This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ 3PL Summit.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Strategies for navigating tight carrier capacity in 2021
DETAILS: It’s no secret that capacity is extremely tight in trucking, and there’s no sign that the situation will change anytime soon. With this in mind, executives from NFI and BlueGrace Logistics discuss ways for third-party logistics providers to ensure that they’re being a good partner to their carriers.
SPEAKERS: David Broering, NFI’s president of non-asset solutions, and Mark Ford, BlueGrace Logistics’ chief operating officer.
BIOS: Broering has been an executive at NFI since 2012. He previously served as a senior sales executive at C.H. Robinson, where he spent over 12 years. Ford joined BlueGrace as COO in 2017. His career in transportation and logistics includes serving in executive vice president roles at Reliance Partners and Coyote Logistics.
KEY QUOTES FROM BROERING:
“The global supply chain — all the way from import locations or export locations from around the world all the way down to the local market down here in the U.S. — is a flaming tire fire for lack of a better phrase. Everything has its challenges. Everybody is stuck with capacity challenges.”
“Your adaptiveness as an individual dealing with carriers needs to be just as flexible as it would be dealing with a shipper.”
KEY QUOTES FROM FORD:
“If you’re just going to treat a carrier like a partner when it benefits you, you’re going to have an adverse effect when the markets do flip around.”
“The important thing is treating [carriers] as part of the equation. I think far too often carriers are left out of that equation. And they are an extremely important part. They’re just as equal as we are. They’re just as equal as the shipper is. You can’t perform a transaction without someone actually pulling it. … It’s really just more about getting back to that whole ‘let’s treat this carrier network as a partner. Let’s make sure they understand that they’re important.’ The more you show it, the more you benefit from it.”
