Penske Logistics in Beachwood: 5 Things to Know

BEACHWOOD, OHIO — Penske Logistics is adding 40 more jobs to Beachwood over the next three years. Patch spoke with Penske Logistics senior Vice President Tom McKenna and Public Relations Manager Alen Beljin to learn more about the company.

What Penske Logistics jobs are there in Beachwood right now?

There are 308 Penske Logistics employees working in Beachwood today. Fifteen percent are engineers, another 25 percent are IT and the rest of the employees work in transportation management.

"That supports a whole lot of operational support throughout the country," McKenna said.

What new jobs are coming to Beachwood?

Most of the 40 new jobs will involve transportation management.

"Entry-level, 0-3 years [experience], white-collar professional jobs," McKenna said.

What is logistical engineering?

While the majority of new jobs at Penske Logistics will center on transportation management, logistical engineering is at the heart of Penske Logistics' mission.

McKenna explained, as an example, that a big part of it involves calculating the most cost-effective way to "take 100 shipments and put them on 10 trucks so that the mileage, and the business rules are all accounted for in the mathematical model."

Calculus and various algorithms are used to make sure that goods are transported in the most efficient way possible.

A specific instance that McKenna and Beljin touched on involved working with an auto manufacturer.

There are car seats, doors, brake pads, stereos, shocks, struts, brakes. Logistical engineers make sure that each part is assembled, shipped, and make it to the right plant at the right time so that a car or truck is properly assembled.

Trucking company relationships

Penske Logistics deals with carrier management, relating to trucking companies. The carrier management group is responsible for making sure Penske Logsitics has the right relationships with the trucking companies.

"We give them report cards on performance, cost, and other service management. It’s very important that we have those relationships because we want [the drivers] to be available," McKenna said.

How does one get involved in logistical engineering?

Tom McKenna went to Pursue University to study industrial engineering.

"In the early 1980’s, logistics was just becoming a little more known because of deregulation of the trucking industry," McKenna told Patch.

"The application of logistics is: How can I make this logistics network more efficient? Do I have my warehouses in the appropriate places? Should it go by rail? Should it go by truck? All of that is analyzed by logistics engineers," McKenna said.