Business View - January 2015 65
doing everything from the largest of accounts to the
smallest businesses.”
The evolution to more significant-sized customers was
far more evolution than master plan, resulting mainly
from a dedication to develop technology to help the
initial client base.
As that infrastructure was created and flourished,
more large-scale caught on and signed up.
Much of the early business was direct fromBlueGrace’s
Florida headquarters, but Harris thought the compa-
ny’s full potential could be more easily reached with
the addition of multiple offices across the country
alongside corporate strongholds in Baltimore, Chicago
and Salt Lake City.
Franchising became the means toward that end as
of 2011, and 53 locations have since been opened,
though roughly 60 percent of overall business is still
generated from the corporate side. The franchise share
of the revenue is gaining ground, however, and should
reach 50/50 in 2015, which is also when BlueGrace’s
initial venture from the United States into Canada is
planned.
“They’ve been very successful, and as quickly as our
franchise grows, our direct business grows,” Harris
said. “But it’s growing more in the franchise channel.”
The typical franchise set-up consists of anywhere from
four to 12 employees in a customer service/sales func-
tion, housed in an office ranging from 500 to 10,000
square feet depending on the cities it serves. Because
liaising with clients is typically not done on a daily, in-
person basis, there’s a bit of leeway given to the fran-
chisee in terms of what the specific office set-up might
include.
What is consistent across locations, however, is the
presence of branding and logos.
Franchisees don’t need to be career veterans of the
logistics industry, but Harris does prefer to work with
FRANCHISE
