One of the most valuable commodities in this pandemic has been a computer. However, for thousands of Washington State children, a computer was a luxury their families couldn’t afford. This dilemma created a modern-day crisis: how can children continue to learn virtually and safely if they lack the basic resources needed to log on every morning?
Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, recognized this crisis and decided to use $24 million from its CARES ACT Stimulus money to purchase computers for students in a distance learning setting. With this commitment came a logistics challenge.
How could the next round of 20,000 Evolve III devices be shipped from Hong Kong to Washington in a timely and efficient manner?
Evolve III, an Australian electronic devices company, and Bluestar Inc., a Kentucky-based global distributor, stepped up to fulfill the ambitious order with the governor’s announcement. But the large quantity was only one of the obstacles. All 20,000 needed to be shipped overseas, arrive in the states and then distributed to thousands of students by end of the 2020 year.
We emerged to overcome the next challenge of bringing the devices statewide. Our team at Pegasus worked diligently and tirelessly to create an International Domestic Spin Solution in 3 weeks from Hong Kong to Washington State School Districts. From arranging the International Ocean move, to recovering the drayage on time, to utilizing our final mile partner CTE Logistics, our team micromanaged the entire project from start to end.
“As a parent of two teenagers currently in the virtual learning environment; Kimm and I know firsthand how important these devices are to the current learning situation of these students,” said Todd Lytle, President of CTE Logistics.
We partnered with CTE Logistics to complete the delivery of 20,000 Evolve laptops to each of their school district destinations across the state of Washington. Ensuring timely deliveries was another challenge in this project since many of the schools slated to receive the deliveries were in rural areas. We worked alongside CTE Logistics on the domestic solution to execute on-time deliveries, routing optimization, and execution.
The solution we created specifically for Evolve III drastically improved the service and execution from which they previously experienced. This project called for excellent communication, an all-hands-on-deck mentality, leadership, and immense organization – all of which we achieved to meet the governor’s commitment.
“My father is a retired Athletic Director/Special Education Teacher, my brother is currently a History Teacher in rural Indiana, and my wife and I have 2 kids in elementary school. I felt this was an opportunity to bless and support these children in Washington so they can further their growth in education,” Jonn Bowersock, Director of Business Development at Pegasus, mentioned. “Both companies executed with precision, commitment, and teamwork to deliver this end-to-end project on time. The relationship between Pegasus and Evolve III in 2020 has been astonishing.”
A special thanks to those who made this story possible: Evolve III, Bluestar Inc, CTE Logistics, President Ray Paola at Evolve III, COO Matt Rollins at Evolve III, VP Sales Charles Franklin at Evolve III, Networking Division Manager Michael Freeman at Bluestar Inc, VP Operations Blair Grant at CTE Logistics, Warehouse Manager Chris Bair at CTE Logistics, Distribution Manager Milo Davis at CTE Logistics, and President Todd Lytle at CTE Logistics.
