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 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. COCA-COLA BOTTLING LOCATED A 1 MILLION SQUARE FOOT OPERATION IN OLATHE KANSAS. NEWMARK ZIMMER RAN THIS PROJECT AND REQUESTED SMARTPORT ASSISTANCE EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND THEN TRANSITIONED IT TO AN EXISTING BUSINESS EXPANSION. SMARTPORT'S WORK ON NIAGARA BOTTLING IN A PREVIOUS YEARS INFLUENCED THIS PROJECT AND SMARTPORT EARLY INVOLVEMENT. IN ADDITION, AMERICOLD SELECTED NEW CENTURY AIRCENTER FOR A 500,000 SQUARE FOOT COLD STORAGE FACILITY TO SUPPORT EXISTING CUSTOMERS IN THE SOUTHWEST JOHNSON COUNTY KANSAS AREA. SMARTPORT CONTINUES TO PROMOTE THE KC REGION FOR COLD STORAGE OPERATIONS.

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.

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. SMARTPORT EFFORTS PLACED ARTICLES ON KANSAS CITY'S SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY IN NATIONAL MEDIA. THE PANASONIC ENERGY ANNOUNCEMENT GENERATED 1,764 MEDIA STORIES AND REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF 5.81 BILLION (AS OF AUGUST 2022). SMARTPORT ALSO HOSTED INVESTOR NETWORKING EVENTS AND PRESENTED AT 31 LOCAL AND NATIONAL EVENTS

PROJECT OCEAN-PANASONIC ENERGY CO., LTD HAS SELECTED A SITE IN DESOTO KANSAS WITHIN THE KC REGION TO BUILD ONE OF THE LARGEST ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY MANUFACTURING FACILITIES OF ITS KIND IN THE US. THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO CREATE 4,000 NEW JOBS AND RESULT IN AN INVESTMENT OF 4 BILLION AND 250 MILLION IN PAYROLL, WHICH REPRESENTS THE LARGEST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN KANSAS HISTORY. THE DEVELOPMENT WILL HAVE RIPPLE EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE REGIONAL AND STATE ECONOMY, SUPPORTING AN ESTIMATED 4,000 ADDITIONAL JOBS CREATED BY SUPPLIERS AND COMMUNITY BUSINESSES AND 16,500 CONSTRUCTION JOBS.