Shapiro Launches its Own University, Shapiro U

Shapiro, a 98-year-old supply chain logistics leader, unveiled its latest initiative, the creation of Shapiro University, shortly after the launch of its new brand and website.

The goal of Shapiro University, or Shapiro U, is to fulfill the company’s dream of bringing higher level educational training to its employees and customers. Inside Sales Manager, Perijo Bennett, led the mission from beginning to launch and spearheaded several internal committees to bring the project to life. A critical aspect of the new venture was finding an easy-to-use, online-based product that would support the initiative. TrainCaster LMS lived up to the task. TrainCaster LMS was created in 1999 as a spinoff of NetCasters Inc., a full service web design and web software development company.

Once Shapiro selected its training platform, the company spent the better part of a year gathering and creating online course catalogs, with its first courses focusing on information security awareness and the company’s history and cross-organizational structure. Shapiro U works much like any university with a course catalog, semesters, and online registration. Many course offerings are web-based, allowing students to work at their own pace, to monitor their progress, and to schedule study at a time that is convenient for them.

Shapiro U will not only reach Shapiro’s employees; it will also invest in its customers and the trade community by offering educational seminars and webinars hosted throughout the year. The last webinar series, the Logistics of Importing and the Logistics of Exporting, aired in May and June of 2013, respectively.

“Our new learning management platform will allow us to offer our training on demand,” says Perijo Bennett, Inside Sales Manager. “Combining online training with our fundamentally solid classroom training allows us to deliver a rich blended learning experience for our employees and customers alike.”

“The creation and rollout of Shapiro U has been a long awaited dream of mine,” noted Margie Shapiro, Shapiro’s President and CEO. “This program directly reflects our core values to challenge and inspire our employees, as well encourages them to cross organizational boundaries. The ability to provide training and education to our Shapiro family, whether employee or customer, is an investment in each other. I couldn't be more pleased.”

About Shapiro:

Shapiro, a third generation family-owned business founded in 1915, provides creative and flexible logistics services. With six offices, over 100 employees, and worldwide strategic alliances, Shapiro is the supply chain partner that delivers customized, compliant, and reliable solutions to address your specific import and export needs. Only Shapiro has an experienced and personable staff that truly cares about your company and commits themselves to proactively achieving your business goals. We Deliver. Problem Solved.™