A frequent contributor to industry
publications and speaker to industry
groups, as well as author of numerous white papers, Clowdis met
recently with DC VELOCITY Group
Editorial Director Mitch Mac Donald
to discuss his unorthodox career
path, the gathering economic storm
clouds (and their silver lining), and
which carriers stand the best chance
of survival.
QHow did you begin your career
in the motor freight business?
AI started as a trainee with
Roadway Express in 1972 and
worked at various times as a dock
foreman, a salesman, a city sales manager, a regional sales manager, a terminal manager, a director of operations, and a vice president of sales and
marketing for both large and small
carriers. In 1988, I decided that I possibly could offer my services to the
motor carrier industry as a consultant. After establishing my own little
practice, I was fortunate enough to
become a subcontractor or an executive consultant to Ernst
& Young when they had a national transportation practice.
Up until June of this year, I was a sole practitioner transportation consultant but
working with KPMG, Capgemini, CSC,
Index Consulting, and a lot of other clients
along the way as either a subject matter
expert or as a project manager on specific
trade and transportation matters.
QI’m sure you’ve seen a lot of change
since those early days in Akron with
Roadway.
AI was just talking with a colleague
about the changes in the industry
over the past 30 years—things like the
emergence of third-party logistics service
providers and the contribution that they make and how
much things have changed. We fought for years to bring the
purchasing agents or the procurement function or the
sourcing function into the supply chain. We finally won
that battle. Now, when you think “supply chain,” the first
link in that chain is the sourcing of raw materials and the
transport to either the processing center or the manufacturing plant. We have come a long way, and as you just said,
we’ve seen a lot of change over those years.
QAbsolutely. I think one of the most intriguing developments we’ve observed is the emergence of this
thing we call the “supply chain.” It seems that the logistics
component in particular is involved at almost every stage of
a business’s operation.
AIt does indeed touch every function—everything from
the purchasing agent who is looking for the best price
on goods or raw materials or services to the marketing
director who needs to get his product to market on time
and in good condition.
Right now, the supply chain is starting to get more attention at the CFO level because there are an awful lot of dollars spent at every link of the chain. I think each time the
economy suffers, good companies start looking for ways to
trim costs and do things more efficiently for less money.
QThe economy is certainly in the forefront of almost
everyone’s mind right now. How would you
describe the environment we’re in? Have you ever seen
anything like it?
AI never have. In all my years in this industry, I have
never seen the economic stars, if you will, align in such
a manner as they have this year. First, we had the slowdown,
which I think did start over a year ago, in December 2007;
then there was the oil price spike in June and July—I don’t
think any of us saw that coming or expected we’d ever see $5 per gallon diesel fuel
and gasoline. I think that has left a lasting
impression, especially on the consumer.
We’re not only reeling from that experience,
but all of a sudden, we’re becoming concerned about our jobs. We are concerned
about making the mortgage payments. We
are concerned about buying the kids new
shoes. We are concerned about basic everyday spending. All of those signs plus the
credit crunch have aligned to make it a
challenging, challenging time for not only
motor carriers and transport service
providers but for the consumer as well.
QFrom the forecasts I’ve been hearing, it sounds like
we’re looking at a deep recession that could last as
long as 30 months.
AExactly. It is not a pleasant outlook. I think it takes
every bit of executive skill that management can
