Los Angeles Business Journal
PROFILES
The 10 Fastest-growing Private Companies in Los Angeles.
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Tracking: CaseStack’s Dan Sanker handles logistics operations for smaller firms. |
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CaseStack Inc.
Logistics
2001-2003 Growth: 990.6 percent
Founded: 1999
Origins: As an executive in the logistics group at Nabisco, Dan Sanker
saw a need among small businesses for the sort of supply-chain logistics
systems employed by their larger competitors. Sanker formed CaseStack,
which brings integrated inventory and tracking systems to small and
mid-sized players by acting as an outsourced logistics arm. “We wanted
to level the playing field with an outsourcing distribution solution
including national transportation, warehousing and the software to
manage it all,” he said.
Greatest Contributor to Revenue Growth: Its clientele includes companies
that need national supply-chain systems. CaseStack’s clients can adopt
its system without spending months downloading and integrating the
company’s software. “Every company spends $1 million on the same
software package,” said Sanker. “With us you don’t need to. We’ve
already spent a couple of million dollars on our software, and it stays
on our server.”
Risks Inherent in Rapid Growth: The company is growing faster than its
ability to hire qualified employees. “It’s hard to find really great
people, and there’s not an existing industry to take them from,” said
Sanker. The workforce has increased from 16 employees in 2001 to the
current 87, and in the coming year he expects to hire 25 sales,
logistics and technology personnel.
Biggest Competitors: UPS and FedEx are entering the market with turnkey
shipping services. British-based logistics giant Excel Plc is offering
domestic beginning-to-end logistics services, including freight
forwarding, warehouse management, multi-modal planning and information
technology. CaseStack also faces competition from regional warehousing
and transportation companies.
Biggest Challenge in Coming Year: Continuing to overcome the resistance
to logistics outsourcing. CaseStack must convince a company to change
its way of doing business before it can make a sale. “Competition these
days isn’t product versus product,” Sanker said, “it’s supply chain
versus supply chain, and some clients need to understand that.”