I think we can all agree – the true heroes of ground transportation logistics are the drivers. They deserve the applause, because they are out there acting as the public face of carriers, meeting and interacting with shippers, clients, loading dock staff and many more in the supply chain. And they do it all to the tightest of schedules, while wrestling with heavy traffic, poor weather and much more.
Then there are the carriers themselves, who move mountains to make sure they deliver every time for shippers, no matter what the challenges or the obstacles are. Three things that sum up our carriers? Dedication, excellence and customer delight.
This is why we decided to celebrate our carriers and drivers at an awards celebration, during Transporeon Summit in Barcelona.
The Top Carrier Award (TCA) is a quantitative award, 100% based on data – and this is the exciting part. By collating data on the Transporeon platform between May 1 and July 31 this year, we were able to highlight the champion performers, sorted by size, in three very important categories: Sustainability, Commitment and Visibility.
Driver of the Year (DOTY) is a qualitative award, selected from a longlist of nominees sent to us by you, the industry.
We read some awesome tales of driving skill and experience and some truly admirable feats of transportation management and customer service. These drivers are the warriors of real-time automation and collaboration, fully embracing all aspects of the digital revolution.
Let’s meet the winners!
Top Carrier Award
The first award in this category was Most Sustainable Carrier in Road Transportation, which went to the carrier with the lowest carbon emissions, based on platform data.
Poland-based Kuźnia-Trans took the prize and Maciej Zwyrtek, General Sales Director, could not conceal his surprise and delight. “We have never won an award like this before, and this will now become a real milestone for us for the future,” he said. “We cannot build great service and great products with cheap tools, and this recognition is all about the tools we have. Of course, we are still learning all the time, we have a long way to go alongside our customers. Fit for 55 is coming and we must all be ready for it.”
Maciej welcomes Transporeon’s tools because “they are very focused on helping cut emissions and because they save time – and time is something you cannot buy.”
Carrier logistics is about much more than road capability, so it was also important to recognise intermodal excellence in this category. The award for the Most Sustainable Carrier in Intermodal Transportation, based on its platform performance, went to Dutch-based Schavemaker Logistics and Transport.
CEO Rico Schavemaker enthused: “As a beautiful family company founded in 1967, we are honored, excited and astonished to win this award.” Rico went on to describe their efforts to improve their all-round sustainability numbers, including two electric vehicles (with four to come), hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel in 90% of its Netherlands operations, and a new HQ fitted with solar panels, heat pump technology and energy neutrality.
Our Most Committed Carrier category was determined according to the highest ratio of accepted transport to rejections by a carrier, demonstrating true integrity and diligence in their bids. In the small fleet category (2-5k transports) German-founded global logistics provider Militzer and Münch Romania (M&M) was the top scorer on the platform in these metrics.
Deputy General Manager, Daiana Stefanescu said: “It is a real honor to be acknowledged for our efforts and achievements and to see that our hard work and dedication have been noticed and appreciated by Transporeon. The recommendation serves as a source of motivation and encouragement for our team to continue striving for excellence.”
The winner in the medium fleet category (5-10k transports) was CEVA Logistics in Poland. CEVA’s Global Ground Rail Procurement Head, Jason James paid particular tribute to the Poland team: “It shows how much importance we are placing on commitment within the company. It’s important to have working systems, but the most important thing in any organization is the people, that’s what is shown here, so that’s the success story from our point of view.”
Our third category for carriers recognises those with the highest Real-time Visibility on our platform. Real-time visibility is a vital asset in today’s logistics challenges, because it enables more efficient transport operations, more precise management of Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) information and delivery performance, smoother site operations and even more trusted and seamless relationships with customers.
Our winners were divided into three sections by size: small fleet winner was Rauter Spedition, in the medium fleet category Marco Metzner Transporte took the prize, and the large fleet section was awarded to Cargo Service Eurpoe BV.
Driver of the Year Award
We were delighted to celebrate three exceptional members of the driver community, who show unmatchable dedication and professionalism as they cross the roads of Europe to support their employers and their customers.
The first winner was Jaime Girona Campillo, a 40-year veteran with the Spanish company, Transmanolet. Jaime’s colleague Leticia García, a Board Member at Transmanolet, described, “his passion and determination to do everything in his job as well as he possibly can, so that his colleagues have the comfort of knowing that, from the moment of pick-up to the moment of delivery, everything will always work out fine.”
Leticia told the ceremony two incredible facts about Jaime:
- He has never had a penalty fine in all his years as a driver. This fact drew astonished gasps from the room at the awards ceremony!
- He has never had any accidents, not even a scratch on his truck (more gasps!).
“Transmanolet is a family business, and Jaime is a member of the family,” said Leticia.
Jaime himself spoke warmly about enjoying his job and how he was proud to be part of an industry that works together to bring food and essentials to all of us. He is also grateful that his work has exposed him to the enriching cultures, habits and foods of other countries. His wise tip to young drivers? “Be cautious on the road at all times – you’re in a very large vehicle, and you have to remember that lives can be lost.”
Our second winner in the DOTY award was Marco Stradiotto of Canil, an Italian-founded European specialist in chemical product and liquid waste transport. Marco has been with the firm for 36 years, and, like Jaime, has had no accidents, or ever made any claims or had one registered against him. His colleague Manuela Baggio, Head of Sales, knows this because she checked all the reports, explaining that such claims are common in the chemicals industry. So to have zero claims was a big surprise. She told an entertaining story about Marco…
Some years ago, Canil was looking for an experienced person to work in the dispatcher’s office, and offered it to Marco, explaining how useful it would be to have an experienced driver in that environment, especially someone as positive and collaborative as Marco. He did the job for two months, but then felt he had no choice but to quit: “No way,” he said, “My life is back on the road!”
Marco spoke passionately about his life on the road. As a specialist in Eastern Europe, he sees it as a real privilege to have witnessed great geopolitical changes from the comfort of his cab, which he has made a home-from-home. He advised young drivers to always follow the rules and laws and to be focused on the traffic in front and around you at all times.
Our third winner was Ireneusz Jandzinski of German-based Roos Spedition, who provided a perfect example of a good driver going the extra mile. Ireneusz reacted very quickly to rescue a young mother and her 14-month-old baby from a badly damaged car on the A28 in France, having calmly parked up his own vehicle and activated the hazard lights first.
The world of transportation is full of inspiring stories such as those of Ireneusz, Marco and Jaime and we look forward to hearing plenty more from you in the year ahead, as we search for our candidates for Transporeon Driver of the Year 2024.
