managed to grow the business into a $25 million company with 80 employees. Despite having offices in bigger cities such as San Francisco, the company continues to be headquartered in Reno, where more than half of its employees reside.

"We like the business-friendly environment here," Romine said. "And with the world becoming increasingly automated, we're able to effectively manage our transportation logistics and supply chain program anywhere in the world from here. There are a lot of advantages to being headquartered in Reno so we have no plans to leave the area."