Meet Me for Coffee

Day 2 of the JOC Inland Distribution Conference was so informative, we had to split it into two parts! In this episode you will hear:  Deema Adada from BiggerPicture discuss what has changed in automation and scheduling automation since we met in February at a conference. And how SHIPPERS not just brokers/carriers are finding automation/ai technology beneficial.  Curtis Garrett from Understand LTL...

Day 2 Part 2!  Ari Ashe summarizes the sessions at JOC so far, and what you can gain from attending JOC, and then he provided me with an excellent conversation on the ILA port strikes.  Chris from Optym shared his insights on how logistics providers of all type are thinking about automation, and what they are prioritizing right now to wrap up day 2!  Stay tuned for one more day of content!  #logis...

Day 3 Part 1 coverage of the JOC Inland Distribution Conference! I could not be more thrilled to have a session of all shippers who shared their topics of discussion and insights with me. You will hear from:  Laura Eory from KIND Snacks shared her insights around workforce development and leadership in supply chain, especially through turbulent times. Rachel Acker from Wolverine Worldwide shared h...

Our final Podcast segment from the JOC Inland Distribution Conference this week is here! Wrapping up day 3 we hear from:  Derek Zetlin shared insights on how shippers can start to won more of their own data and technology processes and remove vendor bias from their reporting.  Doug Vilamil shared insights on using technology to enable you to focus on scaling your business efficiently. Gabe Ribeiro...

I've been motivated by the ongoing layoffs in our industry to help those job searching stand out and get noticed. I also preach personal brand growth for all of our clients. So, whether you are looking for a new role, were affected by recent layoffs, or want to grow a stronger personal brand for any reason, please join me for this live LinkedIn profile review session! We will walk through thi...

How do brokers operate?  Most operate differently to fit their unique needs and the needs of their carriers and clients. I'm excited to bring you this two part series around how brokerages operate! We get pretty in the weeds discussing operational work flows, and different technologies and tools at play and how they are enhancing service operations. I hope if you are a brokerage leader this s...

Join our host Samantha, and her guests Matthew Leffler (our industry's best known attorney) and Graham Gonzales (our industry's best known insurance guru) as they discuss the rapidly evolving legal and risk landscape for brokerages. We will cover topics like the turmoil surety bond markets are in, how 3PL insurance rates are impacted by large verdicts and what these large verdicts mean f...

Yesterday was the kick off for the Trimble Insight conference in Las Vegas! Here are some of the highlights from night 1 of the conference!  Keith Lawlis, VP of Business Development at Justransform shared insights into the evolving technology landscape facing shippers, brokers and carriers.  Steve Schmidt, IT Logistics at McDonald Companies talked about the importance of implementing tech that act...

The second day of Trimble Insight was a busy one! Lot's of great sessions and speakers and great networking hours! Our podcast booth was busy, here are some of the day 2 highlights!  Matt Salefski, CEO and Founder of Rectangle - shared insights on the direction he thinks we are headed when we think about EDI, API, and what's next, saying he does not think "standardization" is t...

Day 2 had so many insights we had to break up the sessions! In Day 2 Part 2, here is what you can expect to hear: Sam Susenguth - CSO at Isaac Instruments discussed the future of making smarter data driven decisions through the use of evolving ELD technologies. Colin Ruskin -  CEO of WorkOptima discussed the democratization of the freight tech space in recent years, and how imperative it is for te...

The last day of the Trimble Insight Conference was packed with great podcast content! We heard from some awesome industry experts on a variety of topics, here is a preview: Avery Vise - VP of Trucking at FTR gave us an economic and freight market overview, covering economic data points to watch, the state of truck capacity, and the outlook for a freight market recovery.  Michael Kornhauser - Secto...

The last day of the Trimble Insight Conference was packed with great podcast content! We heard from some awesome industry experts on a variety of topics, here is a preview: Avery Vise - VP of Trucking at FTR gave us an economic and freight market overview, covering economic data points to watch, the state of truck capacity, and the outlook for a freight market recovery.  Michael Kornhauser - Secto...

Join Samantha and Matthew, the Chief Economist at Breakthrough, as they discuss the current state of the macroeconomy and the freight markets over coffee. Our discussion will cover topics like when the market will turn, the diesel market and the impact of the turmoil in the Middle East, alternative energy, the elections and monetary policy impacts, and where sustainability is at (just a buzzword o...

Samantha and Paul P. , the Head of Transfix Market Intelligence, are meeting for coffee to talk macroeconomics and freight market predictions. In January, Paul authored a 6 month market outlook that said: "It remains true that our core assumption (trucking demand is unlikely to pick up before Q2 2024) contrasts with the market consensus, as reflected, for instance, by Morgan Stanley trucking...

Join Samantha and Kary Jablonski , the CEO of Trucker Tools , as they discuss the current brokerage landscape, what brokers have been prioritizing within their operations this year, what they are anticipating changing in the years ahead, and all the insights Kary gleans through her impressive network of freight experts!

Join Samantha and guest John Sutton as they meet over coffee to discuss corporate strategy in the brokerage, carrier and even shipper landscapes.    John is the Director, Corporate Strategy for Sunset Transportation. John’s life-long background in transportation fuels his passion for driving efficiencies, eliminating process gaps and finding ways to make the lives of every one of his colleagues ea...

What happened in the full truckload freight market in H1 2024? What is going to happen in the freight market in H2 2024? In January Meet Me For Coffee hosted an expert panel to make 2024 predictions, join us as we bring back two of those panelists and two new panelists to discuss H1 results and prognosticate on the H2 freight market! Joining our panel of market experts is: Samantha Jones, Host and...

Cody is the SVP at A&Z Trucking, one of America's largest produce transportation brokerages. In May alone they will move nearly 900 loads of produce just out of the Salinas, CA market. Produce is an industry I had little exposure to for most of my career, but the intricacies of the services in this niche part of food supply chains has definitely caught my attention over the last year. Joi...

Have you read one of my market update newsletters in recent months? If so, you have probably heard me reference Matthew Klein's editorial pieces around the state of the current economy. Matthew is the author of The Overshoot, your guide to the global economy, financial markets, and public policy. As well as the co-author of Trade Wars are Class Wars.    This is one of those episodes that I st...

Rob Haddock recently retired from his role as the Group Director Transportation Strategy at Coca-Cola and now enjoys consulting and collaborating with shippers, brokers, carriers and tech providers on creative and innovative ways to progress our industry forward! Join Rob and I as we explore the mindset of the shipper, and cover topics like shipper of choice, dwell time, collaboration and partners...

Nobody has been more diligently covering the Baltimore Bridge collapse than Senior Editor, Journal of Commerce, Mr. Ari Ashe. I am excited to have him on the Meet Me For Coffee Podcast to break down what implications this event will have on the domestic and global supply chain. In addition to this, Ari studies our domestic supply chain closely (it's his day job ;) and will share insights he h...

After over 5 years working within Volkswagen’s procurement teams, Gereon founded 21 Consulting. Gereon is from Germany and has spent years negotiating and procuring goods and services globally. He understands Mexico trade well, and with Mexico's growing importance to the domestic supply chain, we are going to dive into cross-border supply chain, international procurement strategy, and more! I...

You may have heard Chris speak on the Meet Me For Coffee special edition panel episode in January, and if so you know that there is plenty more we left still uncovered! I'm excited to have Chris join me on the show yet again to continue to dive into topics discussed last month.    Chris is the COO at Flock Freight, a FreightTech company reinventing the supply chain through smarter, more susta...

Our last segment of conversations from Manifest! The amazing conversations continued with some solid contributions from industry thought leaders! Let us know what you think, will you be checking out Manifest next year!? Meet Me For Coffee will be back! 

Continuing some awesome conversations with Manifest attendees! What I found really interesting was the overlap in topics of discussion across various types of providers! Technology, people, profitability, lowering operational costs through efficiency and the freight markets found there way into a lot of conversations this week! Check these out and let me know what you think!