3PL Perspectives
Kelly Del Percio | TIA
AT TIA, WE strive to support those in the third-party logistics industry to the best of our abilities. Freight brokers especially need support when they first begin their business. The TIA Member Services team has created an onboarding plan for new members, both Regular and Associate, to help them become acquainted with everything TIA has to offer. The team focuses on filling the gaps for new members, from connecting them with various resources in our Resource Library to educational courses that can expand their industry knowledge to better their business.
It is a great success for our team that new members are able to become familiar with our resources and some of the TIA staff, but we realized that there was one aspect of onboarding that was especially significant: getting to know you.
In August, we officially launched our New Member Spotlight Interview series. By reaching out to our new members via phone, email and Zoom, we were able to learn more about our membership base. From interviewing companies with the founder as a single employee to others with teams that were planning to begin services abroad, it demonstrated how diverse our members are. The interviewees were located all over the country, and some had offices abroad, including Spain and Columbia.
The interviewees not only differed by size and location, but by overall goals for their companies. One member’s goal, motivated by the issues regarding transparency earlier this year, was to become a broker to increase the amount of transparency between brokers and others within the industry. Another member was focused on expanding their technology to attract more customers.
It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to speak directly with some of our newer members, and we were honored to see how dedicated members play such an active role within TIA. Below are some of the new members that we were able to get in touch with!
Hitch Pin Logistics – Nebraska
Hitch Pin Logistics was a subsidiary of Werner Service & Trucking and became an independent company in 2019. From their independence, the brokerage began focusing on auctions in the Nebraska area. By focusing on the vast agricultural industry in the United States, Hitch Pin decided to assist with oversized or specialized loads farmers needed to fulfill. They pride themselves in the vast consulting that they provide to customers throughout each facet of the transportation and brokerage process.
Heath Pillig, their primary contact with TIA, has been in the transportation industry for more than 25 years. He began as an LTL driver throughout the West Coast, and now manages the brokerage services for Hitch Pin.
With the industry changes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Heath found that most of the difficulties his brokerage encounters are due to the overall reputation of brokers in the industry. He hopes to become more involved in rule making and relations of the third-party logistics and transportation industries.
Heath was drawn to TIA for the various guidelines and frameworks that are offered. “I looked to you guys as the standard that I wanted to bring my brokerage up to,” he said. He found the value in the TIA Bond program to be instrumental to their joining, noting “The money you save, you are going to get more than your membership back,” he said.
SynchroNet Intermodal Services, Inc. – Arizona
SynchroNet Intermodal Services (SIS) is a technology- and databasedriven logistics company that provides maritime container transportation services. They work with ocean carriers to reposition available maritime containers for transportation of products within North America.
SIS’ focus is to convert dense/heavy cargo, moved in 53′ equipment, to ISO containers. Given a 40′ container’s lower tare weights (container + chassis), you can load up to 45,000 lbs of Gross Cargo Weight in a 40′ compared to 42,000 lbs in a 53′. By consulting with customers to understand their supply chain and logistic/transportation needs, SIS develops intermodal solutions, which utilize marine containers to provide reductions in transportation costs, fuel consumption, highway congestion and overall carbon footprint.
… BUT WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS ONE ASPECT OF ONBOARDING THAT WAS ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT: GETTING TO KNOW YOU.
“I am a big believer in being a part of what I call a community of the industry,” said SIS’ director of sales Dave Kalata. “SIS not only wants to focus on being a member of TIA but being active within the organization and engaging with fellow TIA Members.” In addition to attending TIA’s “Lunch & Learn” programs, Dave looks forward to participating as a panelist in programs centered on intermodal.
Acrisure, LLC dba HNI Risk Services – Wisconsin
HNI is a transportation risk advisory firm that operates in the Midwest. For nearly 60 years, the family-owned business has focused its efforts in the trucking space. HNI helps companies expand their businesses and foster new growth. They have subsidiaries in health care, insurance, and consulting all around the transportation space. They have found that their customers have evolved from traditional trucking companies to ones with their own brokerage authorities throughout the years.
HNI strives to help their customers think about insurance, not only in terms of the open enrollment and renewal periods, but to think about the costs they could be saving throughout the whole year. They focus on helping their clients foster successful leadership, brand, and culture of an organization. Their goal is to be viewed by clients as advisors first and insurance brokers second.
HNI was interested in joining TIA to increase their knowledge base regarding the 3PL industry. Since a lot of their clients have become brokers, joining TIA was important to get an inside look and to fully understand the industry. Within the last 10 years, HNI has noticed that their clients have transformed from small brokerages to fully formed, successful freight brokerages.
Logistics Freight Solutions Inc. (LFS) – Florida
LFS is a freight shipping solutions company based in Miami, Florida, with offices in Kansas City, Houston, Monterrey, MX, Barcelona, Spain and Medellin, Colombia. LFS was founded in 2007 when the expertise for LTL management was mainly for logistic intermediaries.
More recently, LFS has evolved its offerings to include trucking, intermodal and container solutions in North America, Mexico, and Canada to shippers and logistics intermediaries; innovating at all levels to guarantee a better customer experience.
It is a fact that the logistic industry has many challenges, and the LFS team enjoys the resilience of the industry and the ability to reinvent itself as the industry evolves with time.
LFS feels as if they stand out in the industry because of their technology and their company values. Providing a competitive TMS to their clients and being focused on the shared values that their employees follow motivates them to provide the best services within the industry.
The LFS team was drawn to joining TIA to expand their networks. “We are working to be the best on digital freight shipping solutions, and this is driving us to go forward,” said Carlos Jimenez, LFS’ Procurement and Strategic Alliances VP.
Image credits: WINDNOISE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
