Case Assignment

CASE 1

Lehigh Valley Transport and Logistics Service (LVTLS)

LVTLS was established in 1960 by Mason Delp as a local cartage company to provide pickup and

delivery service for several interstate trucking companies in the Greater Lehigh Valley area of

Pennsylvania. Mason saw signs of change in the area between Allentown and Philadelphia with

the improvement of the interstate highway system and the improvements in the Pennsylvania

Turnpike System providing North-South and East-West corridors along with other roadway

additions and improvements. In addition there was a definite population sprawl around

Philadelphia. The roadway additions and improvements provided transportation access to many

communities. Mason’s observations were correct and the area changed from predominantly

agriculture to companies producing and manufacturing products and services.

One very significant development was the establishment of a number of facilities for producing

pharmaceutical products and an agglomeration of companies and services to support that industry.

The growth and success of these companies provided the opportunity for Mason Delp to expand

his motor carrier services to provide both less-than-truckload and truckload service throughout the

mid-Atlantic states. When the motor carriers were deregulated in 1980, Mason established

warehousing services in Lansdale, Pennsylvania as a complement to his trucking services. At that

point “Logistics” was added to the name of the company. He promoted his son, Paul, to vice

president of the warehousing division because of his experience and education.

In 2000, Mason retired and Paul became the CEO. The company experienced growth in the

warehousing business as the economy was expanding in the early years of the twenty- first century

and Paul invested heavily in information systems and technology. However, the great recession of

2008 caused challenges and financial pain for LVTLS because of a downturn in business activity.

The investments in information systems and technology mitigated the impact of the downturn.

The organization has fully recovered by 2012 but Paul now recognizes the need for cost control

and strategic relationships to buffer future economic volatility. He is particularly concerned about

the business activity he has with pharmaceutical companies because of the challenges that they are

facing. However, Paul recognizes that their challenges may be opportunities for LVTLS to develop

collaborative relationships with a number of these companies to help them improve their supply

chains management.

CASE QUESTIONS

1.Discuss the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry.

2.Which of these challenges provide the best opportunity for LVTLS? Why?