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What’s With The Shiny New Unishippers Franchise Model?

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Hot Lava Christmas

If you’re a current franchisee of Unishippers, a small package and freight shipping reseller, are you feeling as hot as a bucket of fresh lava right about now? Or, are you cool with what your corporate office has decided to do with your franchise model?

The reason I ask is because of a word that’s rather important in franchise circles. The word;

Territory

And, as a Unishipper franchise owner, you purchased one, right? (A protected one, I assume?)

Right.

 

Read…

“Unishippers Global Logistics, LLC, the nation’s first and one of the largest small package and freight shipping resellers, is now rolling out its new national franchise model without geographic boundaries. After selling out all of its original available geographic-based territories, it is modifying the concept of ‘territories,’ allowing existing and new franchisees to serve b2b customers anywhere in the country.”
 

Whoa.

Now, if I was a Unishippers franchisee, I wouldn’t be a happy camper, today. I think.

But, in all fairness, I don’t know what’s been going on at corporate headquarters. Maybe things are hunky-dory. Maybe, Unishippers has some of the happiest franchisees on this side of the Earth. Maybe, there were lots of high-level meetings between the franchise executives and the franchisees, and it’s really a win-win. I just don’t know.

But, this sure is an ugly press release.

If you’re a Unishippers franchise owner, heck, if you’re the CEO of Unishippers, and you’re reading this franchise blog post, maybe you’ll chime in, and let me know.

I’m curious.

 


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Filed Under: Franchise News, Franchise Terms, Hot Franchise Topics
About The Franchise King®

My name is Joel Libava, and I'm the author of Become a Franchise Owner! In addition, I'm a franchise ownership advisor. I teach people how to properly choose, research, and buy franchises.

  • Alison Smith

    You asked for a response from the corporate office, and I am happy to oblige. No hot lava here. Unishippers’ franchisees, not the corporate office, actually proposed and developed this new open territory model as a way for them to access more of the market and bring in more new franchisees.
    Our system’s success is based on increasing sales to our carrier partners and our franchisees determined that this was a way to accelerate our growth and expand our market share since we had sold out all of our available territories. Our franchisees are actually pretty forward thinking and realized that in our industry (transportation) market protection and territories was an antiquated way of viewing the market and the real opportunity was in open markets/territories. Pretty visionary really.
    As a result of our franchisee leadership’s proposal, the Executive Team at Unishippers worked closely with them to make the FRANCHISEE recommended strategic changes and have been working on this with the franchisees in lock step for more than two years. The full system actually VOTED on, and approved, the model change. That has always been how it’s been done here at Unishippers–and yes, we do have a pretty happy, successful and growing franchise system. I am not sure what your real issue or concern is, other than to stir the pot, but frankly I am certain that it’s uninformed. Although I do appreciate the opportunity to share the collaborative process that we engaged in and commend our franchisees for their vision and creativity.
    As a final note, franchisees were given the option to keep their protected territories and while some did and can continue to operate in a “protected” fashion, the vast majority chose to open their territories where they benefit financially from any sales in their market. A true win-win.

    • http://thefranchiseking.com/about-joel-libava-the-franchise-king The Franchise King

      Hi Alison,

      Thank you so much for this great information.

      Whenever I see a franchisor change their model-especially one that’s as important as territory protection-which all potential franchise want, I get very concerned.

      Did i stir the pot? Maybe. Do the people that subscribe to my franchise blog do so to stay informed on franchise industry issues? Do they read my articles because they feel that they can learn more about what they’re about to do-invest a lot of money into a franchise? You bet?

      Will I commend a franchisor who seems to be doing the right things…for the benefit of all concerned. Absolutely. It sounds like your franchisees were very forward-thinking in this decision, and by allowing them to make the final choice in how things will be-moving forward, you just gained a new fan. (Me)

      Now, I want to learn more about your franchise business opportunity. And, I’ll bet my readers will too.

      Best of luck!

      The Franchise King®

      • Caleb Nelson

        I saw this post a few days ago through my Google Alerts email and I thought your take was very interesting. I’m a Unishippers franchise owner with multiple territories. I don’t think your reaction was out of the norm for someone very familiar with the Franchise industry. However, it’s a reaction from someone who might not fully understand the transportation industry and specifically how competitive it is. You had guessed that maybe there was a number of high level meetings with the franchisees and our franchisor. This was a franchisee led decision that was worked out with the franchisor in conjunction with the independent body representing the Franchisees. The majority of Franchisees feel that this change is not only a win-win but vital to the future of our organization. Any company that stays stagnant or chooses not to adapt to market surroundings will become one of many to fall to the wayside. For most franchisees, there is a monetary incentive to open up their territories in a profit sharing type of structure. But I would say that the majority of the franchisees supported this decision, not for padding their own pockets, but because they truly believed that this is for the benefit of the system as a whole.

        • http://thefranchiseking.com/about-joel-libava-the-franchise-king The Franchise King

          Caleb,

          Thanks a lot for responding to my post. I was hoping that a franchisee or 10 would see the post, and comment.

          If the majority of Unishippers franchisees feel that it’s a win-win, then it should work out well for all involved.

          You’re correct; i don’t know a lot about shipping. You do.

          Again, thanks!

          JL

  • Carl Loge

    I am also a Unishipers franchisee and I can tell you that the process for this monumental change was very collaborative. It’s genesis was from three of the larger franchisees, of which I was one. After being in Unishippers for nearly 17 years, our greatest concern was maintaining the viability of what we had worked so hard to grow. We were at the top of our game. But we needed to look down the road. If we waited until we saw a decline, it would be too late.

    Many other 3pl’s in the market place, especially the smaller ones, were starting to fall by the wayside. Carriers were getting busier, and they were under a strategy of limiting their sale channels. So now you have sales people available in the market, and also entrepreneurial potential owners, who have an established book of business. Together, these folks could help us grow the system and help us maintain our position in the marketplace with the carriers we offer to our customers. Under our current system, Unishippers had no franchises available for recruiting them. The new national plan is the answer to attracting a new franchisee; one that brings instant growth.

    As you point out, as an example, I do own hundreds of thousands of square miles of exclusive territory. We think of this as “mineral rights”. With my franchises, I did buy that, and I needed a return on that investment for “lost opportunity” of another Unishippers removing potential accounts. Again, with a collaborative approach with our corporate office, we opened up our territory so that any franchisee could sell there without limits, but any account in my area will pay me a % of the gross profit margin. By doing this, we were able to create a win-win scenario.

    I feel quite fortunate to be involved with such a quality organization as Unishippers. They have provided me with a business model that allows me to meet every level of success goal I have ever had in my life.

    • http://thefranchiseking.com/about-joel-libava-the-franchise-king The Franchise King

      Thanks for adding your real-life as a Unishippers franchisee take to this post.

      It’s great to hear that Unishippers has enabled you to achieve your goals, and that they are looking forward.

      Best of luck!

      JL

  • Mark Ware

    I am also a Unishippers franchisee, and along with Carl, was personally involved in the creation of the National Franchise Program from the earliest discussions. This change was driven by the franchisee leadership, not by the Corporate office. This structural change positions Unishippers for maximum growth going forward, while still providing existing owners with mineral rights to their territories. The process of creating this program over the past two years was extremely collaborative, consistent with the culture of Unishippers.

    • http://thefranchiseking.com/about-joel-libava-the-franchise-king The Franchise King

      Thanks a lot, Mark.

      It sounds like all are on the same page?

      JL

  • http://thefranchiseking.com/about-joel-libava-the-franchise-king The Franchise King

    This is how social media is supposed to work, gang.


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