RESUME
Name: Suelynn Callahan.
Title: General manager.
Firm: Advantage Oregon, Oregon Association of Nurseries, 29751 S.W. Town Center Loop W., Wilsonville, OR 97070; (503) 682-5089; scallahan@oan.org.

Do you have a response to this article? Send an e-mail to Todd Davis.

Truck shortages have plagued Oregon nursery growers for years. Now high freight costs are adding to these growers' woes. To help alleviate these problems, Oregon Association of Nurseries introduced a program named Advantage Oregon. I caught up with new general manager Suelynn Callahan to find out how this new service works and what it takes to be involved.

Q. What's your background in the transportation business?

A. I've worked in the logistics and supply chain industry for more than 20 years and been involved with both large-scale Request for Proposal (RFP) programs and multi-modal solutions.

I believe that my experience as President of N.I. Logistics American Corp., a niche logistics company that specialized in comprehensive customer service programs to smaller shippers, will be especially valuable to Advantage Oregon.

Q. What are the shipping challenges that Oregon growers face?

A. More than 75 percent of Oregon nursery products are shipped out of state, so transportation costs and services are a big part of the competitive environment.

Advantage Oregon is a new tool that Oregon growers can use to take cost out of the logistics equation and improve service to their customers.

Q. How was Advantage Oregon formulated, and what does it hope to accomplish?

A. The goal of Advantage Oregon is to leverage the enormous freight-buying power of Oregon agricultural shippers and use the latest in transportation management software to reduce shipping costs, increase efficiencies and improve service to buyers.

We are immediately focusing on providing long-haul freight management services to nursery growers, and in the future look to provide Oregon agricultural shippers a way to combine their seasonal shipping needs with shippers in other seasonal sectors.

This would provide a year-round business opportunity that would be very attractive to trucking firms.

Q. How does Advantage Oregon's Web ordering system work?

A. Using the Internet as a way to instantly communicate orders, delivery status and reporting is one of the most exciting parts of Advantage Oregon's capabilities.

We want to make it easy for the growers to have information necessary to schedule their resources, immediately resolve any issues, and have meaningful data to better service their customers.

Q. Will Advantage Oregon be looking at nontraditional shipping options for nursery growers?

A. Advantage Oregon's first steps will be to implement the programs described above, but it's important to also study other solutions that can potentially help agricultural growers.

There are some interesting programs currently in development that could be beneficial to the special needs of nursery shippers.

Q. Can growers outside Oregon participate in the program?

A. The mission statement of Advantage Oregon is to "enhance the competitive position of Oregon nursery growers and other Oregon shippers of temperature-sensitive agricultural commodities by delivering superior transportation management services at the most competitive rates."

Our initial funding also comes from the Oregon Association of Nurseries and from a forgivable loan from the state of Oregon. So, for now, assisting Oregon growers is our main focus and we are working hard to demonstrate the success of this model.

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© 2006 Branch-Smith Publishing