MD Logistics Celebrates 20 Years in Business and 20 Years of Growth

20-years ago today Mark Sell and his late business partner Dave Kiebach started third party logistics company MD Logistics, headquartered in Plainfield, Indiana.

In 1996, the pair began the company named after their first initials inside a 10,000 square foot warehouse.

Since then, MD Logistics has grown through the addition of business verticals, service offerings and excellent client relationships to occupy one million square feet of warehouse space across three locations in Plainfield and one in Reno, Nevada.

MD Logistics has increased its employee base from its original seven employees to now over 200 employees. Revenue has doubled over the last seven years, with MD realizing its highest revenue year in 2015.

“In pharmaceutical operations we started out with one sit down fork truck, and now have equipment totaling over 25 reach trucks, order pickers, floor scrubbers and scissor lifts,” said Theresa Robinson, pharmaceutical operations supervisor, who has been with MD Logistics for 18 of its 20 years. “We also now have a 401k plan with a matching 4% that we didn’t have when I started.”

MD Logistics began as a freight forwarding business, moving shipments both domestically and globally, for central Indiana-based companies. Through those early client relationships, MD Logistics has grown its warehousing solutions for many clients, primarily focused in the life sciences and retail fulfillment industries.

Today, MD Logistics has a strategic partnership with SEKO Logistics for freight forwarding services and also provides brokered transportation services via its sister company, MD Express.

“In many ways we are a reflection of our customers’ needs,” said Mark Sell, co-founder and president of MD Logistics. “We have always tried to listen to and anticipate what they require, and then work to provide the appropriate solution. We have learned that if you take care of your customers, they will take care of you.”

A strong example of their ability to listen and respond to customer needs involves the need for serialization by many of its customers, per the 2017 FDA mandate. It requires serialized traceability on all prescription medications throughout the supply chain in an attempt to cut down on counterfeit medicines.

MD Logistics planned ahead and is ready for the impending 2017 FDA mandate. In addition, MD Logistics just completed the expansion of its cold chain cooler to 60,000 square feet, which will allow MD Logistics to securely store more of the pharma industry’s increasingly prevalent biologic and injectable medications.

Over the years, MD Logistics has overcome adversity. “In 2007, we lost one of our owners [Dave Kiebach]. Then Mark had a huge decision to make. He could decide to close the company and not move forward, or evolve and change to continue to be successful,” said Susan McIntosh, accounting manager and 16-year company employee. “He focused on the long-term and has always maintained the company’s integrity.”

“Dave Kiebach was a special guy,” said Mike Smith, domestic operations manager and employee number five. “He could talk to anybody. He treated a dock worker the same way he treated the president of a company. Mark is special too. His ownership, dedication to the employees and our customers, shines through.”

When asked about why MD Logistics’ original employees have remained with the company for the long haul, “It’s their passion,” said Matt Collins, director of sales for SEKO and MD Logistics’ freight forwarding businesses. “Our owners have always been passionate about this business. They have aggressive goals for growth and a passion that is infectious. They empower their leaders to make decisions and leave them alone to implement them.”

In talking about the future, Sell said:

“We are very fortunate to have a great team of dedicated and capable people. Without their commitment and hard work, we would not be here today. Together we will continue to focus strongly in our core vertical markets of retail and life sciences. We also have our eyes on the possibility of another location, maybe in the U.S. or perhaps we will even expand globally.”

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