Kansas City Smartport Inc

KC SMARTPORT IS A NON-PROFIT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS TO ATTRACT FREIGHT-BASED COMPANIES, SUCH AS MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTION AND WAREHOUSES, TO THE 18 COUNTY, BI-STATE KANSAS CITY REGION.

THE 2021 YEAR STARTED OUT WITH A STRONG PIPELINE OF PROJECTS THAT CARRIED OVER FROM 2020. THE PROJECTS CONSISTED OF MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION PROJECTS. THIS MOMENTUM AND NEW PROJECT ACTIVITY LED TO A STRONG Q2 OF PROJECT SUCCESS. MECHANIX WEAR, NATIONAL FULFILLMENT SERVICES, AMAZON AIR, AND NIAGARA BOTTLING ALL LANDED IN THE KC REGION IN Q2. THE ACTIVITY SLOWED DURING Q3 AS COMPANIES PAUSED PROJECTS TO RE-EVALUATE THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORK AS SALES CONTINUED TO GROW AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE NETWORK WAS CRITICAL. THE SMARTPORT TEAM REMAINED ENGAGED WITH THESE PROJECTS THROUGH OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE INDUSTRIAL BROKERAGE COMMUNITY AND THE SITE SELECTION CONSULTANTS. OUR MARKETING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS ALLOWED THE KC REGION TO STAY TOP OF THE LIST FOR THESE PROJECTS WITH KC BEING RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE TOP INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION MARKETS IN THE U.S. THROUGHOUT 2021.

THE SECOND MISSION IS TO MAKE THE INDUSTRY AND THE REGION MORE COMPETITIVE IN THE MOVEMENT OF GOODS INTO, OUT OF, AND THROUGH THE KANSAS CITY MARKET. KANSAS CITY SMARTPORT CONTINUED TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN CSCMP,WTC, TRADE DATA EXCHANGE AND HAD AN INCREASED LEADERSHIP ROLE WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT AS WELL AS BEING THE RECOGNIZED THOUGHT LEADER IN SUPPLY CHAIN TOPICS FOR THE KANSAS CITY REGION. SMARTPORT'S MARKETING EFFORTS CONTINUED TO EXCEED TARGETS AS OUR TEAM FOCUSED ON TELLING THE KC STORY AND REACHING THE RIGHT CONTACTS. THE CONTRACT WITH MARY ROONEY RESULTED IN INCREASED MARKETING EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT AGAIN THIS YEAR. OUR EFFORTS RESULTED IN 40 NATIONAL AND 23 LOCAL MEDIA ARTICLES AND MANY MORE THAT WE DID NOT COUNT AS THEY WERE SIMILAR ARTICLES ON PROJECTS ATTRACTED TO THE REGION. OF THE 40 NATIONAL ARTICLES, THERE WERE 32 DISTINCT PUBLICATIONS THAT REPORTED ON THE KC REGION. OUR MARKETING EFFORTS ALSO INCLUDED TARGETED OUTREACH TO GROWING SECTORS LIKE FOOD & BEVERAGE, ELECTRIC VEHCILES AND ECOMMERCE.

IN 2020 THE SMARTPORT TEAM RECORDED NEARLY 1 BILLION IN NEW CAPITAL INVESTMENT WITH TWELVE PROJECTS SELECTING THE KC REGION. AGAIN, IN 2020, TWELVE FREIGHT-BASED COMPANIES SELECTED THE KANSAS CITY REGION FOR NEW OPERATIONS OR FACILITIES, TEN COMPANIES WERE ATTRACTED TO KC IN 2019. THE TOTAL PAYROLL ATTRACTED TO THE KC REGION FOR 2020 WAS 123 MILLION (41.62 MILLION IN 2019) AND 3,269 NEW JOBS (940 IN 2019) WERE CREATED BY THESE TWELVE COMPANIES. THE TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR 2020 WAS 889.9 MILLION (309.24 MILLION IN 2019). 2020 WAS A RECORD YEAR FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ATTRACTION OF FREIGHT BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. ON THE DEVELOPMENT FRONT, CLOSE TO 16 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF NEW INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT (BUILD TO SUIT AND SPEC) WAS EITHER COMPLETED OR STARTED CONSTRUCTION IN 2020. THIS WAS A RECORD ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE KC REGION.

THE TRADE DATA EXCHANGE TECHNOLOGY IS A CARGO DATA RISK MANAGEMENT CLEARINGHOUSE SOFTWARE THAT CONNECTS SHIPPERS, IMPORTERS/EXPORTERS, CARRIERS, FREIGHT FORWARDERS, BROKERS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNMENTS ALONG THE SUPPLY CHAIN. IT IS A SHARED LOGISTICS DATA SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED ACROSS ALL TRANSPORTATION MODES, ALL INDUSTRIES AND ALL TRADE PARTICIPANTS. IT IS ENDORSED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. TDE COMPLEMENTS THE ELECTRONIC FREIGHT MANAGEMENT (EFM) INITIATIVE, A USDOT-SPONSORED PROJECT THAT APPLIES WEB TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPROVE DATA AND MESSAGE TRANSMISSIONS BETWEEN SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS. LEVERAGING A PRIVATE NETWORK AND USER- FRIENDLY WEB-BASED INTERFACE, THE TECHNOLOGY ENABLES SHIPMENT DATA TO BE ENTERED ONLY ONCE AND USED MANY TIMES, THEREBY REDUCING THE POTENTIAL FOR MISTAKES AND ELIMINATING THE NEED TO CONTACT MULTIPLE CARRIERS OR TRACK SHIPMENTS ON MULTIPLE WEB SITES. LEADERS ENVISION HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS OF DATA POINTS EXCHANGING IN THIS MANNER ON A GLOBAL BASIS. IN 2010 THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE TDE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES TDE. IN 2011 TDE SOLIDIFIED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMPANY ESHIPPING TO BRING THE SYSTEM TO MARKET AND BE UTILIZED AS A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TMS) BY CLIENTS WITH DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CAPABILITY.