Items25The creator’s order
  1. 1Malcom McLeanMalcom McLeanMoving a sealed box between ship, lorry and rail sounds simple, but it required compatible equipment, terminals and commercial agreements. McLean helped make container shipping a large-scale system through Sea-Land. Containers existed before him, and engineer Keith Tantlinger was an important…0i
  2. 2Frederick W. SmithFrederick W. SmithBorn 11 Aug 1944Smith built Federal Express around a demanding promise: collect a time-sensitive parcel and deliver it the next day. Dedicated aircraft and a central overnight sorting hub made the timetable possible. Operations began in 1973. The fascination lies in coordination, with pilots, sorters, drivers and…0i
  3. 3James E. CaseyJames E. CaseyBorn 29 Mar 1888Casey and Claude Ryan started a Seattle messenger business in 1907. The company that became UPS grew through disciplined delivery operations, dependable service and an expanding network. Casey also promoted employee ownership and internal advancement. Parcel delivery becomes an absorbing business…0i
  4. 4Johnnie Bryan HuntJohnnie Bryan HuntHunt helped turn the rivalry between lorries and railways into a partnership. Working with Santa Fe leader Mike Haverty, he backed the intermodal service that carried highway containers by rail for the long stretch of a journey. Their agreement took shape in 1989, with the first load in 1990. The…0i
  5. 5David William GraingerDavid William GraingerGrainger expanded the industrial supply company founded by his father, William Wallace Grainger. Maintenance and repair customers needed access to many small, essential products without having to negotiate separately with every manufacturer. His operating career makes distribution itself worth…0
  6. 6Bob KierlinBob KierlinBorn 1 Jun 1939Kierlin and four co-founders began Fastenal by selling nuts and bolts. The original vending-machine plan proved impractical, so they built a store and outside-sales model first. Decades later, industrial vending became an important way to keep supplies near the people using them. His case is…0
  7. 7Richard T. FarmerRichard T. FarmerFarmer developed the modern Cintas from a family industrial-laundry business into a uniform-rental operation. Customers could obtain work clothing together with regular collection and cleaning, rather than organise each task themselves. The commercial interest is the recurring service behind an…0
  8. 8Wayne HuizengaWayne HuizengaBorn 29 Dec 1937Huizenga helped assemble Waste Management with Dean Buntrock and Larry Beck from existing waste businesses. Buying local operators and linking collection with disposal showed how a fragmented essential service could become a large company. The work invites questions about route density, equipment…0i
  9. 9Willis JohnsonWillis JohnsonJohnson founded Copart as a salvage auction business in 1982. Damaged vehicles became the centre of a much wider marketplace as the company developed online bidding and remarketing services. Jay Adair and the technology teams were important to that transition. The interesting part is the market…0
  10. 10John Henry Patterson (NCR owner)John Henry Patterson (NCR owner)Born 13 Dec 1844Patterson and his brother Frank acquired the cash-register business that became NCR in 1884. He combined a useful shop-floor machine with trained salespeople, demonstrations and defined territories. This is a case for studying how a product reaches customers who must be convinced to change their…0i