Some measure success by salaries and titles. Others use a different yardstick altogether. Take the eight professionals selected as our 2023 Rainmakers, for example. When asked about their proudest professional accomplishments, their answers ranged from the satisfaction of working with others as part of a successful team, to mentoring the next generation of leaders, to making the planet a better, greener, and in one case—healthier—place.
So who are these Rainmakers and how were they chosen? As in the past, DC Velocity selected the 2023 Rainmakers in concert with members of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board from candidates nominated by readers, board members, and previous Rainmakers and DCV Thought Leaders. This year’s selections represent different facets of the business—practitioners, tech specialists, carriers and third-party service providers, and, notably, leaders of companies working to promote sustainable logistics operations. But as the profiles on the following pages show, they’re united by a common goal of advancing the logistics and supply chain management profession.
Over the next week, DC Velocity will unveil one of our eight 2023 Rainmakers each day.
If you’d like to nominate someone for our 2024 Rainmakers report, please send your suggestions to DC Velocity’s group editorial director, David Maloney, at dmaloney@dcvelocity.com.
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Peter Anderson
It’s safe to say that Peter Anderson has his hands full. As chief supply chain officer at
That would be an impressive workload at virtually any corporation, but it’s downright remarkable at WestRock, one of the world’s largest paper and packaging companies, with 58,000 employees and 300 production facilities worldwide. Making his job even more complex, the company—which specializes in consumer packaging like folding cartons, corrugated products like containers and displays, and paper products like containerboard—has ambitious sustainability goals. It says that by 2025, 100% of its products will be recyclable, compostable, or reusable.
Anderson has more than 30 years of supply chain leadership experience, including executive roles at Cummins Inc., Ernst & Young (EY), Milk Industry Logistics, Bibby Distribution, and IBM Consulting. He leverages that experience and gives back to the community by serving in board positions at the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Howard University, and other schools.
Q: What drew you to the field of logistics?
A: I studied motor vehicle engineering and was intrigued by trucks and then went on to do a degree in transport and distribution in the U.K. The course was the first of its kind and really was the predecessor to today’s logistics and supply chain courses.
Q: What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen during your career?
A: The biggest changes I’ve seen in my career are focused on three primary areas: (1) The advent of systems capabilities and real-time visibility; I still remember the first planning systems coming of age in the late 1990s, providing the foundation for many of the planning practices we use today. (2) The upskilling of talent in the supply chain profession; when I first started in the 1980s, many people were not skilled practitioners and had fallen into it by accident. Today it’s one of the best career choices you can make, and the training provided by colleges is amazing. (3) Globalization.
Q: What hasn’t changed?
A: Our reliance on suppliers … we need to work much more closely to ensure that we continue to mitigate risks.
Q: What advice would you give someone just starting a career in supply chain management?
A: Try all areas of supply chain; don’t just focus on one functional area. Be a voracious learner and start to build and maintain your professional network from day one. Additionally, find a sponsor who can aid and guide you through the formative years.
Q: What are some of the truisms that should be forgotten? In other words, what rules do companies need to break?
A: I remember early in my career, many people saying trust is earned. My perspective as I’ve gotten older is that I need to give trust first, and then relationships will prosper. The other truism companies should rethink is [the idea of staying in your own lane]. When designing your next new process or supply chain, don’t just look at your industry; look widely and choose the best from all industries. Doing what everyone in your industry does will never move the needle and differentiate you from the others.
Q: What’s your proudest professional achievement (or moment) and why?
A: My proudest moment was working with a large CPG as a consultant and designing a global operating model for them that changed practically every process, centralizing operations and generating over $1 billion in supply chain savings.
Jim Cafone
Jim Cafone and his team at Pfizer created a whole new supply chain for the Covid-19 vaccine—in record time and under extreme pressure. The project was an unprecedented challenge that involved reinventing the manufacturing process, developing a brand-new manufacturing network with innovative players, and reinventing deep-frozen distribution on a global scale. Ultimately, the project produced a vaccine that was made available to billions in less than a year.
The campaign’s success was based in no small part on Cafone’s deep supply chain experience and breadth of responsibility. As senior vice president, global supply chain, Cafone oversees global demand forecasting, demand and supply planning, worldwide logistics, and inventory management for Pfizer. In his previous role as vice president, network design and performance, he was responsible for business development, supply chain network design, Pfizer’s lean production system, all performance reporting and analytics, and innovation and recognition programs. During his career, Cafone has held senior management positions in manufacturing, supply chain planning, customer order management, physical distribution, customs compliance, integrated business planning, information technology, corporate and supply chain strategy, and business development.
Cafone says Pfizer’s supply chain innovation in response to the pandemic remains his proudest professional achievement.
Q: What attracted you to the logistics/supply chain field and what motivates you to continue your work each day?
A: Supply chain is a horizontal science, meaning it integrates all functions within the company from end to end. What has attracted me the most to supply chain is the ability to integrate disparate functions, both inside and outside the enterprise, to create a value chain that ultimately delivers value to customers. In our case, the customer is a patient. So, I can impact the health and wellness of a patient in need.
Q: You have a great deal of experience managing pharmaceutical supply chains. What are the biggest challenges companies in your industry face?
A: Pharmaceutical and health-care supply chains are governed by very strict regulatory requirements to ensure unified quality and regulatory practices across the industry. This is to protect patients and ensure the highest-quality medicines are supplied. As a result, health-care supply chains are rigid and do take extended periods of time to enact a change in structure, configuration, and process execution. Each change in the pharmaceutical industry requires a regulatory filing to detail the nature of the change and update our license to manufacture.
Q: What major changes have you seen in supply chains during your time in the industry?
A: The biggest change that occurred in supply chain in recent times is the advent of digital technology. This includes planning systems, serialization, advanced analytics, and cloud-based computing. It takes a very disciplined approach to deploy digital toolsets and a common master data platform in a manner that integrates the supply chain and makes it more efficient and effective.
Q: What hasn’t changed?
A: The area that still requires a lot of attention is the ability to attract and retain top talent that can operate within a contemporary supply chain setting. This includes the identification, acquisition, and retention of highly skilled people who also have the proper emotional intelligence in order to work in a horizontal manner.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
A: The biggest challenge I faced was during the pandemic. Pfizer, and its supply chain, were able to produce roughly 5 billion vaccine doses over 24 months’ time. This required us to completely reinvent our supply chain paradigms and focus on advanced manufacturing technologies [and] deep-frozen cold chain approaches—all with the ability to get vaccines out to every part of the world.
Q: What is your proudest professional achievement, and why?
A: My proudest professional moment was to be able to see the first vaccine leave our manufacturing facility and begin its journey to the first patient to be inoculated.
Gaston Curk
When Gaston Curk co-founded
In addition to his work as CEO of OSM Worldwide, Curk serves as an acting board member for the Package Shippers Association and is a founding member of the Package Coalition. In 2019, he founded Fight for Chicago, a nonprofit organization that supports inner-city youths by providing boxing sponsorships, mentoring programs, and internships.
Q: What’s your proudest professional achievement and why?
A: In 2010, the OSM Worldwide team and I worked in conjunction with the USPS to develop the Parcel Priority Mail Open and Distribute (PPMOD) model. This model helps to expedite Standard Mail service for parcels by utilizing the Priority Mail network—and, at the time, was novel and quite innovative.
The PPMOD model ultimately made fast, reliable, low-cost e-commerce shipping possible for brands of all sizes, and OSM Worldwide was proud to be the first to pilot it. It’s core to our business strategy and customer offering to this day, and has helped catapult us to the status of the fifth-largest nationwide e-commerce package shipper.
Q: What drew you to the field of logistics?
A: After college, I started working in the mail industry for a multibillion-dollar German company named Danka. This job was appealing to me because we were a small division of a very large organization. This allowed me to be creative and entrepreneurial, while having all the back-office support of an established organization. From there I went to work for a presort bureau. This job was very interesting because I went from the hardware and software side of things to understanding mail and how the postal network operates.
It was during that time that I realized the need for a wider variety of shipping and delivery options, including more economical shipping solutions. I have always had that entrepreneurial spirit, so in 2003, I teamed up with Jim Kelley to found OSM Worldwide, a new shipping solutions company that would provide a great service with affordable and innovative options.
Q: What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen during your career?
A: Change is a constant in our industry, as prices fluctuate and e-commerce continues to grow. However, the biggest change is the pivotal role that automation and robotic applications play in advancing the industry. For shippers and consumers, it’s about speedy, accurate delivery. For our staff, it’s higher productivity and a safer, more enjoyable work environment.
Also, the need for brands to employ a diverse carrier strategy based on size, weight, contents, and destination has become a necessity to control flow and overall cost. As e-commerce has changed the industry, it has become more challenging for companies to rely solely on one or even two delivery partners. Multicarrier strategies will continue to gain traction with retailers and e-commerce players in general, while sophisticated shippers have been doing it for some time.
Q: What hasn’t changed?
A: One thing that hasn’t changed—and likely never will—is the value of a strong, collaborative customer relationship and a focus on customer service. The margin that separates the shipping choices of our customers is often thin, but providers can always differentiate through great customer service. We have proudly been working with many of our customers for nearly 20 years, and it’s a real point of pride for us. Treat people well, and the business is more likely to succeed.
Q: What advice would you give someone just starting a career in supply chain management?
A: My main advice is to get involved in the industry outside of just work through various local and national groups, like the Package Coalition and the Package Shippers Association (PSA). These groups afforded me a chance to learn about the industry from multiple perspectives and, to a certain degree, impact the entire industry. I was asked to testify on the PSA’s behalf on the importance of being able to send books (bound printed matter, or BPM) through the postal service inexpensively. The USPS was trying to do away with its economy “BPM rates,” and I wrote a statement, along with two other colleagues, that ultimately thwarted those efforts.
Q: What are some of the truisms that should be forgotten? In other words what rules do companies need to break?
A: The notion that companies are tied to their earned discount and married to a single shipping partner. Multicarrier strategies can bring together the best providers for different portions of a brand’s business and allow it to truly optimize on cost, reliability, speed, and overall service level.
Barbara Melvin
Barbara Melvin is president and CEO of
Melvin, who has long been interested in government service, has worked in a variety of roles at SC Ports over the past 20-plus years. Before ascending to her current post, she served for four years as SC Ports’ chief operating officer, where she oversaw terminal operations, carrier sales, equipment maintenance, engineering, environmental initiatives, the logistics solution center, cruise operations, and more. Melvin also served as the lead staff person on the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project.
Despite her busy schedule, Melvin has made time to give back to the profession and the South Carolina community, serving in leadership positions for a wide variety of organizations. They include the American Heart Association, the S.C. Governor’s School of Science and Math, the Ports Caucus Advisory Board for the U.S. Congress, the Intermodal Association of North America, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and the South Carolina Maritime Foundation.
Q: What attracted you to the maritime and ports industry?
A: My love for politics led me to the maritime industry. I began my career at SC Ports in 1998, leading government relations, community engagement, and public relations. I became fascinated with port operations and worked to gain a deeper understanding. I then transitioned into leading operations, and I earned an Executive Master’s Degree in business administration in global supply chain from the University of Tennessee’s Haslam School of Business. After four years as chief operating officer, I became president and CEO of SC Ports.
Q: You have been with SC Ports for more than 20 years. How has the maritime industry changed in that time?
A: Interestingly enough, many of the themes have remained consistent. Ships are getting bigger, more cargo is being moved, and ports must be bold enough and strategic enough to build the critical infrastructure needed to remain competitive. SC Ports has done this well, investing $3 billion within 15 years to enhance capacity and its capabilities as a top 10 U.S. container port.
I have also seen much more collaboration and partnership across the maritime and logistics industry in recent years. This is something I continue to foster and focus on as CEO. We are all connected and reliant on one another. We can achieve great things when working together.
Q: The U.S. East Coast ports have seen considerable growth in the past five years. How has that affected the way you manage your team at SC Ports?
A: Business on the East Coast, and the Southeast in particular, is booming. We have seen significant growth at SC Ports, which is now the eighth-largest container port in the country.
To handle this growth, I tell my team to focus on operational excellence every day. I encourage them to take intelligent risks, be decisive, and fail fast.
I also encourage them to celebrate the victories. This work is not for the faint of heart. Having a successful supply chain is absolutely critical to the success of our economy, and we should all take pride in that.
Q: What was the most significant project that you’ve managed, and what did you learn from it?
A: The $580 million Charleston Harbor Deepening Project required significant coordination among regulatory agencies, elected leaders, and presidential budgets. This project taught me the power of collaboration.
Charleston is now the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast at 52 feet, capable of handling mega-container ships any time, at any tide. This project was finished in record time, and it makes our world-class port even more globally competitive. It is deeply rewarding to see it realized after a decade of hard work and partnership.
Q: What is your proudest professional achievement?
A: It is a true honor to lead the team at SC Ports and work alongside our maritime partners to keep freight moving. We have the best port team and maritime community in the country. I learn so much from them every day. Leading them is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve experienced in my career.
Tom Nightingale
As a 30-plus year veteran of the logistics industry, Tom Nightingale has demonstrated a “mix of leadership skills, capacity for inspiration, operational experience, technical scope, and passion for customer satisfaction” that makes him an ideal Rainmaker, according to the person who nominated him for the award.
In 2020, Nightingale was appointed chief executive officer of the third-party logistics service provider AFS Logistics. Under his leadership, the company has grown substantially and introduced technology innovations like the AFSmart platform, all while helping shipper clients navigate volatility in the transportation marketplace.
In addition to his role at AFS Logistics, Nightingale currently serves as chairman of the board for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). He has also served on the boards of other nonprofit as well as for-profit organizations, including the Women In Trucking Association, the Transportation Marketing Sales Association, and the Warehousing Education and Research Council.
Q: What attracted you to the logistics/supply chain field, and what motivates you to go to work each day?
A: I was initially attracted by the global nature of the work. I spoke Spanish and my undergraduate studies had an international focus. Luckily, a major parcel carrier was investing heavily in growing its international presence, and its needs matched up well with my background. It was a great place to learn the business. I discovered that I enjoyed helping customers solve large-scale, complex problems, and international shipping certainly had plenty of those in 1990.
As my career has progressed, I find that much of it still revolves around international logistics, and 100% of it involves complex problem solving. The added benefit to solving a never-ending stream of complex logistics problems is that I get to learn and improve my skills in the process. I am a lifelong learner, and like many people, I learn best by doing. Jobs in the logistics industry always involve doing.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges facing logistics professionals today?
A: Being able to deal with the fluidity and dynamism of the industry and the broader market has always been a challenge for supply chain professionals. Thankfully, the rise of associations such as the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the excellence displayed by many 3PLs have made it easier for supply chain leaders to keep up with the relentless ebbs and flows of an industry where no one can afford to let their skills get stale.
Q: Over the years, you’ve managed numerous people in a variety of supply chain roles. What do you look for in the people you choose for your team?
A: I look for leaders who will help create a virtuous cycle and who will motivate their teams with meaningful work; support their teams with the right tools and structure while setting challenging goals; drive a clear vision for a better future for themselves and the company; encourage those around them to think big, start small, fail cheap, and scale fast; and lastly, build their work on an unshakeable bedrock of core values.
Q: What advice would you give someone just entering the supply chain profession?
A: Anyone who is coming into this industry now stands on the shoulders of giants. The work that has been done in the last 60 years was often done in a thankless environment. That work has paved the way for a legitimized profession that is now seen as the number one path to a CEO role.
The challenges are limitless, the resources are vast, and the prize is enormous. The work that is being done by supply chain professionals has enabled a global economy and has lowered the cost of living while elevating the standard of living worldwide. Companies and countries that use the supply chain wisely wield a true competitive advantage among their peers. The advice that I would give newcomers is to (1) avail themselves of the resources around them, (2) network with experts, and (3) never stop asking smart questions.
Q: What is your proudest professional achievement, and why?
A: I have had the fortune of working with so many great teams that have done so much good work that picking one achievement would be impractical. However, there are common threads to all of the team triumphs I have been lucky enough to be around: pulling together disparate strands of thought, using a variety of resources and learning styles, and ultimately producing an epiphany to solve a complex problem.
Those ah-ha moments, when the pieces of the puzzle fit together to deliver exceptional results, are the moments that I enjoy the most, and I am grateful I have been able to bear witness to many of them in my career.
Sam Polakoff
In the late 1980s, Sam Polakoff helped design one of America’s earliest transportation management systems. And he hasn’t stopped innovating since. In the decades that followed, Polakoff helped develop one of the country’s first private freight payment plans, introduced import/export/customs-clearance services geared toward small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and launched supply chain modeling and optimization software and consulting services, again for the SMB market. Then in 2022, Polakoff launched
In his spare time, Polakoff enjoys writing. He is the award-winning author of the thrillers Hiatus, Shaman, and Escaping Mercy—the 2022 winner of an American Fiction Award for medical thriller. In April of this year, he released his fourth novel, An Inch from Oblivion.
On top of that Polakoff and his company are heavily involved in charitable endeavors, choosing a different charity to support each year. Most recently, Polakoff and his staff led a relief effort for Ukrainian citizens, loading a 53-foot trailer with supplies ranging from wheelchairs to toiletries for shipment to Europe.
Q: During your five decades in the supply chain industry, you’ve seen an immense amount of growth. What are some of the most significant developments you’ve seen?
A: In short, computing power, the Internet, robotics, and, more recently, visibility products and BI (business intelligence). These developments have shaped supply chain strategy and helped make global commerce easier and more attainable to even the smallest of companies.
Q: Looking ahead, what excites you about the future of supply chain?
A: All of the above. Just imagine a future where a manufacturer receives an order for a single unit of a customizable SKU. Instead of making the product, then packing it and shipping it to the customer, the manufacturer sells the customer a one-time-use license to “print” the product on its own 3D printer. Where this is impractical, goods can be delivered on autonomous vehicles, drones, and even maglev trains. The concept of improved supply chain via inventory mitigation is one that I find fascinating. In the future, it will be the norm.
Q: Last year, you started BrillDog to offer small and medium-sized businesses a tool to compete with larger companies. Tell us a little about your company and what you do.
A: BrillDog was developed to bring the kind of software solutions that were once available only to large corporations to the little guy, allowing SMBs to compete via affordable SCM [supply chain management] software that tackles every aspect of the product lifecycle: plan, source, make, deliver, and return. BrillDog aims to be the country’s first supply chain management system geared specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
Q: What advice would you give someone just entering the supply chain profession?
A: Embrace innovation. Look at process and tech. Use that exercise that has the team imagine they were starting the business from scratch and were unencumbered by any current constraints, including money, people, and technology. Begin strategizing from the answers. That’s what your competitors are doing! Always remember that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Q: Outside of work, you are an award-winning novelist! How did your side career as a fiction writer come about?
A: It all began with a challenge from an executive coach who asked me to name a personal goal I’d always wanted to achieve but never had. Shortly thereafter, by sheer coincidence, I was introduced to a former Random House editor, who coached me through the process of writing a novel. Since then, I have written three more. My third thriller, Escaping Mercy, won the 2022 American Fiction Award for the best medical thriller.
Shelley Simpson
PHOTO BY SARAH ODEN PHOTOGRAPHY
As a young adult, Shelley Simpson never dreamed about becoming a transportation executive. Instead, she wanted to be an entrepreneur and build her own company. Her first job out of school was working as an hourly customer service representative at J.B. Hunt Transport—a job that was supposed to be just a temporary summer position. But Simpson fell in love with the family-like culture at J.B. Hunt, and now 28 years later, she is the president of the company.
Over the years, Simpson discovered that there were plenty of opportunities to scratch her entrepreneurial itch at J.B. Hunt, which was founded by Johnnie Bryan Hunt and his wife, Johnelle, in 1961. For example, in 2006, Simpson helped create J.B. Hunt’s Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) business unit and became president of that segment in 2007. With the launch of ICS, J.B. Hunt went from being a completely asset-based trucking company to expanding into the brokerage side of the business, a major strategic and cultural shift for the company. Then in 2017, as the company’s chief commercial officer, Simpson helped to commercialize J.B. Hunt 360, the company’s digital freight-matching platform.
Through it all, Simpson’s focus has remained squarely on the people at J.B. Hunt. As executive vice president of people and human resources (a position she held until becoming president), Simpson was devoted to promoting the advancement of women as well as to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives not only at J.B. Hunt but also in the wider transportation and logistics world.
Beyond J.B. Hunt, Simpson serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including the Mercy Health Foundation, the Northwestern University Transportation Center Business Advisory Council, the BNSF Customer Advisory Board, and the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board for the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. She is also a council member for the Chief Human Resources Office Council and the University of Arkansas’ DEI Council. She is on the selection committee for the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and the Distinguished Service Award Selection Committee for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.
Q: Now that you have taken the company’s helm, what do you envision for J.B. Hunt over the next 10 years?
A: I became president of J.B. Hunt in August 2022, after 28 years at the company. I’ve seen a lot of growth. In fact, nine of the 14 jobs I held didn’t exist before I came on board. Our CEO John Roberts likes to say, “Growth is oxygen,” and the growth of this company was like oxygen for my career as well.
A strategic vision for any company, large or small, has to start with people. Leaning into your people, and building trust along the way, will drive innovation and growth more effectively than just about anything else. When people feel safe, respected, and heard, they bring big ideas to the table, embrace disruption, and adapt to our rapidly changing industry. As for the next 10 years, you’ll find me continuing to invest in the success of our people and maintaining our future-focused, long-term view and growth mindset when it comes to delivering exceptional customer and shareholder value.
Q: J.B. Hunt is known as the type of company where people spend their entire career. How do you maintain that sort of culture?
A: We have 677 people who have been with the company for 25 years or more, and if you asked them, “Why J.B. Hunt?” most would say it’s because it feels like family. Family members trust one another. They celebrate victories together and help each other through hard times. They invest in one another to achieve success. I think that’s an accurate description of what it’s like to work at J.B. Hunt.
From drivers to developers, our company culture is built around being inclusive and empowering employees. The introduction of new ideas, the exposure to differing perspectives, and the collaboration among diverse identities act as a bridge to new opportunities. Our people feel valued and supported, and they trust the company. This drives innovation and company growth.
Q: You’ve helped launch some major change initiatives for J.B. Hunt, such as introducing its brokerage business in 2006 and more recently, J.B. Hunt 360. What advice do you have for others who are trying to shepherd a major change through their organization?
A: Disruption, especially on a large scale, can be intimidating. When we launched Integrated Capacity Solutions, we were creating an organization that would help customers secure capacity using equipment that wasn’t owned and operated by J.B. Hunt; however, it would optimize cost, service, and capacity and create the most value for them. And with J.B. Hunt 360, we were reinventing a decades-old process for managing freight. At the time, some people questioned our sanity, while others could see the value in what we were creating. It was very important that we stayed closely connected as a leadership team, making sure that, while we had different responsibilities, we maintained a unified effort. Trust was and continues to be essential in making progress.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. Patience is required. Clearly communicate how your idea or solution will better serve customers and the company. People are more likely to embrace change when they understand and believe in the value it’s going to create and when they feel connected to their role in that change.
Q: You have been heavily involved in many of J.B. Hunt’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Why do you feel these efforts are so important?
A: What we’ve found is that inclusion drives innovation. It strengthens your organization. Having a diverse set of perspectives and viewpoints broadens how we can think strategically for our customers. It positions us to best serve the changing world in which we operate.
Q: What is your proudest career-related achievement, and why?
A: I’m in my 29th year at J.B. Hunt, and I’m grateful to have been a part of some very special moments at our company that I’m incredibly proud of. As a leadership team, we have changed how the company and the industry think about moving freight. We’ve launched new business organizations to better serve customers, led the digital evolution of brokerage into a billion-dollar online marketplace, and modernized the workplace to be more inclusive and people-focused. Behind each of these successes was a talented and focused team that worked hard to drive innovation, adaptation, and growth at J.B. Hunt. I’m proudest of our people and how they take care of our customers and each other. And as Mr. Hunt would say, “We’re just getting started.”
Oren Zaslansky
Oren Zaslansky has deep-seated roots in logistics and entrepreneurship. He was raised by parents who worked for a van line and later started their own freight forwarding firm. At age 21, he founded a 125-truck fleet that provided white-glove freight service throughout the U.S. and Canada. He followed that with the launch of
In managing that business, Zaslansky saw how wasteful traditional freight shipping is and started working to develop a technology-driven solution. That quest led to the 2015 founding of Flock Freight, a company that uses technology to find and fill empty spaces on trucks to provide more efficient shipping to the benefit of both shippers and carriers. Zaslansky continues to serve as CEO of Flock Freight today.
Q: Your family was in the moving and freight industry. How did that background help you in your career and in starting your own company?
A: Freight is in my DNA. All my experiences reinforced three things: First, the freight industry isn’t designed to serve the modern customer. Second, traditional shipping modes are incredibly wasteful. Third, nothing has really changed in the industry in the past century.
I saw a huge opportunity in the traditional freight market to offer a better alternative—one that works more flexibly for shippers and carriers while maintaining a high service standard. That’s what led me to start Flock Freight.
Q: Much of your career has been focused on eliminating waste in the freight business. What advice would you give shippers looking to make their shipments more efficient and more affordable?
A: If you want to maximize your profitability, don’t pay to ship air and don’t ship through a terminal or warehouse. Produce and ship direct point-to-point whenever possible.
That goes for any company in any sector, because the freight industry’s options for shipping goods on pallets are largely the same. If you’re shipping less-than-truckload, you don’t need to keep sacrificing your margins to damages, delays, and loss. If you’re shipping truckload, you don’t need to keep paying for the unused space on those trucks.
These limited options keep shippers in cycles of feast or famine, which should no longer be the case. By pooling freight with shared truckload, you only pay for the space you need. Goods stay safe and terminal-free, driven in one truck by one driver all the way to their destination.
Q: You’ve had a long and distinguished career in supply chain. What has kept you in the profession so long and motivates you to go to work each day?
A: Freight trucks are rolling 24/7/365, and the world depends on their moving predictably and efficiently. Small, mid-sized, and enterprise businesses need quality shipping. Carriers are overworked and underpaid. Labor strikes and backups throughout the global supply chain are ongoing.
I’m motivated by the fact that we’re never going to run out of problems to solve. Every day is an opportunity to pool more freight. I’m driven by [the opportunity to help transform] an industry that’s been defined by arbitrary constraints and a reluctance to change.
Q: What is your proudest personal achievement?
A: My kids, of course. I know most people probably say that, but I love seeing my kids grow up together—to make good choices and learn from the bad ones.
My mission at Flock Freight is an extension of that journey. After all, the next generation will inevitably inherit the planet we leave behind. If Flock Freight can transform the freight-hauling business, which is the U.S. transportation industry’s second-largest greenhouse gas contributor, then we can all be proud about changing the world.
Gartner, Inc.