Partnerships Divide & Conquer: Collaboration, Capacity, And COVID-19

During this global crisis, companies across industries are looking for ways to give back and create solutions to promote and preserve peoples’ health and wellbeing. So many concerns about the small business climate, relief packages, and the health of the economy have dominated many outlets, and while these circumstances are critical, at the heart of it all, this is a humanitarian crisis. Many organizations have collectively recognized that working together and giving back is necessary. While some give back in manpower, others in goods, and still more with money, Breakthrough thought critically about what our role is in the response to COVID-19.

One opportunity to give back manifested through our partnership with The Boldt Company, a manufacturing and facilities construction company, on their project to build and deliver critical care units to address the hospital bed shortage.

The Challenge & The Solution

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The Boldt Company partnered with HGA, a design firm rooted in architecture and engineering, to develop Strategic, Temporary, Acuity-Adaptable Treatment Modules (STAAT-Mods™). These mobile critical care units were rapidly developed and deployed in less than a month to “address the safety of patients and healthcare workers affected by COVID-19,” per the project’s website. The STAAT Mods™ are mobile hospital care centers specifically designed to address the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the risks of its respiratory spread.

Over 60 STAAT-Mods™ were purchased for use along the east coast—in areas heavily affected by the virus. As such, The Boldt Company was faced with the challenge of transporting the units to these areas of great need.

Shippers Helping Shippers Meet the Needs of the COVID-19 Frontlines

One, two-room module is roughly the same square footage of a standard 52-foot trailer—the largest size that can ship commercially in the continental U.S. These dimensions are specific to specialty flatbed shippers, and in a time of need, identifying the right carrier partners is crucial.

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Breakthrough contributed to the project by helping Boldt find these carrier partners. Breakthrough’s extensive transportation network data and relationships with the industry’s leading shippers across many modes and freight specialties led us straight to the transportation team of one of our clients.

One of Breakthrough’s heavy equipment manufacturing clients moves flatbed, heavy haul, and oversized freight on a regular basis. This client looked within its network and identified a shortlist of carriers that would be a good fit to transport Boldt’s mobile hospital units.

Once Breakthrough introduced the project to a shortlist of carriers, we worked to operationalize the relationships. Breakthrough quickly organized a manual RFP on Boldt’s behalf using our client’s qualified, asset-based carrier recommendations. As a result, The Boldt Company secured the right capacity partner to move the STAAT Mod™ mobile intensive care units under a tight deadline to bring new and secure hospital capacity to COVID-19 hotbeds. Working through Breakthrough ensured the successful organization and timely administration of an RFP – an otherwise time-intensive practice for shippers. In turn, Boldt could focus on construction and site logistics for their life-saving technology.

In addition, The Boldt Company eliminated the use of spot market freight or brokerage on these movements, ensuring all the capital they invested in the project went toward the lean and agile manufacturing and delivery of the intensive care units.

As Collaboration Triumphs, Real Change is Made

As is typical in times of need, people looking to make a difference connected Boldt to Breakthrough, and in turn to our specialty freight client. All of Breakthrough’s clients are bound by a collaborative spirit, among other things, which makes their unique perspective towards the wider transportation ecosystem valuable in times of need.

We thank the Boldt Company, HGA, our client, and other partners of the project for finding ways to give back during the COVID-19 pandemic.