The history of UTi started in 1926 in Germany when it was first established as a freight forwarder by the name of Union-Transport. Over 90 years of service it became a worldwide supply chain provider, offering a variety of solutions, including “air, ocean, distribution, customs brokerage, and contract logistics” (UTi Worldwide Company History, n.d., para. 1). Approximately 21,000 employees are currently working for the company.
It has offices in 59 countries and continues to grow. Union-Transport was bought by the WTC Airfreight owners and CEOs, Roger MacFarlane, Peter Thorrington, and Tiger Wessels in 1993. During the next year, Union-Transport establishes its branches almost on all of the continents, save for Antarctica, and start making over $300 million income every year after that. By 2001, the company raised this mark to $1 billion annually and launched eMpower – the first-ever end-to-end network of information systems working worldwide.
This network covered almost 99% of the global GNP and provided clients with high-quality supply chain control. In 2000, the company changed its name to UTi Worldwide, Inc. Through a combination of advanced client solutions, the annual income of the company climbed close to a $5 billion mark. The company also won several awards such as Quest for Quality Award, Best HR Strategy in Line with Business Award, Supplier Diversity Development Award, and Global Coverage Award during the course of the 2010s (Awards, n.d.).
Since December 2014, the company’s CEO is Edward G. Feitzinger, an experienced officer working in international logistics and transportation and supply chain industry for almost twenty years. Feitzinger graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering.
He also holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. Feitzinger joined the company as a consultant in 2009, later becoming the Executive Vice President of the Contract Logistics and Distribution branch in 2010 and the Executive Vice President of the Global Operations branch in 2012. Before UTi Worldwide Feitzinger served at Menlo Worldwide as the Senior Vice President of the Sales and Marketing branch and the head of the technology and engineering sector from 2000 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2006, he served at Worldwide Logistics for Hewlett-Packard as the Vice President and also as the Senior Vice President at Golden Gate Logistics from 2006 to 2008 (Rodick, 2014, para. 1). Other executives of the company include Gene T. Ochi, Eric W. Kirchner, Lance E. D’Amico, Richard G. Rodick, Jeffrey Hammond, and Ronald Berger.
Unfortunately, the company has not been doing well in recent years. It is said that the division’s profits have been dropping, and Feitzinger had to cut salaries and jobs, as well as avoid costly collaborations with other companies (Ludwig, 2015, para. 3). The company’s income statement is as follows:
References
Awards. (n.d.). Web.
Feitzinger Named New CEO. Web.
Ludwig, C. (2015). Faster Forwarding. Web.
Rodick, R. Eric Kirchner Resigns as CEO of UTi Worldwide Inc.; Edward UTi Worldwide Company History. (n.d.). Web.