Norfolk Southern announces successful TOP21 rollout
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern announced today that the implementation of its new TOP21 operating plan, begun during the first week in July, resulted in “a seamless changeover with minimal impact to customer service and network operations.”
Before the implementation, NS says that it completed extensive planning and obtained a lot of customer input. Included in the process was “iterative modeling” by the Network Planning and Optimization team, with adjustments to the model based on input from the marketing and operating groups.
“We are one team, dedicated to serving our customers, managing assets, controlling costs, operating safely, and developing people,” said John Friedmann, vice president network planning and optimization. “The benefits associated with TOP21 – reduced circuity and improved velocity – will directly benefit our customers through faster, more predictable transit times that require fewer assets to move their shipments.”
Norfolk Southern hosted 19 town hall meetings across its network prior to the implementation, discussions which included both employees and customers.
“We took a deliberate and collaborative approach in planning and executing our TOP21 operating plan, and we brought customers with us, quite literally, along the way,” said Mike Farrell, senior vice president transportation.
During the rollout, NS established two 24/7 command centers to monitor network status and customer concerns, and no significant issues were reported.
“To our employees, we thank you for your dedication in ensuring a smooth transition to our new operating plan with minimal disruption,” said Alan Shaw, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “To our customers, we cannot thank you enough for your business, and we welcome continued opportunities to grow our business, together.”
Carload and automotive networks were the focus of the first phase of the TOP21 program. “We have already begun the planning process for the next phase of TOP21 to improve our operations and to better serve our customers,” said Mike Wheeler, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We expect another successful rollout based on frequent communication with our customers and employees to ensure another seamless transition.”
For more information, go to nscorp.com.
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