Photo courtesy of Canadian Pacific.
"We have a proven operating model, the shortest routes in key markets, and are now making great strides in customer service," said Keith Creel, CP's president and chief executive officer (CEO). "Over the last four years, a lot of work has been done to improve our cost structure and build a strong foundation for success. We are now well positioned to leverage CP's safe, highly efficient and low-cost transportation model."
Building on the business momentum of its grain franchise and the innovative Dedicated Train Program, CP’s sales and marketing team is focused on improvements across all lines of its business, with one objective: leveraging the total transportation product.
"We are now at an inflection point and are well positioned to grow the franchise, sell a competitive service and offer our customers a best-in-class, total transportation solution," said John Brooks, CP's chief marketing officer. "CP delivers safely and efficiently from A to Z, but now by collaborating closely with our customers and actively listening, we better understand their needs and are taking action to strengthen our total product in the marketplace."
CP recently implemented two new initiatives with a goal of enhancing its customer experience through offering a more reliable total product and extending its market reach:
- CP said it is making the single largest purchase of gensets in railroad history with an order for 41 new gensets equipped with the latest telematics and most fuel efficient technology available in the marketplace, to be delivered throughout the remainder of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018. Gensets are purpose built 40-foot containers that house two large generators capable of powering up to 17 refrigerated ocean-going containers. With this investment CP said it is expanding its protective and perishable service (PPS) product for its customers to serve a growing segment of the transportation market. CP's significant investment in gensets will allow it to launch more transcontinental genset train starts from the ports of Vancouver and Montreal than any other Class 1 railroad, providing CP customers the most frequent, reliable, and environmentally friendly PPS service on the market today, all supported by an telematics package providing the assurance of real time cold-chain security.
- A new "live" lift at Portal, North Dakota, U.S., was successfully opened in May. Portal is the border crossing for CP's intermodal traffic moving between Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest. The new service allows CP to lift single containers off of trains for inspection by Canadian and U.S. authorities as opposed to having entire intermodal cars set-off, which could hold three or more containers. This investment will eliminate non-targeted containers from being delayed at the border crossing.
CP will continue to use its competitive advantage via Vancouver, Canada's largest port of entry, leveraged by CP's shortest routes and its best-in-class service to the U.S. Midwest.
"Simply put, we have fixed the engine and are now focused on sustainable growth and best serving our customers," Creel said.
