by Fronetics | Aug 6, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
Transportation and logistics is a field that is booming. The business is a money-maker and a cornerstone of day-to-day functioning. It’s one that has been present for centuries. We are well past the Age of Discovery, but transportation and logistics companies carry on the torch of moving products that people need and desire around the world. One might wonder if the sultriness of the Silk Road and the Spice Trade has lost its allure and sexiness, but that needn’t be the case. Social media has brought about a fantastic opportunity for transportation and logistics companies to share their successes, display their offerings, create community, and convert leads.
Where to Start
First, think about it. Many transportation and logistics companies think about social media and how to use it, but cite a lack of time as a reason they haven’t explored the various platforms. Thinking about how social media can work for your logistics or transportation company is the first stop towards progress.
Second, learn about it. Understanding individual usage of social media versus B2B usage of social media is important. Do your consumers use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter? Where are your competitors finding success, and what platforms are they missing? Once you figure these things out the impulse will be to get started. Post away! Tweet away! Blog away! However, creating a Facebook page or a Twitter account will not draw in your community of employees or existing clients, and will not attract potential customers or clients. Having an account is great thing, but it’s not the most important thing. Knowing how to express your brand, what content to curate and create, and how frequently to share content is critical to social media success.
Learning is a process and takes time. Set up also takes time. Hiring an outside agency to do this work can both save you time, and will ultimately reap ROI. Marketing strategy companies have been doing this work already, and understand how to highlight your company. They know the market, and once they get to know you a bit better, you can work together to figure out how to express your brand through the platform of social media.
What to Highlight
Once you figure out who to focus on and how to reach that community, creating and curating your unique content is key. What is most informative and helpful to your clients? What will feel meaningful to them? What will catch and hold their attention? How do you want people to perceive you, your employees, and your products/services? Some studies have shown that conversion rates from social media can be 100% more effective than from outbound marketing, so getting this right could greatly benefit your company.
The joy of social media is its speed and its ability to humanize a company. A company’s Twitter feed is not like its white papers. Social media is known for personalizing things, so let people know the more human side of your business. Who are the drivers? Who are the employees? What are the success stories? Celebrate your community, partners, and clients. This is a place to engage with other businesses – to educate them and learn from them.
One perfect example of a logistics company that thrives in this arena is UPS. The logistics company has found success with unique, fun, interesting, frequent posts, tweets, and blogs. They also highlight their “heroes” by telling stories, often through video, of their heroic drivers who have been known to save lives. They show the human side of delivery. They connect. And when it comes to social media, it’s all about connection.
Two other examples of companies that excel in this area are Sourcemap and Transfix. Both companies have leveraged social media as a platform for growth. Sourcemap’s founder and CEO Leonardo Bonanni credits social media for the success for his business: “Sourcemap wouldn’t be here without social media.” For Transfix, social media and digital technologies enables the company to make the trucking industry more efficient and user-friendly.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. Our firm works with companies to identify and execute strategies for growth and value creation.
When it comes to marketing we work with our clients to create and execute strategies that drive success and elevate their brand position within the industry. Unlike other firms, we align marketing programs with business objectives and, through a data driven approach, are able to deliver results with a targeted ROI. Our team is comprised of strategists, marketing professionals, writers, designers, and experts in social media. Together we leverage our experience to increase brand awareness, position our clients as thought leaders, drive meaningful engagement with prospects and customers, and help businesses grow.
by Fronetics | Jul 14, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Manufacturing & Distribution, Strategy, Supply Chain
To see lean perfected – study the NASCAR pit. In a matter of seconds, the pit crew has changed tires, wiped down the windshield, filled up fuel, and given the driver a drink of water. Everything is in the right place at the right time. If only every distribution center would run that smoothly. What’s clear is that mastering inventory levels is central to the equation of eliminating waste, but inventory management is becoming a vexing problem for some organizations – compounded by multi-channel distribution, inadequate demand forecasting, and a lack of communication among appropriate parties.
Taking a closer look at the experiences of forerunner companies in their quests to master lean inventory management might just help your company avoid these top three snags.
Failure to Adapt Business Processes
In an effort to reduce merchandise sitting around on warehouse racks, some organizations take lean too far. The problem, in this case, is one of business process rather than software. While management sees the financial impact of cutting inventory, they tend to pay less attention to how it will affect operations. The heads of distribution quite frequently are not even invited to take part in the decision and find out only when fewer cases and pallets show up at receiving. Adapting business processes to involve the managers of procurement, finance, operations, and sales and marketing, is key to maximizing efficiency. In other words, open up the silo by building it in to your formal and informal processes.
Failure to Collaborate
Even with sophisticated demand forecasting models on hand, input from all parties is needed for an accurate assessment of inventory levels. And although demand forecasting can help an organization plan around high-level “what if” scenarios, it may not always be able to break it down on a granular level or take into account the increasing number of variables associated with multi-channel distribution. Collaboration is crucial.
Failure to Align Objectives
Sometimes the answer to the issue of inventory levels is counterintuitive. Even with lean as the driving force, the notion of optimization cannot be left out. In some instances, it makes sense to increase rather than minimize inventory if it will contribute to lowering your overall supply chain costs. Your business and inventory strategies need to align.
Despite the fact that in recent years the lean revolution has hit manufacturing, many organizations, especially retailers and wholesalers, have yet to apply lean principals. And among those who do dabble in lean, the focus tends to be on suppliers upstream rather than adding value to the end customer. As more and more businesses seek to tighten the management of their inventory in order to increase efficiencies, opportunities to address end customer value will emerge. Paul A. Myerson, professor in supply chain management, identifies store- and distribution operations as prime candidates since that’s where the most waste can be cut. He writes:
Distribution is all about optimizing the trade-offs between handling costs and warehousing costs, and maximizing the warehouse’s total cube—utilizing its full volume, while maintaining low materials handling costs and minimizing travel time.
Mastery of lean management principals will come for companies that are both successful in identifying new efficiency opportunities within their existing supply chain and navigating around the pitfalls of businesses that have instituted similar inventory management techniques.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. Our firm works with companies to identify and execute strategies for growth and value creation.
Whether it is a wholesale food distributor seeking guidance on how to define and execute corporate strategy; a telematics firm needing high quality content on a consistent basis; a real estate firm looking for a marketing partner; or a supply chain firm in need of interim management, our clients rely on Fronetics to help them navigate through critical junctures, meet their toughest challenges, and take advantage of opportunities. We deliver high-impact results.
We advise and work with companies on their most critical issues and opportunities: strategy, marketing, organization, talent acquisition, performance management, and M&A support.
We have deep expertise and a proven track record in a broad range of industries including: supply chain, real estate, software, and logistics.
by Fronetics | Jun 23, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
Drew McElroy, founder of the start-up Transfix, is no newcomer to the trucking industry. McElroy was born into the business; his parents owned and operated the freight brokerage Andrew’s Express, affectionately naming it after McElroy.
“I remember listening to my father structure deals. As a kid, it was all utterly confusing to me,” recalls McElroy. “I finally started to get my head around the economics of the business in my teens. From that point on, I became increasingly aware of the industry’s inefficiencies.”
Not long after McElroy graduated college, his father passed away unexpectedly. McElroy, already working for the family business, took over as president. In that time, McElroy successfully increased annual revenues from $4 million to $12 million. While impressive, McElroy still struggled with how the industry traditionally operated. “It was clear that our family business wouldn’t be the platform for world domination,” laughs McElroy. “But I believed that, fundamentally, there was a better way to get things done.”
Determined to build a new foundation based on his belief in “a better way,” McElroy left the family business and set out for San Francisco. He would spend the next year and a half couch surfing and networking in order to gain the expert business and tech insight he needed to plan what would become Transfix. “I knew logistics and I knew trucking, but I knew nothing about venture capital, or how to move from idea to implementation,” says McElroy. “I decided I should try – and try big. If I fail, I fail, but at least I tried.”
In 2013, McElroy was introduced to Jonathan Salama. Salama was among Gilt’s early engineers, and was pivotal in building the flash sale giant’s infrastructure and inventory software. McElroy knew Salama would be key in taking his idea to the next level; Transfix had claimed its co-founders, and its recipe for industry-leading success.
Transfix is a fully automated marketplace that is all about getting things from one place to another. What sets Transfix apart is the company’s platform and approach is vastly more efficient than the traditional approach, and it is much more user-friendly.
Transfix takes the industry’s inefficiencies head on. Transfix is a digital on-demand freight marketplace. It provides industry-leading mobile technologies and location-based jobs offers for independent over-the-road truck drivers, as well as cloud-based management platforms for small carriers and shippers
Here’s how it works:
A customer logs into the Transfix TMS and enters a new shipment. The platform automatically identifies the best driver depending on location, size of truck, etc., sending a load offer alert to the driver or company dispatcher by mobile SMS message or email. The load is accepted by electronic signature, at which point the customer receives automatic notification and the driver becomes fully visible within the customer’s real-time dashboard. Load management from that point on becomes “as simple as Tinder.” Transfix geofences the driver with a five mile radius, immediately alerting Transfix of any issues. Once the load is delivered, the driver is paid within 24 to 48 hours, significantly faster than the industry standard.
Transfix just launched an app (iOS and Android) that is focused on truck drivers. Transfix’s app integrates with the company’s digital marketplace and is driver-centric. The app gives drivers the ability to manage loads, map their itinerary, and manage payments. The app also provides truck drivers with trip planning essentials including the location of showers, ATMs, weigh stations, fuel prices, and weather. The app is free and can be used by anyone with a valid motor carrier number – the driver does not have to associated with Transfix. “Developing this app and making it freely available to all drivers is just the right thing to do,” says McElroy. “Without drivers, this industry would not exist. We need to do right by drivers by making their lives easier.”
Things are moving fast for McElroy and Transfix. Within 15 minutes of updating his LinkedIn profile, McElroy got a call from a logistics Manager at Barnes & Noble and, before he hung up, had freight loads to manage. Fast forward a few months – with Transfix, Barnes & Noble has realized improvements in their processes and has seen their deadhead runs (times driving without cargo) cut by at least 50%.
Transfix has raised close to $2.5 million to date and is already generating several thousand a month in revenue.
McElroy and Transfix are poised for world domination – mind you, a win-win benevolent hegemony – a la Uber.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. Our firm works with companies to identify and execute strategies for growth and value creation.
Whether it is a wholesale food distributor seeking guidance on how to define and execute corporate strategy; a telematics firm needing high quality content on a consistent basis; a real estate firm looking for a marketing partner; or a supply chain firm in need of interim management, our clients rely on Fronetics to help them navigate through critical junctures, meet their toughest challenges, and take advantage of opportunities. We deliver high-impact results.
We advise and work with companies on their most critical issues and opportunities: strategy, marketing, organization, talent acquisition, performance management, and M&A support.
We have deep expertise and a proven track record in a broad range of industries including: supply chain, real estate, software, and logistics.
by Jennifer Hart Yim | May 19, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This article is part of a series of articles written by MBA students and graduates from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Nicole Brooks is an MBA candidate at the University of New Hampshire.
Amazon keeps on innovating.
Just when you think that Amazon offers it all, they keep surprising their customers with more unbelievable plans and ideas to better improve our lives. With a mission “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices,” Amazon continues to be innovative in an effort towards a bright future. For example, Amazon was an industry leader with the introduction of 1-day shipping, shifting consumers to expect this new luxury as the standard.
In the previous three year’s first quarter financial statements, the company has experienced a decrease in their growth rate: approximately 30% during the first quarter three years ago and down to 20% in the first quarter of last year. This has pushed Amazon to begin considering alternative paths of business if they want to continue experiencing growth. As such, they have started to diverge into the services industry and have developed a platform that is used to match buyers and sellers for essentially all types of goods.
Amazon’s latest innovations include but are not limited to:
Kiva Robots
For the 2014 holiday season, Amazon put their new Kiva robots to work. Over 15,000 were placed inside the US fulfillment centers to “make operations more efficient” during the expected high volume holiday rush. They essentially eliminated the need for people to walk through the aisles to collect the necessary items for a shipment. The Kiva robots are programmed to know the placement of items within the shelving system and bring forth the shelf with the next needed item for the packers. The company’s forward looking decisions are based on Amazon’s future vision for what the industry leader could do next to make itself stand out.
Drones
Despite being turned down by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the early months of 2015, Amazon still fully intends to be able to deliver packages to customers utilizing their developed and tested drone technology. The video that can be viewed through the Amazon Prime Air webpage provides customers with an idea of what the drone would look like and what the process would be from the order being received at the warehouse to the package being delivered to someone’s doorstep.
Amazon has named this drone delivery service “Prime Air”. Prime Air has the goal and potentially the capability to offer customers 30 minute delivery. Yes, within a 30 minute time span from receiving an order Amazon wants to process it and be able to deliver those items. Of course, there would be a high premium associated with this, but it would minimize the need for companies to have to make purchases ahead of time, which for small companies, could be very beneficial for their bottom line. Currently, drones are being tested and allowed commercially in Canada as well as a handful of European countries. In Canada, for example, drones are only subject to be used when it is light outside, the weather is good, and the controller can keep the drone in his/her sight.
Amazon Home Services
Amazon formally introduced the Home Services platform to their website last month. This platform essentially is set up in the same manner as their goods and products platform, however instead of being shipped a product at the end, the customer is booking a service, such as plumbers, electricians, TV installation services, etc. This platform allows customers to look at the various offerings and to more easily compare different businesses and contractors based on the value that they perceive the service would ultimately be providing. The different home services, similar to a typical Amazon offering, will also have comments and rankings to help distinguish the variety of offerings.
Amazon Business
In light of the increasing “do-it-yourselfer” trend, Amazon has opened a distribution channel for those seeking high-tech electronic components and parts. In the past, these components would be bought directly through suppliers, authorized distributors, or various parts catalogs. Amazon, which caters to those who prefer to do their shopping online, has expanded their offerings with the Amazon Business platform. Consumers have the ability to create business accounts with multiple user access, set-up and utilize an approval system, and can qualify for free two-day shipping, among other benefits. With this specific addition, Amazon is expanding their platform to further cater to information technology and electronic industries, creating more of a reason for businesses to consider Amazon a one-stop shopping destination.
Amazon Destinations
Also recently announced, Amazon will begin offering an Amazon Destination platform for customers to quickly and easily be able to compare local hotels for a getaway. This is not yet currently available to customers, but once it is, similar to the offering above, will give shoppers an all-encompassing inside look at what the various hotels in the area have to offer as far as rate and amenities upfront.
The Future
At this stage, Amazon is a mature company with a well-developed online shopping platform coupled with industry-leading delivery and logistics offerings. Now with the expansions into service offerings, Amazon has proved that there is no limit to what they can do. Their steps have been logical and it only makes sense that they now spread their platform to consist of more things everyday consumers are looking for. We can already get any item imaginable through their website, why not any service. As the service offerings expand, it would not be a far stretch to say that in the coming years we will be able to plan weddings, book vacations around the world, and even possibly compare medical procedures through Amazon.com.
It’s difficult to accurately predict what Amazon will be doing fifteen years from now, but whatever they are doing, will mostly likely continue to shape consumer expectations and impact the surrounding business and consumer markets in ways we had not thought of beforehand.
by Jennifer Hart Yim | May 19, 2015 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This article is part of a series of articles written by MBA students and graduates from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Nicole Brooks is an MBA candidate at the University of New Hampshire.
Amazon keeps on innovating.
Just when you think that Amazon offers it all, they keep surprising their customers with more unbelievable plans and ideas to better improve our lives. With a mission “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices,” Amazon continues to be innovative in an effort towards a bright future. For example, Amazon was an industry leader with the introduction of 1-day shipping, shifting consumers to expect this new luxury as the standard.
In the previous three year’s first quarter financial statements, the company has experienced a decrease in their growth rate: approximately 30% during the first quarter three years ago and down to 20% in the first quarter of last year. This has pushed Amazon to begin considering alternative paths of business if they want to continue experiencing growth. As such, they have started to diverge into the services industry and have developed a platform that is used to match buyers and sellers for essentially all types of goods.
Amazon’s latest innovations include but are not limited to:
Kiva Robots
For the 2014 holiday season, Amazon put their new Kiva robots to work. Over 15,000 were placed inside the US fulfillment centers to “make operations more efficient” during the expected high volume holiday rush. They essentially eliminated the need for people to walk through the aisles to collect the necessary items for a shipment. The Kiva robots are programmed to know the placement of items within the shelving system and bring forth the shelf with the next needed item for the packers. The company’s forward looking decisions are based on Amazon’s future vision for what the industry leader could do next to make itself stand out.
Drones
Despite being turned down by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the early months of 2015, Amazon still fully intends to be able to deliver packages to customers utilizing their developed and tested drone technology. The video that can be viewed through the Amazon Prime Air webpage provides customers with an idea of what the drone would look like and what the process would be from the order being received at the warehouse to the package being delivered to someone’s doorstep.
Amazon has named this drone delivery service “Prime Air”. Prime Air has the goal and potentially the capability to offer customers 30 minute delivery. Yes, within a 30 minute time span from receiving an order Amazon wants to process it and be able to deliver those items. Of course, there would be a high premium associated with this, but it would minimize the need for companies to have to make purchases ahead of time, which for small companies, could be very beneficial for their bottom line. Currently, drones are being tested and allowed commercially in Canada as well as a handful of European countries. In Canada, for example, drones are only subject to be used when it is light outside, the weather is good, and the controller can keep the drone in his/her sight.
Amazon Home Services
Amazon formally introduced the Home Services platform to their website last month. This platform essentially is set up in the same manner as their goods and products platform, however instead of being shipped a product at the end, the customer is booking a service, such as plumbers, electricians, TV installation services, etc. This platform allows customers to look at the various offerings and to more easily compare different businesses and contractors based on the value that they perceive the service would ultimately be providing. The different home services, similar to a typical Amazon offering, will also have comments and rankings to help distinguish the variety of offerings.
Amazon Business
In light of the increasing “do-it-yourselfer” trend, Amazon has opened a distribution channel for those seeking high-tech electronic components and parts. In the past, these components would be bought directly through suppliers, authorized distributors, or various parts catalogs. Amazon, which caters to those who prefer to do their shopping online, has expanded their offerings with the Amazon Business platform. Consumers have the ability to create business accounts with multiple user access, set-up and utilize an approval system, and can qualify for free two-day shipping, among other benefits. With this specific addition, Amazon is expanding their platform to further cater to information technology and electronic industries, creating more of a reason for businesses to consider Amazon a one-stop shopping destination.
Amazon Destinations
Also recently announced, Amazon will begin offering an Amazon Destination platform for customers to quickly and easily be able to compare local hotels for a getaway. This is not yet currently available to customers, but once it is, similar to the offering above, will give shoppers an all-encompassing inside look at what the various hotels in the area have to offer as far as rate and amenities upfront.
The Future
At this stage, Amazon is a mature company with a well-developed online shopping platform coupled with industry-leading delivery and logistics offerings. Now with the expansions into service offerings, Amazon has proved that there is no limit to what they can do. Their steps have been logical and it only makes sense that they now spread their platform to consist of more things everyday consumers are looking for. We can already get any item imaginable through their website, why not any service. As the service offerings expand, it would not be a far stretch to say that in the coming years we will be able to plan weddings, book vacations around the world, and even possibly compare medical procedures through Amazon.com.
It’s difficult to accurately predict what Amazon will be doing fifteen years from now, but whatever they are doing, will mostly likely continue to shape consumer expectations and impact the surrounding business and consumer markets in ways we had not thought of beforehand.
