Some years ago, a big-box retailer of home improvement and construction products began collaborating with a select group of agents and executives to improve transport of the retailer’s products during peak seasons.

“This business required a lot of coordination between planners, the agents and our trailer management team,” said Landstar Vice President of Sales Development David Carpenter.

Since the initial meetings, Landstar Agents Jeff Baker, Kathy Bostedo, Chris Coston and Mary Montz, along with the support of Landstar’s trailer management team, have become the go-to source for many of the retailer’s shipping needs.

“The agents pull it off every time and Landstar continues to earn high praise from the customer,” says Carpenter.

Landstar Agent Jeff Baker is proud of the result. “We stepped up and proved ourselves to the customer. Our ability to handle multiple locations and the ability to position trailers made us stand above the competition in their eyes,” said Baker.

He and Landstar Agent Kathy Bostedo handle the retailer’s domestic van FTL freight seasonal surge business. The agents did so well with the store’s spring surge a few years ago, they were then awarded a major part of the retail giant’s fall surge business. Baker and Bostedo have now become the company’s “go to” agents for surge carriers.

“It’s been a relationship years in the making. We started a few years ago showing the customer what we could do to meet their shipping standards,” explained Landstar Agent Kathy Bostedo. “Then year after year, we improved. We proved to the customer we had the ability, the capacity and the equipment to get the job done.”

Today, Landstar not only supports the retailer’s seasonal surge business, but their inbound international business and flatbed shipments as well. Landstar Agent Mary Montz and her team coordinate the inbound trans-load facility and keep all of the impacted parties updated on critical shipments.

“The shipments we coordinate are the ones where something has gone wrong. If there is a storm at sea or factory problems where something hasn’t gone out on time, the customer contacts us to find the solution and we fix the problem,” said Landstar Agent Mary Montz.

Landstar Agent Chris Coston has worked with the retailer for the last 15 years and handles all the flatbed shipments that are critical to the retail giant’s new store openings and refurbishments.

“Just like with every customer, I never give a load back and I believe communication is key. By calling the shipper and helping the carriers, we fill in the gaps where they are needed for the customer,” said Coston.