Group O
Encyclopedia
Group O , Headquartered in Milan, Illinois
, is one of the largest Hispanic
-owned companies
in the U.S. and a provider of managed products and services, specializing in Marketing Services
, Print Management, Decision Sciences, Business Process Outsourcing
, Managed Services
, Packaging, Supply Chain
and Third-Party Logistics (3PL). Founded in 1974, Group O has grown to approximately 1,500 employees across 34 U.S. facilities. The company targets a broad range of industries, including: food and beverage
, telecommunications, manufacturing
, consumer packaged goods, financial services
, pharmaceutical, health care
, and technology
. The company’s major clients include AT&T
, Bristol-Myers Squibb
, Caterpillar
, Frito-Lay
, Kraft Foods
, Microsoft
, PepsiCo
, and Staples.
in 1974 by Robert Ontiveros. Bob’s initial business, Bi-State Packaging, was started to sell packaging materials and equipment to manufacturers. During the 1970s Bi-State Packaging experienced sales growth, requiring the opening of several warehouses throughout the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico – making Group O an international business.
In 1979, Group O opened R&O Specialties to provide supply chain
solution
s to industrial and consumer products companies. R&O Specialties brought a focus on process management
and a Six Sigma
culture to Group O that permeates the entire company to this day.
In 1990, Group O identified additional opportunities for growth in the area of marketing
support services and created Group O Direct. This venture took Group O into customer loyalty and marketing fulfillment programs which required Group O to develop competencies in the areas of: data management
, printing
, direct mail
, promotional campaign management and business process outsourcing
.
In 2007, those three separate companies merged under Group O to become the three divisions - Packaging Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions and Marketing Solutions – that make up Group O. In 2008, Group O began offering print procurement and premium managed services to its clients.
In a generation, Group O has expanded to an international business with over 1,500 employees and recognized as the 15th largest Hispanic business in the U.S.
Milan, Illinois
Milan is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,257 at the 2000 census.The village is located near the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Before ceasing operations in 2003, Eagle Food Centers was based out of Milan....
, is one of the largest Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
-owned companies
Minority Business Enterprise
A Minority Business Enterprise is an American term which is defined as a business which is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled on a daily basis by one or more American citizens of the following ethnic minority classifications:...
in the U.S. and a provider of managed products and services, specializing in Marketing Services
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, Print Management, Decision Sciences, Business Process Outsourcing
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
, Managed Services
Managed services
Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations inclusive of Production Support and lifecycle build/maintenance activities...
, Packaging, Supply Chain
Supply chain management
Supply chain management is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers...
and Third-Party Logistics (3PL). Founded in 1974, Group O has grown to approximately 1,500 employees across 34 U.S. facilities. The company targets a broad range of industries, including: food and beverage
Food and Beverage
F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage", which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods...
, telecommunications, manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, consumer packaged goods, financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, pharmaceutical, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The company’s major clients include AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb , often referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical company, headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation...
, Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
, Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
, Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, and Staples.
History
Group O was founded in Milan, IllinoisMilan, Illinois
Milan is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,257 at the 2000 census.The village is located near the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Before ceasing operations in 2003, Eagle Food Centers was based out of Milan....
in 1974 by Robert Ontiveros. Bob’s initial business, Bi-State Packaging, was started to sell packaging materials and equipment to manufacturers. During the 1970s Bi-State Packaging experienced sales growth, requiring the opening of several warehouses throughout the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico – making Group O an international business.
In 1979, Group O opened R&O Specialties to provide supply chain
Supply chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...
solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s to industrial and consumer products companies. R&O Specialties brought a focus on process management
Process management
Process management is the ensemble of activities of planning and monitoring the performance of a process. The term usually refers to the management of business processes and manufacturing processes...
and a Six Sigma
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. , it is widely used in many sectors of industry.Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and...
culture to Group O that permeates the entire company to this day.
In 1990, Group O identified additional opportunities for growth in the area of marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
support services and created Group O Direct. This venture took Group O into customer loyalty and marketing fulfillment programs which required Group O to develop competencies in the areas of: data management
Data management
Data management comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource.- Overview :The official definition provided by DAMA International, the professional organization for those in the data management profession, is: "Data Resource Management is the development and execution...
, printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
, direct mail
Direct mail
Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...
, promotional campaign management and business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
.
In 2007, those three separate companies merged under Group O to become the three divisions - Packaging Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions and Marketing Solutions – that make up Group O. In 2008, Group O began offering print procurement and premium managed services to its clients.
In a generation, Group O has expanded to an international business with over 1,500 employees and recognized as the 15th largest Hispanic business in the U.S.
Awards and Facts
- 15th Largest Hispanic Owned Business, by revenue, in the United States
- 2009 National Minority Supplier Development Council Regional Supplier of the Year (Greater than $50M US revenue)
- 25 Largest Employers in the Quad City Region (14th)
- 3rd Largest Company, by employees, headquartered in the Quad City Region