For More Information Contact: Customer Service Phone: 800-765-7242		PRESS RELEASE May 30, 2002
Saia Instrumental In On-Time Delivery Of "Harry Potter" Movies To Major Retailers
Duluth, GA – Major retailers, including Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Tower Records, Best Buy, ToysRUs and Shopko, stocked DVD and videotape shelves this past week for the rush of Harry Potter fans as the movie was released to consumers. Saia – a leading provider of regional one and two day shipping service – was instrumental in helping stores in its 21-state coverage area by delivering more than 3,100 shipments in a narrow time frame. The key to this successful distribution was not delivering early or late, but on time. A total of 5,175 pallets of movies were delivered in the 3,151 shipments and 100 percent were at the stores on time for release day, according to Los Angeles Regional Operations and Sales Manager Butch Breneman. "We performed exceptional on these shipments," he said. "And as a result, our customer, Exel Logistics has shown confidence by assuring us of additional shipments in the future." Saia's proven track record for on-time delivery gained the company shipment of the Harry Potter merchandise. Last month, Saia delivered two other major video releases -- "Training Day" and "Ocean’s 11," – both meeting Exel’s established goal of 100 percent on–time delivery. "To commit to service for this many shipments and actually perform at such a high level was incredible," said Exel Logistics Business Development Manager Robert Lawson. "I’ve had other companies tell me they could perform at this level and they couldn't. Saia told me they could do it and they did," he added. The "Harry Potter" shipments were delivered in the May 22-24th date delivery window. "It was important for us to monitor each step from the time we picked up these shipments until the deliveries were made," said New Orleans Regional Operations and Sales Manager Murray Parker. "In order to do that, several members of our operational, customer service and technology teams were involved in conference calls each day to report on our progress and shipment status." Parker credited operational discipline, superior customer service and innovative technology capabilities for such an exceptional on-time delivery percentage. Mark Robinson, Saia's Vice President of Information Technology, said specialized technology was used to automatically set service due dates on bill entry, for tracing and tracking freight, and to assist the customer with inquiries. Additionally, Exel Logistics used the Saia website to retrieve proof of delivery information. Two Saia customer service representatives monitored shipment status and answered customer calls on shipment status. "When you have a project of this magnitude, it takes a team effort to drive these results," said Robinson. "And that is exactly what we had." Saia is a provider of regional one and two day service from Southern Virginia, across the south and west to California, and northwest into Oregon and Washington with partner service to the rest of the continental United States. Saia also provides service to Puerto Rico, and complete North American coverage is offered including Canada and Mexico. Saia has more than 5,000 employees networking from more than 100 locations. Saia is a subsidiary of SCS Transportation, Inc., a regional carrier holding company, that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yellow Corporation (NASDAQ: YELL). Yellow Corporation is a holding company with operating subsidiaries specializing in national, regional and international transportation services. For more information visit the Saia website at www.saia.com and the Yellow Corporation website at www.yellowcorp.com.