3PL Perspectives
Kelly Del Percio | TRANSPORTATION INTERMEDIARIES ASSOCIATION
WITH MORE THAN 1,600 Member Companies as a part of our Association, TIA Staff is always challenged to personalize communications with each member. This task can be daunting, but whether the interaction is big or small, we hope that our members know how much they are valued. We know that the success of the Association could not be possible without the success of our members.
When a company is interested in becoming a new member of TIA, it is always interesting to hear their stories. Some new members have years of experience in the industry and have decided to begin their own brokerage. Others are brand-new brokers, who are looking for guidance to help them get their businesses off the ground. We also have great Associate Members, whose products and services directly support the third-party logistics industry, who are excited to share their services with brokers.
OUR CORE VALUES ARE SIMPLE: ENRICH, CARE, DELIVER.
Even if there are some similarities between new members, each Member Company’s story is different. Last summer, the TIA Membership Division launched the New Member Interview Spotlight. There has been so much opportunity to speak with a diverse array of companies in the third-party logistics industry.
Here are some of our latest New Member Interview Spotlights. We truly welcome the new Member Companies to TIA and are grateful for their participation in this project!
Mohawk Global, Regular Member, New York
Mohawk Global is a U.S. Customs broker, International Freight forwarder, NVOCC, domestic broker and 3PL. Headquartered in Syracuse, NY the team also has offices in Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo, NY, Newark, NJ, Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, Chicago, IL, and Atlanta, GA.
Vice President of Domestic Services Gerry McDevitt began his career in the transportation industry after receiving an MBA in Transportation and Distribution Management from Syracuse University. He began working with customs entries, then moved on to air freight. Throughout the years, he had experience with ocean freight, LTL, parcel, and FTL. He began a focus on international freight, before transitioning into a domestic freight role with Mohawk Global in 2012.
McDevitt says that Mohawk Global is special because of all their employees. “It may sound trite, but everything at Mohawk Global revolves around how our team is feeling. Our core values are simple: Enrich, Care, Deliver… We believe that if you take care of your team, they will take care of the client.”
The Mohawk Global VP enjoys the transportation industry for the constant changes and challenges that come with each day. The biggest challenge he finds, is the constant waxing and waning of capacity. “Working in this industry is a great lesson in supply and demand dynamics. It is a real-life demonstration of the theories you’ve learned in economics class,” he said.
Gerry and his team were interested in joining TIA to have representation from a domestic brokerage association. They were excited to access the trainings and all the resources available to members in the Resource Library.
Looking into the future, Gerry said that his teams’ goals are to further automating and streamlining policies and procedures to make their staff’s lives easier. He hopes that through utilizing TIA resources, his team will have further success in obtaining those goals.
Areo Trucking & Logistics, Regular Member, Georgia
Areo Trucking & Logistics is a new brokerage based in Georgia. Owner Eric Jackson is a disabled service veteran who specializes in flatbed, step deck flatbed, and open deck freight.
With a background in engineering design support for nuclear and coal-fired plants, Eric understood the demand for resources to the power industry. With the desire to begin his own family business, he decided to look into the brokerage of freight.
WE KNOW THAT THE SUCCESS OF THE ASSOCIATION COULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUCCESS OF OUR MEMBERS.
Eric joined TIA because he felt it would help him market his business and to be seen as a serious company. He is excited to utilize TIA Watchdog because it can prevent him from potentially hiring a risky driver.
One of Eric’s biggest achievements this year was obtaining his Disabled Veteran Business Certification. For the future, he wants to grow as a heavy haul transportation company, and to be able to hire other disabled veterans and minorities for to his team.
Savant BPO, Associate Member, Colombia, South America
Savant BPO, founded by Juan Baena, is a staffing service for trucking companies. When brokers want to outsource and reduce the costs associated with their company, they contact Juan and his team to provide them with staff that would be suitable for their needs.
The staffing company also provides technology support, such as a personalized TMS software and even RPA or robot process atomization solutions for their clients.
Juan has been a consultant providing U.S. companies with staffing in Colombia. After working successfully with many clients, he began his own company with just $100 and his own laptop. Now, several years later, Baena is joining TIA to provide further support for the logistics industry.
Kelly Del Percio is a TIA Membership Specialist. She can be reached at [email protected].
