Viewpoints

Creating Value for Supply Chains

Unlocking Shareholder Value: Mastering the Supply Chain
TandLA's Lee Clair and Steve Fox had an article published in Supply Chain Management Review on how supply chains can increase shareholder and equity value for mid-cap companies. This article is the first in a series on supply chain improvement and increasing company valuation.
Private Fleet Performance Improvement
Many private fleets struggle with providing high quality service in a cost-effective manner. In this presentation T and LA's Steve Fox and Lee Clair provide alternatives and solutions for optimizing a private fleet.
Inventory Trends and What They Mean for Transportation
TandLA Principal Steve Fox and I recently presented this report on a Stifel Financial Corp. monthly Transportation and Logistics Insights call. The topic was inventory levels and their potential impact on the transportation and warehousing markets. While at the time, retailer inventory levels were relatively low, manufacturer and wholesaler interviews were at or near historic highs. As a result, different sectors and companies are likely to perform very differently and as a result so may the transport and logistics providers that serve them.
Inventory Impacts on the 2023 Transportation and Logistics Market
As we head into 2023, it is difficult to know exactly what the new year will bring from a freight transportation and logistics perspective. However, inventories are highly likely to impact transport demand and the share each mode carries. Never before have we witnessed so many divergent trends in inventories across links of the supply chain and specific industry sub-segments.
How to Beat the High Cost of Shipping
With remarkably high costs of shipping this year, creative solutions are needed to stop the bleeding. Lee Clair and Bob Sabath go into depth on ideas for shippers to consider in order to reduce their supply chain costs and streamline efficiency.

Creating Value for Private Equity

Understanding EBITDA Post-COVID
Disruptions from the COVID era resulted in non-linear performance, which has made it difficult to understand expected future EBITDA performance, and thus valuation.
Creating Value in Specialty Distribution
For many PE-owned distribution companies, COVID has stressed supply chains. The good new? This is a great time for portfolio companies to restructure supply chains and lower transportation, warehousing and inventory costs. From a PE’s perspective, this frees up cash in the short-term, and increases EBITDA forecasts to enhance a sale price in the long term.
Creating Value with a Distribution Business
The distribution business model continues to evolve and create value for manufacturers and end customers. Today, better managed distribution businesses should leverage current logistics technology to achieve better financial results.
Leveraging Market and Competitive Diligence Post-Close
Over the years, PE’s began to ask us to leverage our market and competitive diligence work as a foundation and assist them and their new investment management team in developing a new post close strategy.  In so doing much of our PE work is now beginning to look like our traditional strategy assignments.
When to Conduct Market and Competitive Diligence
The tradition has been for buyers to have an independent third party develop a report covering an acquisition target's market and competitive position post-LOI. Many PE’s are beginning to believe this process is flawed and have begun to change.
Lee Clair Presentation to TD Securities Inc. Clients
TD Securities Inc. hosted Lee Clair. Mr. Clair's presentation discussed how eCommerce is impacting transportation and logistics.
Lecture at Northwestern University Transportation Center
Lee Clair and Steve Fox were guest lecturers at Northwestern University's Transportation Center Executive Education Series May 9-11, 2016.