Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
The stars seem aligned for Terry L. Esper. Only 40, he has already completed the career trifecta of industry, government, and academia. As such, he understands the value each brings to the profession as unique entities, and as one powerful force.
Esper holds the prestigious Oren Harris Chair in Logistics at the University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business. Commanding, articulate, and extremely passionate about the field, Esper is poised to become one of the most visible members of an increasingly visible profession.
Senior Editor Mark B. Solomon interviewed Esper about his career, the interplay of the three disciplines, his outlook for the business and the people who will help it succeed, and his drive to empower more African-Americans to join the industry.
Q: You have a background in all three major fields of endeavor. How do the attitudes toward logistics differ amongst academia, industry, and government?
A: I would say they're alike in many ways. All three sectors converge on a desire to support logistics activity in the global economy. In doing so, however, each maintains a commitment to its respective performance outcomes. Government has a strong focus on infrastructure, safety, and policy. Industry operates through a lens of logistics cost efficiency. Academia emphasizes research and knowledge dissemination.
These areas are often viewed as competing perspectives. Safety regulations and associated costs are often interpreted by industry as inefficient. Government and industry accuse academia of being too "theoretical" and "ivory tower." Industry is viewed as being so focused on cost reduction that such savings are achieved at the expense of others in the logistics community.
In the end, each sector has the same goal - more and better logistics activity. It's good we have different interpretations of what that means. It keeps each sector accountable. For example, I can't get too theoretical ... industry will ensure that. Industry can't get too cost focused ... government will ensure that. The different perspectives are good and can benefit us all.
Q: What has been the biggest change you've seen in the way all three areas perceive the field and its value? A: We have entered an era where we are all aware of the value that the business creates. This is particularly true within the academic and industry sectors. Deans and CEOs are paying attention. I worked in industry during the years when logisticians had to lobby for attention from CEOs. That's not the case anymore. When I entered academia, many logistics professors had to "lobby" for support and respect from academic colleagues. That's not the case anymore. I've watched C-level logistics and supply chain executives emerge in most large corporations. I've taught logistics concepts to budding entrepreneurs who are becoming more sensitive to the importance of logistics. I've seen academic programs grow tremendously.
At Arkansas, our student enrollment has more than doubled in the last four years. Most business schools are now getting into the game of teaching logistics concepts in their core curriculum. Overall, this maturity has been the biggest change that I've seen. We are a much more respected and valued field, and each sector has contributed to it.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge in attracting and retaining qualified talent to the industry overall? A: Most of us stumbled into logistics. When I entered academia, I would ask my students how many of them came to school to major in logistics. I would get virtually no hands. Most of them had to be roped in. Top students are not as apt to gravitate toward logistics as they are toward finance, accounting, or marketing. We are rolling out an "Intro to SCM" course at Arkansas that all business students must take. This will give us earlier access to the general student population, where we can make students aware of logistics at the front end of their experience.
I think the retention issue is a byproduct of this. Top talent has so many opportunities because of the "maturation" of the field. The growth over the last decade has exceeded the output of top talent. It's a supply and demand issue. Retention becomes much more difficult because there are so many wonderful opportunities available without adequate supply.
Q: Do you see yourself returning to either industry or government, or is academia the last stop? A: Academia is the last stop. I stay connected to industry and government, but have no desire to return. Being in academia is very rewarding, which is great. But for me, it's deeper. I not only work in academia, but I am an academic. This sector is much more about who I am versus what I do. I do research and I teach. But I am a researcher and educator. I feel my prior industry and government experiences were training ground for my true career.
Q: African-Americans are not well represented in the industry. How can the industry be more effective in attracting more African-Americans to the field? A: The relative obscurity of logistics has made diversity issues more difficult to address. Beyond this, I think it's a "face" issue. Studies have shown that one of the more effective ways to diversify a field is by diversifying those who train and mentor within the field. They will attract others.
This has proven to be true for me. One of my first mentors in the field was Rodney Slater, a former secretary of transportation and an African-American. When I worked for Hallmark, I was mentored by someone who is now their head supply chain guy, Pete Burney, an African-American. My Ph.D. adviser was Dr. Lisa Williams, an African-American. I've just advised my first African-American doctoral student, Dr. LaDonna Thornton. I consider it my duty to contribute to the diversity of the field by both mentoring and advising those who can also mentor. In the end, one of the most powerful ways of attracting and maintaining a diverse logistics community, be it ethnic, gender, etc., is through mentorship and the support of mentorship.
Q: What attracted you to the logistics industry? Was this what you always wanted to do? A: I, too, stumbled into the field. I always wanted to be an academic. I majored in mathematics in college, primarily because it seemed to be the most abstract and academic major. I wasn't sure what I would do with a degree in mathematical science. It's not like a degree in education, or social work, or business. But I fell into an opportunity to apply my math skills to transportation research. That's where I learned about logistics. I entered the field and eventually stumbled into logistics research and academics. I've always wanted to be an academic and researcher. But I had no clue going in that it would be in logistics.
Logistics was the most fascinating thing I'd heard of. When I was first introduced to the planned and precise movement of so many parts in order to support the needs and demands of the general consumer, I couldn't believe it. I was in awe of how there was so much planning and strategy behind the basic "product on shelf" concept. It was as if I had slipped into another reality and been exposed to a secret world. I still get excited when I think about it. It's a world that the average consumer has no clue about, and that's the joy in it for me.
Q: Looking at those currently matriculating into the field, what do you see as their primary strengths and weaknesses? A: It's a Catch-22. The strength is the sophistication of those new to the field. They are much more equipped with technological savvy and quantitative analysis techniques. They are much more strategic in mindset and understand the big picture when it comes to the role logistics plays in society. But this sophistication comes at the expense of many new entrants not being able to identify with the operational level of logistics.
I started my career on rural highways surveying truck drivers and studying the logistics infrastructure. Many of my contemporaries started on third-shift operations in warehouses. These experiences gave us an awareness of the great things going on in the trenches. New entrants are not too excited about these types of entry-level opportunities. In an attempt to attract top talent, many companies are no longer requiring such foundational experience. So, many new entrants cannot identify with the true operations of logistics and the effort that goes into making it all work, which is a major weakness.
A move by federal regulators to reinforce requirements for broker transparency in freight transactions is stirring debate among transportation groups, after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a “notice of proposed rulemaking” this week.
According to FMCSA, its draft rule would strive to make broker transparency more common, requiring greater sharing of the material information necessary for transportation industry parties to make informed business decisions and to support the efficient resolution of disputes.
The proposed rule titled “Transparency in Property Broker Transactions” would address what FMCSA calls the lack of access to information among shippers and motor carriers that can impact the fairness and efficiency of the transportation system, and would reframe broker transparency as a regulatory duty imposed on brokers, with the goal of deterring non-compliance. Specifically, the move would require brokers to keep electronic records, and require brokers to provide transaction records to motor carriers and shippers upon request and within 48 hours of that request.
Under federal regulatory processes, public comments on the move are due by January 21, 2025. However, transportation groups are not waiting on the sidelines to voice their opinions.
According to the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), an industry group representing the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, the potential rule is “misguided overreach” that fails to address the more pressing issue of freight fraud. In TIA’s view, broker transparency regulation is “obsolete and un-American,” and has no place in today’s “highly transparent” marketplace. “This proposal represents a misguided focus on outdated and unnecessary regulations rather than tackling issues that genuinely threaten the safety and efficiency of our nation’s supply chains,” TIA said.
But trucker trade group the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) welcomed the proposed rule, which it said would ensure that brokers finally play by the rules. “We appreciate that FMCSA incorporated input from our petition, including a requirement to make records available electronically and emphasizing that brokers have a duty to comply with regulations. As FMCSA noted, broker transparency is necessary for a fair, efficient transportation system, and is especially important to help carriers defend themselves against alleged claims on a shipment,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a statement.
Additional pushback came from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC), a network of transportation professionals in small business, which said the potential rule didn’t go far enough. “This is too little too late and is disappointing. It preserves the status quo, which caters to Big Broker & TIA. There is no question now that FMCSA has been captured by Big Broker. Truckers and carriers must now come out in droves and file comments in full force against this starting tomorrow,” SBTC executive director James Lamb said in a LinkedIn post.
The “series B” funding round was financed by an unnamed “strategic customer” as well as Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, Catapult Ventures, and others.
The fresh backing comes as Massachusetts-based Pickle reported a spate of third quarter orders, saying that six customers placed orders for over 30 production robots to deploy in the first half of 2025. The new orders include pilot conversions, existing customer expansions, and new customer adoption.
“Pickle is hitting its strides delivering innovation, development, commercial traction, and customer satisfaction. The company is building groundbreaking technology while executing on essential recurring parts of a successful business like field service and manufacturing management,” Omar Asali, Pickle board member and CEO of investor Ranpak, said in a release.
According to Pickle, its truck-unloading robot applies “Physical AI” technology to one of the most labor-intensive, physically demanding, and highest turnover work areas in logistics operations. The platform combines a powerful vision system with generative AI foundation models trained on millions of data points from real logistics and warehouse operations that enable Pickle’s robotic hardware platform to perform physical work at human-scale or better, the company says.
Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR said its Trucking Conditions Index declined in September to -2.47 from -1.39 in August as weakness in the principal freight dynamics – freight rates, utilization, and volume – offset lower fuel costs and slightly less unfavorable financing costs.
Those negative numbers are nothing new—the TCI has been positive only twice – in May and June of this year – since April 2022, but the group’s current forecast still envisions consistently positive readings through at least a two-year forecast horizon.
“Aside from a near-term boost mostly related to falling diesel prices, we have not changed our Trucking Conditions Index forecast significantly in the wake of the election,” Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said in a release. “The outlook continues to be more favorable for carriers than what they have experienced for well over two years. Our analysis indicates gradual but steadily rising capacity utilization leading to stronger freight rates in 2025.”
But FTR said its forecast remains unchanged. “Just like everyone else, we’ll be watching closely to see exactly what trade and other economic policies are implemented and over what time frame. Some freight disruptions are likely due to tariffs and other factors, but it is not yet clear that those actions will do more than shift the timing of activity,” Vise said.
The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices, and financing costs. Combined into a single index indicating the industry’s overall health, a positive score represents good, optimistic conditions while a negative score shows the inverse.
Specifically, the new global average robot density has reached a record 162 units per 10,000 employees in 2023, which is more than double the mark of 74 units measured seven years ago.
Broken into geographical regions, the European Union has a robot density of 219 units per 10,000 employees, an increase of 5.2%, with Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Slovenia in the global top ten. Next, North America’s robot density is 197 units per 10,000 employees – up 4.2%. And Asia has a robot density of 182 units per 10,000 persons employed in manufacturing - an increase of 7.6%. The economies of Korea, Singapore, mainland China and Japan are among the top ten most automated countries.
Broken into individual countries, the U.S. ranked in 10th place in 2023, with a robot density of 295 units. Higher up on the list, the top five are:
The Republic of Korea, with 1,012 robot units, showing a 5% increase on average each year since 2018 thanks to its strong electronics and automotive industries.
Singapore had 770 robot units, in part because it is a small country with a very low number of employees in the manufacturing industry, so it can reach a high robot density with a relatively small operational stock.
China took third place in 2023, surpassing Germany and Japan with a mark of 470 robot units as the nation has managed to double its robot density within four years.
Germany ranks fourth with 429 robot units for a 5% CAGR since 2018.
Japan is in fifth place with 419 robot units, showing growth of 7% on average each year from 2018 to 2023.
Progress in generative AI (GenAI) is poised to impact business procurement processes through advancements in three areas—agentic reasoning, multimodality, and AI agents—according to Gartner Inc.
Those functions will redefine how procurement operates and significantly impact the agendas of chief procurement officers (CPOs). And 72% of procurement leaders are already prioritizing the integration of GenAI into their strategies, thus highlighting the recognition of its potential to drive significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, Gartner found in a survey conducted in July, 2024, with 258 global respondents.
Gartner defined the new functions as follows:
Agentic reasoning in GenAI allows for advanced decision-making processes that mimic human-like cognition. This capability will enable procurement functions to leverage GenAI to analyze complex scenarios and make informed decisions with greater accuracy and speed.
Multimodality refers to the ability of GenAI to process and integrate multiple forms of data, such as text, images, and audio. This will make GenAI more intuitively consumable to users and enhance procurement's ability to gather and analyze diverse information sources, leading to more comprehensive insights and better-informed strategies.
AI agents are autonomous systems that can perform tasks and make decisions on behalf of human operators. In procurement, these agents will automate procurement tasks and activities, freeing up human resources to focus on strategic initiatives, complex problem-solving and edge cases.
As CPOs look to maximize the value of GenAI in procurement, the study recommended three starting points: double down on data governance, develop and incorporate privacy standards into contracts, and increase procurement thresholds.
“These advancements will usher procurement into an era where the distance between ideas, insights, and actions will shorten rapidly,” Ryan Polk, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Procurement leaders who build their foundation now through a focus on data quality, privacy and risk management have the potential to reap new levels of productivity and strategic value from the technology."