Diane Gibson quips that she doesn’t think she found logistics, it found her. She identified a niche in the logistics industry after working with Pak Mail Centers of America, a market segment she calls the retail pack and ship operators. “It didn’t take long to figure out that the big stuff was where the money was,” she says. That launched her into a more specialized mode of packing and arranging shipments of art and antiques. And, as she describes it, “If youship a huge piece of art or an antique, you can certainly take that technology and evolve into some of the more commercial things we do today.”

Gibson has developed a network of highly specialized franchise operations covering the United States, and today, the sky’s the limit, literally, for Craters and Freighters (www.cratersandfreighters.com), the company Gibson founded.

Brad Barenberg points to a recent contract to crate and move O-rings for NASA’s Space Shuttle. They’re 19 feet wide, he points out and they have to ship flat. To add to the complexity, the shipments had to move across eight states, and that involved special hauling equipment, permits, and pilot cars. All in a day’s work for Craters and Freighters Global Logistics, a company that grew out of the original Craters and Freighters. That company evolved to fill some specific needs of larger customers that required centralized quotes, more standardized pricing, central billing, and a single point of contact, explains Gibson. Barenberg helped develop Craters and Freighters Global Logistics, and Gibson later sold it to him.

Both companies, Craters and Freighters and Craters and Freighters Global Logistics, operate out of the same office in Golden, CO with the same goals and strategies in mind, says Gibson. It works extremely well, she adds.

During her stint with Pak Mail Centers of America, Gibson clearly had time to explore the franchise concept for the business she eventually started. It’s a bricks and mortar operation, she is quick to point out. Much of the crating and shipping operations take place at a Craters and Freighters warehouse, though some customers prefer (or their products require) that the crating take place on site.

Moving a flight simulator cross country requires careful packing and handling.

(copyright)

A central feature is the crate engineering services department at the headquarters office. That office not only fills specialized needs through computer aided design and engineering, it sets specific standards for the types of crates and passes that standard along to the network of franchise operators.

A lot of the systems standards come out of the Colorado head office, says Gibson. “We work hard on training and communication,” she continues. “We have a very specific set of systems standards and in the franchisee’s license agreement, they agree to adhere to all systems standards. And, of course, it’s in their best interest to do so.”

Training never stops. The head of the engineering services department conducts different training classes and advanced crating techniques classes as methods and standards evolve, continues Gibson. The specialized nature of the business isn’t for everyone, and Craters and Freighters isn’t boasting hundreds or thousands of locations. There are nearly 70 locations and, “at our peak, we’ll only have a little over 100 or maybe right at 100,” says Gibson. There are two reasons for that. One is the process of standardization and quality control. The other is that a Craters and Freighters franchise is for one city. That allows ample coverage nationwide and makes the training and standardization easier. That’s the model the company will follow in expansion outside the US, says Gibson. “We want to expand through an international program,” she explains. “One of the benefits that we have in the United States is this network of brick and mortar operations,” says Gibson, “and it’s our goal to start developing those in specific foreign countries.”

Existing customers are driving some of that opportunity already. One possible approach to filling the needs in global markets would be to license a “master franchisee” with expansion rights in a specific region or country, continues Gibson. That master franchisee can be trained and receive updates at Craters and Freighters and then do the training and support themselves.