Operations

Jeff Jones | Saddle Creek Logistics Services The decision to change your 3PL provider should not be taken lightly, but sometimes it can be the most effective way to move your business forward. Thinking about making a change? The following guidelines may be helpful in considering why, when and how to switch your 3PL. Why Change Providers? Whether you’re considering ...

Paul Benfer, CTB | Kinetic Supply-Chain Services, LLC In my role as a third-party logistics provider I administer customer LTL programs in the United States and Canada. My company is also an agent for one of the larger, web-based LTL Transportation Management System (TMS) providers. LTL freight is the majority of my business, but it just isn’t that much fun ...

John Seidl | Reliance Partners Motor Carriers can often find themselves in a frustrating scenario trying to defend why they do not have a current “SATISFACTORY” safety rating. It is understandable to question a motor carrier’s safety rating when they are currently “CONDITIONAL” or even “UNSATISFACTORY.” However, a non-rated motor carrier is often put in a position of defense when ...

Jaki Ferenz | Avalon Risk Management Criminals continue targeting the transportation industry as more trucks and freight travel across North America than ever before. Containers are raided, trucks disappear from rest stops, and drivers can be hijacked at gunpoint. Today’s offenders also constantly develop new techniques to counter fraud prevention and advanced security methods. Yet the statistics are everywhere – ...

Shelli Austin | INTEK FREIGHT & LOGISTICS, INC. Love it or loath it. For most of my life, I considered Valentine’s Day one of the most useless holidays and nothing more than a crafty ploy for the retail industry to guilt people into spending more money. However, when thinking about the holiday in a logistics industry sense, my professional opinion ...

Paul Benfer | KINETIC SUPPLY-CHAIN SERVICES, LLC In these times of tight capacity, supply chain managers would do well to investigate the feasibility of a dedicated drayage operation to help move containers to and from the port. Companies need to have enough volume to make a dedicated operation cost effective. Some organizations don’t integrate their import and export operations, while ...

Dave Cox | Polaris Transportation Group As shippers and transportation providers look ahead to the Less than Truckload (LTL) market in 2019, it is important to reflect on some of the key business shifts that occurred in the past 12 months to understand how the shipping environment is likely to present itself in 2019. In 2018, the rate of change ...

Noël Perry | Transport Futures In the fall of 2017 we looked at 2018 as a time when upside exposure dominated. The economy seemed to be strengthening, along with freight growth. Would that continue in the coming year? The spot market was sending very strong indicators for capacity tightening and rising prices. Would the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate accelerate ...

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE FIND SMARTPHONE USE DURING MEETINGS INAPPROPRIATE? Dr. Travis Bradberry New research from USC’s Marshall School of Business explains what your colleagues are thinking when you use your phone during a meeting and why this practice might keep you from getting a promotion. You are annoying your boss and colleagues any time you take your phone ...

Beth Carroll | Prosperio Group Companies often struggle with the question of timing for making changes to their compensation plans. Some never change, while others change far too often. So, how do you know when it is the right time to change? For starters, your compensation plan is not a “fix it and forget it” part of your business. If ...