1. Almost three years ago it started a
warehouse distribution services divi-
sion, which has now reached a 100
percent growth rate.
In 1975, Tom Bartholomew started
CalArk with three trucks in Malvern.
His daughter, Rochelle Bartholo-
mew, has led the company's growth
into a midsize international truck-
load carrier with $130 million in an-
nual revenue and 650 trucks with a
strong presence in cross-border
transportation. Most recently, the
company has diversified its offerings
into warehouse services and final-
mile delivery.
"I've thought for a long time about
the driver shortage and how we can
grow different parts of our business
that are more driver-friendly," ex-
plained Rochelle Bartholomew, the
company's president and chief exec-
utive officer.
The new warehouse distribution ser-
vices division's routes focus on the
"final mile" of a delivery, which get
drivers home every day, as opposed
to traditional over-the-road trucking
routes.
CalArk follows own road map to growth
Carrier adds warehouse, final-mile capabilities
By Emma Hurt
This article was published December 11, 2016 at 2:07 a.m.
Photo by Special to the Democrat-Gazette
Rochelle Bartholomew, CEO of CalArk trucking company, followed in the footsteps of her father, Tom, who founded the company
in 1975.

2. 2
When CalArk saw an opportunity to
buy a large warehouse adjacent to
its corporate headquarters, Bar-
tholomew said, "We thought the
price was right, and we thought it
was a good investment to try to
get into warehousing. And then
with the growth of e-commerce, it
just seemed to me to make sense
to try to get into that market."
John Kent, director of the supply
chain management research center
at the Sam M. Walton College of
Business at the University of Arkan-
sas at Fayetteville, also tied the
increase in "final-mile" delivery to
the growth of e-commerce.
"UPS, FedEx and the post office
have been doing that for decades.
Traditional trucking companies
have not. They've only been doing
it for a few years," Kent said. "As
long as people order things that
don't fit in small boxes, there's going
to be a need for transportation to
the home for all sorts of items."
Given the steady increase in online
sales, consumers can now order al-
most everything online, up to refrig-
erators and sofas, which need spe-
cialized home delivery support. The
National Retail Federation reported
that 5 million more people did their
Black Friday shopping online this
year compared with 2015, while 3
million fewer shopped in stores.
"I have a lot of respect for Rochelle.
Most larger companies will purchase
other companies if they want that
new service," said Malea McElyea,
vice president of sustainability and
business development at CalArk.
"We literally started this service
from zero and built it fast. It's really
exciting to see that."
The segment now has 10 facilities in
the Southeast and makes about $20
million in revenue.
That internal growth has not been
without obstacles though, as Bar-
tholomew explained. "There are
great software and systems for
truckload, and then there are
some for warehousing, but getting
good systems that really play well
together has been a challenge."
"There have been so many cases in
the past years where we're trying
to do things that nobody has done
before, so our suppliers are work-
ing with us to write things for the
first time. With that comes a chal-
lenge, but we're improving every
day," Bartholomew said. "Things
are still out there that are pending
and need improvement, so there's
a challenge there, but I think it is
going to pay off."
The company's smaller size serves
as a "business advantage" when
approaching these challenges, said
Curt Vernon, vice president of
warehouse services.
"With CalArk's size, we are able to
move faster. If our customers say
they have a certain requirement, we
can make decisions and move fast-
er," he said. "Bigger companies typi-
cally take longer, especially when it
comes to adding services. It takes
them longer to bring that to market.
Over about a 90-day period we were
able to make a decision and start up
the final-mile division."
Another advantage for warehousing,
Photo by Special to the Democrat-Gazette
CalArk CEO Rochelle Bartholomew speaks
with an employee at the company’s Little
Rock headquarters. CalArk has diversified its
offerings into warehouse services and final-
mile delivery.

3. 3
according to Jason Martin, the seg-
ment's director of sales, is that the
company is asset-based.
"A lot of companies doing things like
this don't own their equipment,"
Martin said. "All of our drivers are
employee drivers, too, so that mod-
el allows a much higher level of ser-
vice to the customer."
Martin explained that many final-
mile companies opt to use owner-
operators to limit their liability,
while CalArk has invested in safety
technology to limit that liability and
retained more quality control over
the entire operation. "It costs a bit
more from our standpoint, but the
benefits far outweigh that."
Additionally, because CalArk has
chosen to expand this division in
smaller markets, "we don't have the
ability to make a lot of mistakes and
recover from those mistakes like
you do in a major metro area," Mar-
tin said.
Most larger companies have rolled
out these services in denser markets
to ensure profitability, he said,
while the smaller markets present
less competition. "The revenues that
you can make in a Houston com-
pared to the revenues you can make
in an Arkansas are night and day.
And so we've had to be more effi-
cient."
With the new division and the
changes in the trucking industry,
Bartholomew said she feels that she
runs a different company than the
one her father started.
"Our industry has changed so much,
and it's still changing so fast. It's a
different world than what we had
years ago," she said. "Our industry is
so much about technology now."
"I remember when I was coming into
the business, a lot of our decision-
making was based on assumptions
and what we thought made sense,"
she said. "I don't know if we had a
great understanding about which
routes were making money for us."
Today, CalArk has invested heavily
in internal data analytics and route
optimization to develop that under-
standing.
She also cited a difference in cus-
tomer relationships, as corporate
decision-making has centralized.
"There was more of a relationship
and just more loyalty back then.
Now, with all the ways that corpora-
tions are doing business, it tends to
be more centralized and less per-
sonal," she said.
Another change at CalArk has hap-
pened more gradually -- nearly 50
percent of the management are
women -- a practically unheard-of
statistic in a traditionally male in-
dustry.
"It's not that we set out intentionally
to have X number of female man-
agement; it's just evolved."
"I wonder if it's because I'm here and
maybe women are drawn to our
business because of that," she said.
"Whatever the reason is, it works
really well for us. We're very happy
with the team we have here."
McElyea agreed it might have to do
with Bartholomew's example.
"When you say 'trucking industry,'
people are usually going to think
male-dominant and not see all the
opportunities out there for every-
one." Having a female CEO changes
that perspective, she said.
As to whether her own two teenage
daughters will get involved at the
company too, Bartholomew is sitting
back and letting them decide. "I en-
courage them to really open their
minds to other kinds of business and
other kinds of careers."
"Really, the truth is, you need to
live your own dreams and you need
to pursue your own interests," she
said. "Sometimes I think in family
business people just come into it
because it's there or it's expected. If
[my daughters] do become involved,
I want it to be for the right rea-
sons."
If they do choose trucking though,
Bartholomew knows how to handle
family business.
"As long as family members have a
chance to have a vision of their
own, have some opportunity to take
things in a direction or at least a
portion of the business and do with
it what you want, I think it can be
great."
Print Headline: CalArk follows own
road map to growth
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