This fireside chat recap is from Day 5 of FreightWaves Global Supply Chain Week. Day 5 focuses on energy, chemicals and mining.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Operating an asset-light 4PL.
DETAILS: This fireside chat focuses on how 4PLs are different from 3PLs, and how customers can benefit with a 4PL.
SPEAKERS: Tim Sensenig is chief executive officer for TMSforce and TMSfirst. Rick Gonzalez is senior vice president, global operations, for TMSforce. (FreightWaves oil market expert John Kingston hosted the chat.)
BIOS: Sensenig has been involved with supply chain technology since 1994 when he created SCM technology investment banking at DU/Credit Suisse. He was also vice chairman of G-log, the most successful global logistics software company, and he ran the largest Indian-based freight forwarding software company, with over 700 engineers, now known as BluJay.
With more than 25 years of executive management experience in global supply chain, logistics and distribution leadership, Gonzalez has held senior leadership logistics positions in the defense, retail, aviation, forwarding, high-tech and energy industries. In these roles, he led his teams to develop, transform, automate and execute solutions delivering best-practice, flawless execution, while providing a superior 360-degree customer experience and over $200 million in savings.
Key quotes
GONZALEZ: “In the 3PL’s case, what happens is that the customer decides what operational tasks are context, and they outsource those to a provider. … When you go up to a 4PL, the biggest difference is, a 4PL actually gets involved in the strategy of the customer.”
SENSENIG: “A lot of people think hot shot is just expedited. Well, it is expedited and that plays very much into e-commerce. … For the last 40 years, a guy throws whatever he can on the back of the truck and he hauls his rear end, just takes off and goes. That clearly is not a cost-effective way.”
GONZALEZ: “When you look at it, we’re orchestrating everything that’s going on and we’re leveraging our relationships with the consortium to send financial benefit and execution benefit to the customer.”