AWe are a multiregional 3PL with close to 3 million square feet of operations, a truck fleet of about 50 units,
and a full-service brokerage. Our world is a little different
in that our client base is quite large, with over 400 customers, and also quite diverse, with 18 different industry verticals and with about 30 percent engaging in omnichannel
operations.
It forces us to be a “master of all trades,” which requires
good processes, great execution, continuous improvement,
lean operations, and agile and dedicated work teams. We
deal with everything, as long as it’s legal, and those rules
are changing too, as is the case with marijuana these days.
QWhich of your skills serve you best in the work you do each day?
AI often make an analogy that working in our industry is like being an offensive lineman in pro football. If you
do your job right, nobody notices. However, if you miss
a block or take a penalty—or in logistics, make a shipping
error—everyone notices. The accolades are infrequent, and
the sanctions can be painful.
To succeed in this business, I believe you
need to have a positive attitude, a thirst to
continuously learn and then improve, and
discipline. You also need to be persistent,
show determination, and be able to solve
problems. It helps to surround yourself
with associates and mentors to help you
improve your skills.
QWhat are the biggest challenges you face in achieving logistics excellence?
AFirst would be people. Recruitment and retention has changed dramatically
since the days I entered the industry, and it
remains important today.
Next would be keeping up with all the systems and technologies that have come online and knowing when to pull
the trigger for an implementation or upgrade. In our world,
where our client base is so diverse, one of the biggest challenges is to figure out how to utilize a specific technology
like AI [artificial intelligence] across multiple platforms or
customers in a way that provides a reasonable return on
investment.
Third is responding to the ever-increasing pace of the
business. The window of execution has continued to shrink
as our retailer, wholesaler, and consumer populations
become more geared to immediate gratification: from next
day, to same day, to two hours, to “I want it now.”
Fourth would be our aging infrastructure, which hampers
transportation efficiency by causing delays, lengthening
transit times, and raising costs.
Finally, we are continually challenged by government
laws, rules, and regulations that impede our execution and
costing.
QWhat are some of the biggest changes you’ve observed in logistics operations over the past decade?
AWell, there are the obvious advances in technology. Beyond that, the facilities themselves have changed;
today’s spec buildings are taller, better insulated, have better lighting, and feature more dock doors per square foot
than their predecessors did.
Then there are the increased regulations I mentioned earlier. Increased regulation usually results in increased costs.
QDespite all the changes in the industry over the years, would you say there are some basic principles of logistics excellence that have remained the same?
AYes. One is that when utilizing technology, you have to find the sweet spot where it increases accuracy and
improves the process but does not limit or
constrain productivity.
Another is to minimize travel, minimize movements, and combine movements
wherever possible.
QWhat do you consider to be the biggest logistics challenge you’ve overcome in
your career? What was critical to your success in that effort?
ABack in the early 2000s, we received a contract to design a new supply chain
network for a large electronics company.
Long story short, we came up with a design
that saved it $2 million annually. We were
then awarded a contract to manage the full network, which
involved rolling out 1. 5 million square feet of space in five
cities across the country in 90-day consecutive startups. We
could not have done it without a total team effort at every
level of our business.
QAny closing thoughts or comments for our readers?
AIn our world, there are numerous options for buildings, transportation, information systems, and the way we
perform commerce. Yes, they are “must haves.” Still, the
companies that succeed today and will continue to succeed
in the future are fundamentally based on people, aligned
principles, and values. A solid foundation of trust, accountability, and communication is required when we “miss a
block” during our next “set of downs.”
