Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/319134
I DA U N I V E R S A L M ay -J u n e 2 0 1 4 24 n 1987, SAV founders Mike Abbot and Joe Speltz launched the company around one simple philosophy: provide the highest-quality service within the indus- try, and they would be able to attract and retain high-caliber customers. That recipe for success paid off . Over time, as their company evolved, they lis- tened closely to their customers and formed a multi-dimensional service off ering to address their customers' continued needs. SAV was initially formed around a small brokerage division that managed a few carriers – today, the SAV Enterprise Division coordinates a nationwide network of nearly 10,000 truckload carriers serving all points within the United States and Canada. In 1996, the company invested in three trucks and kept those trucks busy mov- ing freight from the Midwest to the West Coast – today the SAV Express Division has a nationwide fl eet of air-ride equipment mov- ing freight throughout the lower 48 states. In 2008, SAV launched their Logistics Division and gave a small group of pre- ferred customers online access to a hand- ful of common carriers – today they have thousands of companies using their Virtual Shipping Assistant™, and those customers can access preferred rates from dozens of qualifi ed carriers providing LTL (freight) ser- vices to and from Canada and throughout the lower 48 states. SAV's platform facilitates a multi-carrier "rate shop" function that queries dozens of digital freight tariff s from national, regional and micro-regional carriers and delivers real-time rates for LTL (freight) services. In addition , SAV customers have an immediate online option to get an instant insurance quote for a full coverage insur- ance program that covers new, used and remanufactured commodities. In the fall of 2012, in a continued eff ort to expand their service off erings, SAV absorbed a specialty services brokerage. Today, SAV's Specialty Services Division has relationships with thousands of fl atbed, specialty and heavy-haul carriers and is currently providing transportation solutions e Independent Distributors Association has entered into a new partnership with the SAV Transporta- tion Group to provide a discounted freight program as a meaningful member benefi t. e program was formally rolled out on Monday April 1st and provides IDA members (and associate members) immediate access to preferred rates from nearly 50 qualifi ed carriers pro- viding truckload, specialty truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) services with national range and reach. Carrier capacity is extremely low these days, and there is not enough equipment to move the available freight. Under the SAV program, IDA members can get instant freight and insurance quotes and dispatch a truck from SAV's nationwide carrier network without so much as a phone call. "SAV was initially referred to IDA by one of our members who indicated that they had been saving both time and money with SAV's program for nearly a year," said Nancy Estes, IDA's Executive Director. "We reached out to other associations for references and learned that a number of our members, such as Shaff er Enterprises, Ryden Equipment and Juniors Construction were also on SAV's program." "IDA is in the business of support- ing distributors, dealers and manu- facturers within the heavy equipment industry, so we partnered with the SAV Transportation Group to roll out a customized logistics program with discounted shipping rates to our members." I