Freightvine

This week’s guest is Mike Bassani, Partner and Product Leader at Microsoft. Despite starting in Finance, Mike is no stranger to supply chains having worked in supply chain roles for Best Buy, Nike, Amazon, Convoy, and currently, Microsoft where he was the General Manager of the Supply Chain Platform. His role has changed over the last year to lead the integration of Copilot and other LLMs into the Power Platform. In our conversation, we talk about how a finance background can help a supply chain professional, the difference between traditional and generative Artificial Intelligence, whether generative AI will be centralized or decentralized (and why that matters), as well as what it is like running very large, diverse, and geographically dispersed team. Mike has a solid grasp of not only supply chains but also how this new emerging technology might be leveraged. There is no wonder why he was named one of the top 10 Most Influential People in Supply Chain by CIO Magazine in 2023.

This week’s guest is Woody Richardson, former executive at Schneider. Woody was in the trucking industry for 40 years - all at Schneider. Before retiring in 2021, he had held multiple leadership roles including Revenue Management/Pricing, Sales, Logistics Transportation Procurement, and many others. He recently published his book, Roads Rarely Traveled: Avoiding the Biggest Mistakes in Truckload Purchasing. Based on his decades of work with literally hundreds of shippers, the book outlines the 13 biggest mistakes that a transportation procurer can make. In our conversation, we'll discuss just three of these mistakes: #5 Thinking size has an advantage, #6 Thinking that a commitment of carrier capacity is a guarantee, and my favorite, #8 Being enamored with ‘paper savings’. We could have talked for an hour more on related topics - but these three give you an idea of Woody’s perspective on transportation procurement. Unsurprisingly, we do not disagree too much on this topic! I encourage any professional working in this space - whether as a carrier, a shipper, or a broker, to consider buying this book - it has incredible insights.

This week’s guest is Dr. Callie Federer, Senior Data Science Manager at DAT Freight & Analytics. Callie comes to the freight and transportation industry from a pretty non-traditional path - a Ph.D. in Computational Bioscience from the University of Colorado-Denver. After earning her PhD, she went straight into industry holding various data science roles in the medical, education, and advertising domains. She joined DAT about 18 months ago and currently manages and leads the data science team responsible for the development of all next-generation tools and models that DAT uses for its shipper, carrier, and broker customers. In our conversation we debate what Artificial Intelligence or AI is, what it does and does not include, and how other methodologies such as ML or OR complement the newer methods like generative AI or LLMs. Callie also describes the recently released AI-powered DAT iQ rating platform and how it is fundamentally different than other rating engines. We finish up with a discussion on how to manage and lead a team of highly skilled data analytics professionals in the very nuanced and quirky industry of freight transportation.

This week’s guest is Dylan Alperin, VP of Professional Services at Keelvar. Founded in Ireland in 2012, Keelvar is a software company specializing in procurement automation and optimization solutions. The word Keelvar can be loosely translated from Irish as “sensible” or having “better intelligence.” Dylan joined Keelvar about 3 years ago after having spent the previous fifteen years in logistics procurement at a number of shippers as well as consultancies. His experience across these companies as well as his current role at Keelvar has given him a great perspective on transportation procurement. In our conversation, we discuss how sourcing optimization and automation each play a role, how the pace of procurement has changed over the years, and how AI, ML, and OR techniques and methodologies all play a role in helping humans make better decisions.

This week’s guest is Jeff Short, Vice President, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). ATRI publishes a wide variety of reports on all aspects of freight and trucking from costs to bottlenecks and everything in between. Jeff is the author of the December 2022 ATRI Report entitled “Charging Infrastructure Challenges for the US Electric Vehicle Fleet”. The report identifies and quantifies three major challenges associated with the adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). These are (1) US Electricity Supply and Demand - can we generate the electricity needed, (2) Electric Vehicle Production - can we mine sufficient materials to produce the required number of vehicles, and (3) Truck Charging Requirements - how will charging work? I recommend that you look up this report and other ATRI reports at truckingresearch.org.

This week’s guest is Ann Marie Jonkman, Senior Director, Global Industry Strategies for Blue Yonder. Ann Marie has had extensive experience in the logistics and supply chain space working for carriers, brokers, and shippers before joining Blue Yonder about 2 years ago. In her current role she is helping Logistics Service Providers, or LSPs, solve their supply chain challenges. In our conversation, we discuss how the supply chain software space has evolved over the years, the importance of understanding and having empathy for the people involved in implementation as well as knowing the business processes and technology, and, of course, the growing role of AI in supply chain management.

Hello and welcome to the Freightvine podcast, your source for all things freight transportation. I’m Chris Caplice, Chief Scientist at DAT Freight & Analytics, and today I am joined by Adam Buttgenbach, Director of Fleet Engineering and Sustainability for PepsiCo.

This week’s guest is Rob Kelly SVP of Business Development for Forum Mobility. Forum Mobility provides accessible zero-emission trucking solutions for drayage in California. Their services range from building and operating charging infrastructure to offering class 8 zero-emission electric trucks. They are currently developing a network of charging depots around the Oakland and Los Angeles/Long Beach ports, and along common trucking routes to warehouse destinations. Rob joined Forum Mobility about 2 years ago and he has a long career in the clean energy space - including 10 years with SolarCity and then Tesla when they acquired it in 2016. In our conversation, we discuss the current regulatory situation in California, the challenges and opportunities to electrifying truck fleets, and what the industry might look like 5 - 10 years in the future. This is an important discussion for anyone who has freight coming in from California ports - which is pretty much everyone! What is happening in California usually finds its way to other states and sometimes federally - so it is important to keep your eyes on it.

This week’s guest is Dr. Erez Agmoni, Global Head of Innovation at Maersk. Erez has been in the global freight industry for over 30 years and at Maersk for over a decade. In the newly created role of Global Head of Innovation he is charged with changing the status quo rather than providing incremental improvements to the movement of freight. In our conversation, we discuss the challenges associated with introducing change, the need for pilots and proofs of concept in real situations, why having a team with a diversity of experience and cultures matters, and a dozen topics in between.

This week’s guests are my two DAT iQ colleagues: Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics, and Dean Croke, Principal Analyst. This is our annual end-of-the-year podcast where we revisit our predictions from last year, discuss the major issues of the current year, and take our best guesses as to what will happen next year. Our conversation ranged widely - from changes in ocean shipping patterns to the challenge of EVs and ETs and the ability (or lack thereof) of the US electrical grid to meet this rising demand to the roller coaster ride of fuel prices.

This week’s guest is Bill Driegert, EVP and head of North America for Flexport. Bill has over 20 years in the industry with key roles at Coyote Logistics, Amazon, UberFreight, and now Flexport. With the recent acquisition of Convoy’s technology stack, Bill is back in the familiar position of starting up brokerage operations from scratch - something he did at UberFreight and before that at Convoy. We talk about how technology has changed the way brokers operate, the opportunities for Flexport with the acquisition of the Convoy tech, and how he sees the market evolving in 2024.

This week’s guests are John Stauffer and Brian Cristol, co-founders of Isometric Technologies. ISO is a performance management solution that centralizes service data between business partners and connects costs from chargebacks and service-level failures to the responsible parties. Anyone in the industry knows how hard it is to reconcile the root cause of service failures, that is the problem that Iso addresses. John and Brian have extensive experience in the industry and were both at Uber for several years as well as at Turvo before starting up Isometric. We had a great conversation about the challenges of working with data from multiple sources, harmonizing the definition of what ‘on-time’ means, as well as the industry as a whole.

This week’s guest is Dr. Zac Rogers, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Colorado State University. In addition to his academic duties at CSU, Zac also co-developed and currently leads the publishing of the Logistics Manager Index or LMI. Fashioned in the same way as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) which has been around for over 50 years, the LMI is a diffusion metric that captures whether an activity is expanding or contracting. The LMI captures the monthly change in inventory levels and costs as well as the capacity, utilization, and pricing changes for both warehousing and transportation. In the discussion, Zac talks about the recently published October 2023 numbers that indicate an expansion of the logistics market as well as the market impact of the Yellow and Convoy bankruptcies and the recently resolved UAW strikes.

This week’s guest is Jim Filter, EVP, Group President Transportation & Logistics. The conversation centers on Schneider’s adoption of electric vehicles within their California drayage operations. This is a highly relevant topic for all shippers and carriers as we see the electrification of transportation - both freight and passenger - continue to be promoted and subsidized by the government at the local, state, and federal levels.

This week’s guest is Dean Croke, Principal Analyst and all-around trucking expert here at DAT Freight & Analytics. Dean has over 20 years of experience in the long-haul trucking industry - from (and still) being a driver to insurance to software and analytics. In this episode, Dean discusses the state of the TL market - specifically the capacity side - to include the current level of spot rates and their relationship to carrier breakeven costs, the importance of tracking the spot market even though it is much smaller than the contract side, and highlights from the most recent DATCON event.

This week’s guest is Steve Raetz, Dir. Research and Market Intelligence at CH Robinson. Steve is a perfect person to discuss strategic use of the spot market as he not only brings 30+ years of experience in a variety of roles at CHR, but he currently leads CHR’s research efforts working with universities and others. The topic of spot as a strategy has been a research focus for the last few years and is gaining acceptance in the market.

This week’s guest is Kelly Abney, Chief Logistics Officer and EVP for the United States Postal Service. Kelly has over 30 years of experience in retail and third-party logistics prior to joining the USPS. He previously held senior roles in transportation at Walmart, New Breed Logistics, XPO Logistics, and most recently, the US Postal Service. During the conversation, Kelly shares how the postal service is being transformed based on the Delivering for America plan that the USPS adopted in 2021. There are a lot of lessons to be learned for any supply chain professional.

This week’s guest is Jennifer Carpenter, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators or AWO. Most shippers are not as familiar with the US Domestic Tugboat, Towboat, and Barge Industry. This episode should shed some light on this often-overlooked segment of the freight transportation industry. With more than thirty years in the industry, Jennifer has great insights into where it has come from, where it is going, and how it contributes to the national economy. In our conversation we discuss the size and scope of the domestic waterways industry, how it fits into various supply chains, and the importance of the Jones Act. A sometimes contentious regulation, the Jones Act essentially restricts all domestic water routes, that is from one U.S. port to another, is restricted to U.S.-built, -crewed, and -flagged vessels. Cabotage rules like this exist for most other transport modes and are common in most other countries, but it is still a point of contention as it does, by design, restrict competition.

This week’s guest is Alex Leslie, Research Analyst at the American Transportation Research Institute. Alex is the lead author on ATRI’s latest research publication “Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2023 Update”. ATRI has been publishing these very detailed reports on trucking costs for over 15 years now. Using detailed polling and data analysis, Alex is able to reveal not only the current average per mile costs, but also changes in the individual cost components, the impact of carrier size on costs and underlying trends in trucking activities. In our conversation, we discuss the report in detail and really focus on trying to determine where the “floor” is for TL carrier costs. This is something that all shippers, brokers, and carriers are trying to determine.

This week’s guest is Seth Clevenger, Managing Editor at Transport Topics, where they just released their 2023 Top 100 Carriers List. Published annually for over three decades, the Top 100 Carriers list provides the most accurate detailed snapshot of the leading companies in the trucking industry. In our conversation we discuss some surprises in this year’s list, recent mergers and acquisitions, and future trends for the industry as a whole.