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Evan Dexter is vice president, rental product management, for Ryder System Inc., where he oversees a team of more than 1,000 people, 315 locations in North America and Canada, a fleet of 38,000 rental trucks, and $1 billion in annual revenue. Dexter started his career with Ryder as a rental manager trainee in 2006 while serving in the United States Marine Corps (2001-2009), and steadily increased his roles and responsibilities to director of rental, director of operations, and Ryder Dedicated Transportations Solutions group director of customer logistics, working on Ryder’s centralized hub model and Ryder’s startup effectiveness.
As a former Marine, Dexter knows a lot about transferrable skills and how lessons as a field-operations tech can inform management decisions in the corporate world. With Ryder’s Veteran Buddy Program and its ongoing commitment to hiring military veterans (more than 14,000 veteran hires since 2011), Dexter exemplifies the need for such proactive programs in modern business organizations. Dexter has an MBA in organizational behavior studies from Nicholas College in Dudley, Mass., and is actively involved in the veteran community and in Ryder’s veteran/career development and mentorship programs.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 00:00
Transitioning veterans into transportation jobs. Moving from diesel to electric in the Golden State. And manufacturers sharpen their focus on the front line.
Pull up a chair and join us as the editors of DC Velocity discuss these stories, as well as news and supply chain trends, on this week's Logistics Matters podcast.
Hi, I'm Dave Maloney. I'm the group editorial director at DC Velocity. Welcome.
Logistics Matters is sponsored by Hyster Company, a global manufacturer with nearly a century of experience designing forklifts and high-capacity materials handling equipment used in the world’s most intense industries. Operations rely on Hyster as a strong partner for everything from choosing the right motive power source to their Edison Award-winning operator-assist solution, Hyster Reaction. For more information, visit Hyster.com.
As usual, or DC Velocity senior editors, Ben Ames and Victoria Kickham will be along to provide their insights into the top stories of this week. But to begin today: Tomorrow is Veterans Day. One of the ways our industry helps to support our troops is through programs designed to transition veterans into logistics jobs. To hear how one vet made that transition, here's Victoria with today's guest.
Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 01:27
Thanks, Dave. Our guest today is Evan Dexter, vice president, rental product management, for Ryder System Inc. Evan is a former Marine turned trucking-industry executive. Welcome, Evan, thank you for your service, and thanks for joining us to honor this Veterans Day.
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 01:43
My pleasure. Thanks for having me Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 01:46
So, I wanted to start by asking if you can tell us a bit about your background in the military and how you came to a career in trucking and logistics.
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 01:55
Absolutely. Well, I grew up in the Massachusetts area, and, you know, growing up, I always knew that I wanted to serve in the military. My grandfather was a career Navy man, and I think that had some influence on me as a young adult, and, I wanted to ultimately become a Marine, versus the Navy, and that's the path I chose, and I was — when — I was, [at] the time when I was being recruited to play hockey in college. My intent was to join the military after graduating, because I was truly passionate about sports and wanted to get a degree in business as well. However, a recruiter contacted me and told me that, you know, you could be a reservist while attending college, and I thought that sounded like a good fit at the time, so I enlisted at the age of 18, went off to boot camp after my freshman year of college, in the summer, and graduated boot camp in August of 2001. And then shortly after, 9/11 happened. So, after 9/11, I knew there was a good chance that I would be deployed, which I was, in 2003 and 2005 — two times — to Iraq. I was able to serve a total of four years of active duty with the Marines in a combat logistics operation role, driving trucks and working with the Marines overseas. So, that's how I got started in the military, and after my deployments and coming back to the States, like a lot of military members, I thought I wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement and become a state trooper. And as I enlisted to sign up and join the Massachusetts State Police at a college career fair, on the way out, a rental manager from Ryder had a booth and pulled me aside, and we started talking. And, long story short, I ended up in Ryder's rental-management trainee program, in the rental product line, and 17 years later, I'm still at Ryder, and never ultimately ended up in my career in law enforcement.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 04:03
Wow. Well, you know, we often hear that making the transition from the military to a career in this industry makes a lot of sense, so can you talk about some of the transferable skills that military veterans bring to the industry? You know, what makes them good candidates? Why did that Ryder rep sort of, you know, grab on to you when you were at that career fair?
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 04:23
One of the things that I really think makes military members a good candidate at Ryder is we both have values, both in the military as well as at Ryder. For example, the values in the Marine Corps are honor, courage, and commitment, and at Ryder, our corporate values are responsible, determined, and trustworthy. So you know, when you get somebody in from the military coming to join the Ryder team, you have to organizations that value, those type of qualities within the people that they want joining their organizations, and I think that's transferable from the military over into writer. And then, secondly, you know, that there's a toughness that comes with with a veteran or with a prior service member in our armed forces, and they've been tested. And that toughness is translatable over to the transportation industry, and it takes critical thinking — willingness to adapt and overcome the challenging situations in an ever-changing dynamic environment — and military people are very coachable, and they work well in a diverse team of people, and I think those skill sets make for successful candidates when they're looking to get into transportation or logistics.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 05:45
That makes a lot of sense. On the flip side of that, what makes the industry so attractive, you know, to military veterans, you know, people like you?
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 05:52
Well, one thing is, there are a lot of veterans already in the industry, so I think that naturally attracts people that are trying to transition from a military career into a civilian career, and they find that they can partner up. For example, Ryder has a Veteran Buddy program, and we also sponsor a "Pathway Home" for veterans transitioning into [a] civilian workforce. So, I think naturally, you can find that there's a lot of similarities, and people, again, that share those joint values. It's competitive, hard-working, there's great training at Ryder, there's great training in our military — so, very transferable attributes from military into the civilian world, specifically into the transportation industry. So I think it aligns very, very nicely.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 06:46
So you mentioned Ryder's long history of hiring military veterans. Can you tell us a little bit more about the buddy program that you mentioned, and maybe some of the other aspects of the commitment to hiring vets.
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 06:58
Ryder's buddy program pairs a current employee that works for Ryder with an incoming new hire to the company, and we're trying to establish a connection point for that new employee that come into the company, have a warm onboarding experience, and then guide that employee, throughout their career, down the right path — help with the transition, give them a touch point, somebody that has more than likely gone through a lot of the same challenges transitioning — and helping to coach them in their Ryder career. And then we have the Pathway Home program, which is centered and geared towards technicians that currently work in the military, and nine months before they're going to end their military career, we we will connect them with a leader at Ryder that they may be working for in the nine months after they separate from the military, and we'll place that military member into a territory or an area where they are going to be relocating to after their military service. So, we'll take those technicians and we'll find them a location where they can become a Ryder technician. We'll start them off and onboard them right after they end their military service. So, two great programs that we leverage here at Ryder, and I think that's helped with a smooth transition for our military veterans and has really gotten them off to a fast start within our organization.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 08:33
Yeah, it sounds like that kind of support is is really, really important. What advice would you give to companies looking to expand their reach and tap into this demographic, you know, to other companies across the logistics industry? You know, what are some first steps to attracting talent from this pool?
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 08:50
Yeah, my advice would be to tap into your current workforce of prior military employees. So, whether you have veterans on your team or anybody that's served, pull them in and help them establish or set up a program to help bring in and attract veterans and military people to your organization. I think you'll find that their guidance and recommendations will be on point with who you're targeting to attract, and they'll gladly participate and welcome the opportunity to get engaged to recruit for their organization.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 09:30
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on this topic, or about, as we honor Veterans Day coming up here?
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 09:38
Well, I will share that the Marines are actively collecting toys for tots, and anybody that's interested can donate a toy this year, which promotes delivering hope to children at Christmas time and beyond. And we have over 150 Ryder locations currently collecting and accepting toy donations on behalf of the Marines and the Toys for Tots organization. So, if anybody's interested in that they can visit Ryder.com or ToysforTots.org to learn more information.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 10:10
Terrific, thank you, yeah, I know that program well. It's a it's a good one. Evan, thank you again for joining us today. We really appreciate your being here.
Evan Dexter, Vice President - Rental Product Management, Ryder System Inc. 10:20
Victoria, thanks so much for having me. Happy Birthday, November 10. To all the Marines out there, semper fi, and thank you to all the veterans that have served this great country.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 10:30
Excellent. I agree. Thank you. We have been talking with Evan Dexter of Ryder System. Back to you, Dave.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 10:38
Thank you, Evan and Victoria. Now let's take a look at some of the other supply chain news from the week. And Ben, you wrote this week about some new strategies being used in California to move from diesel to electric trucks? Can you share some details?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 10:53
Yeah, I'm glad to. California is known for leading the way on policy innovations in the U.S. it often sets new standards that spread to other states, and that's certainly true with its recent law that requires about half the trucks sold in California, are going to have to be all-electric by 2035, and all of the new cars sold after that date must be electric. Now, that's pretty aggressive, and the state's going to need a lot of changes to support that new approach: investing in charging networks, of course, and training fleet owners how to maintain the new technology. So it was interesting this week, when we covered a part of that effort, because it reveals some strategies that might help the state to reach that goal. This was an offer from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to award $60 million in vouchers for the purchase of those new electric trucks. Now, the first part that caught my eye was that these are drayage trucks, which, of course, they shuttle shipping containers for short distances around the port complex, and that's a really different business case than electrifying longhaul highway trucks, because drayage trucks are never very far away from the facility where they operate, so charging up again can be done right there in the freight yard, where they work, as opposed to the need to build out huge networks of electric charging plugs to complement highway gas stations for those long range trucks.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 12:22
You know, that approach would make adopting electric trucks a lot easier, but where does this money come from?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 12:29
That's another interesting part of the deal. So, this is funded by a program with the California Air Resources Board, or CARB — their name comes up a lot with these initiatives. So, CARB collects a fee of $10 on every loaded container that arrives or departs from those two seaports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Ten dollars doesn't sound like much, but the Port of Los Angeles alone handled more than 10 million container units in 2021; that's the most recent year they shared stats. That was the busiest calendar year in its history. Those were both full and empty, of course, but just to give an idea of the scale, you start multiplying that $10 fee by multiple millions, and that's how you generate this kind of a voucher system. The ports will award this money in the form of vouchers that can be used to buy certain types of vehicles from certain dealers. It will award up to about $100,000 discount per truck, and there are other state funds as well that give about another $150,000 per truck. So, it adds up to quite a lot of backing, and all together these programs are intended to support the purchase and the deployment of about 800 new zero-emission trucks at those two ports. So, when you get up into these numbers, that could really start to make a difference.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 13:48
Right. And it definitely does seem to be a step in the right direction for California.
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 13:53
We'll be sure to keep an eye on it.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 13:54
Thanks, Ben. And Victoria, you wrote this week about how manufacturers are sharpening their focus on the front line. Can you explain what that's all about?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 14:05
Yes, absolutely, happy to. So, facing a host of economic and labor challenges, manufacturers are, as you say, sharpening their focus on frontline workers, and this is a way to differentiate and propel their organizations forward. And that's according to recent research from the consultancy PwC and the Manufacturing Institute, which is the workforce and development arm of the National Association of Manufacturers. So the groups together surveyed more than 100 human resources professionals and operations leaders in manufacturing during the third quarter of this year, and their goal was really to learn more about frontline workers' workplace needs and preferences, how those needs and preferences have changed, and what their organizations are doing to help improve those workers' overall work experience. The idea is to learn how manufacturing companies can do a better job of attracting and retaining skilled talents in this tough economic environment. The group's define a frontline worker, I should say, as an hourly, skilled employee who plays a direct role in production, and that includes jobs in the warehouse, fabrication, assembly, logistics, maintenance, and quality operations — so, you know, what we write about and talk about every day here. Nearly half of those surveyed, just about 48%, said their companies have an average or below-average approach to creating a positive experience for those frontline workers. That positive experience includes things like making the workplace more satisfying and meaningful in ways that go beyond just providing a good salary. Doing this will be a key factor for manufacturers over the next year, according to the research, because more than half of the respondents — 62%, actually — said they expect to increase their frontline workforce over the next 12 months.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 15:52
Victoria, you mentioned about a positive experience. Did the research reveal any specifics about what contributes to a positive experience in manufacturing? What did the results show?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 16:02
Yes, it did, and many of these issues are in line with, I think, what we think about as positive aspects of any workplace. They pointed to flexible scheduling; broader and more competitive benefits; a sense of belonging and culture of inclusivity; and a clear-cut path to career advancement. Those were the top issues identified. And again, I think these are things, you know, I think all of us appreciate in a job, but it looks like many organizations have a way to go before they get to that point. And just a few other statistics from the research: more than a third of manufacturers said they experienced frontline-employee attrition rates exceeding 10% over the last, past six months. Only about half of manufacturing leaders said that most of their frontline workers feel they're engaged in their jobs. Just 58% said they periodically survey their frontline workers about their opinions on employee — employment engagement and culture. And more than 70% of the manufacturers surveyed said they either struggle with or could improve their mentoring programs for frontline workers. Another interesting statistic that caught my eye was that they found that half of manufacturing respondents offer their frontline workers dynamic scheduling solutions, and that includes things like the ability to bid on and swap shifts for flexible scheduling. To me, this actually seems like a pretty good number, because the gig-worker experience is really just beginning to take hold in logistics and manufacturing, in my experience writing about it. So for what that's worth, you know, half of companies are doing that, and it's probably — they're on the right track, I would think.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 17:42
Right. And I think as reshoring begins to be more prevalent with domestic manufacturing coming home, seems like those are all logical steps to make sure that they have the workers that they're going to need to meet the demand.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 17:55
Absolutely.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 17:56
Thanks, Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 17:57
You're welcome.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 17:58
We encourage listeners to go to DCVelocity.com for more on these and other supply chain stories. Also, check out the podcast Notes section for some direct links to read more about the topics that we discussed today.
And we'd like to thank Evan Dexter of Ryder System for being our guest. We welcome your comments on this topic and our other stories. You can email us at podcast@dcvelocity.com.
We also encourage you to subscribe to Logistics Matters at your favorite podcast platform. Our new episodes are uploaded on Fridays.
Speaking of subscribing, check out our sister podcast series Supply Chain in the Fast Lane it's coproduced by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Supply Chain Quarterly. Search for "supply chain in the fast lane" wherever you get your podcasts.
And a reminder that Logistics Matters is sponsored by Hyster. With strength, durability, and their continual focus on safety, Hyster is powering your possibilities. For more information, visit Hyster.com.
We'll be back again next week with another edition of Logistics Matters. Be sure to join us. Until then, have a great week.
Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:
- California offers $60 million in vouchers for zero-emission drayage trucks
- Manufacturers sharpen their focus on the front line
- Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
- Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
- Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
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