24/7 Express Logistics, Inc.

The Kansas City hub, on Southern Road in the East Bottoms, and the company’s first location — 24/7 was started here in 2001 by Rick and Christine Gilbert and is still owned by them. It is also where the cross-dock sits that consolidated freight moves through.

Service tiers are published rather than quoted on request: Rush Direct at 90 to 120 minutes with no intervening stops, Express at 90 minutes, Standard by 5pm, and Economy by 5pm when ordered before 9am. Scheduled routes, next-day distribution, dedicated vehicles and a regional hot-shot for runs past the metro sit alongside them.

Alongside the general courier work the company runs a dedicated STAT medical operation — laboratory specimens, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, veterinary supplies and confidential charts — and publishes a testimonial from a Quest Diagnostics logistics manager. Warehousing here covers bulk storage, pick and pack, retail pool distribution and EDI integration. The company is SmartWay certified.

The nationwide freight side is arranged through a network of outside carriers rather than the local fleet, so a truckload or flatbed booking is a brokered move — worth asking about if you want the same company on both ends.