Infrastructure Supports Expansion

C&D maintains meticulous service amid record-setting growth

The term banner year may be overused in the business world, but there’s no other way to describe the remarkable near-100 percent growth C&D Logistics Ltd. has experienced in 2018, and with no end for future growth.

It’s a remarkable achievement for a Langley, B.C.-based company that was launched 20 years ago as a father-and-son team with Bruce Matheson—a transportation logistics specialist with 50 years in the business who has since retired—and his son Dana, who grew up in the industry. But as the latter points out, while the growth is due to many external factors, including a booming economy, it’s also the result of a company that is single-minded in its devotion to providing top-notch service. 

Matheson says: “Service is the key to any successful business in our field and yet it’s often compromised. Today more than ever, our recipe is to provide sharp pricing and service of the degree that our customers rely on us completely for the efficient movement of goods anywhere in the world.”

C&D’s infrastructure has been meticulously developed to cater to customers’ needs with staff that Matheson describes as “customer- and carrier-centric. Plus, I always have extra staff on the payroll to ensure that high levels of customer service are maintained under all circumstances.”

Moreover, this staff, which in 2018 numbers about 36 individuals, presides over departments such as freight, special projects and many other areas of the transportation realm. 

“With so many specialists covering different modes of transport, we’re able to settle issues in real time,” explains Matheson.

Initially, C&D was able to attract clients with low, grandfathered pricing thanks to connections with carriers it had developed over the decades; today, the company’s prominence means its volume also grows, “and this in turn enables us to be effective in keeping prices reasonable,” says Matheson.

Recently, C&D opened a sales office in Scottsdale, Ariz., because that state is not only a hub for freight to and from Mexico, it is also rapidly becoming a headquarters for many large businesses. 

“Plus, Arizona State University has a strong logistics program, so we can tap talent from there as required,” says Matheson.

C&D also recently opened a Toronto sales office, which will give the company a stronger presence in a region where its business activities and number of clients are expanding. Matheson says: “In addition, next spring we’ll also open an office in the U.S. Midwest, perhaps Chicago, and then expand to the eastern seaboard. 

“Our model going forward is to open two to three new offices yearly in different regions, a trajectory that will eventually lead us to create a sales force overseas because our international division is becoming incredibly busy.”

However, ever mindful of the hazards of rapid growth, Matheson stresses: “We will be very methodical in our approach so that our geographical expansion will enhance service, not be at its expense. C&D’s origins are very much grassroots, and our customer relationships have been anchored over the years in trust—so while we’re evolving, our values will remain exactly the same.”