Chain Reaction is Sourcing Journal’s discussion series with industry executives to get their take on today’s logistics challenges and learn about ways their company is working to keep the flow of goods moving, efficiently and sustainably. Here, Nicole Glenn, CEO & founder of Candor Expedite—a transportation provider—discusses how it’s equipping its partners with solutions for sensitive shipments and how technology can improve logistics.
Name: Nicole Glenn
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Title: CEO & Founder
Company: Candor Expedite
What industries do you primarily serve?
Specializing in ground and air expedite, white-glove services, specialty truckload and more, we have serviced numerous industries—including retail, automotive, technology, medical, food and beverage—by reducing their freight spend, giving them more time in transit days and helping speed up their inbound and outbound inventories.
What are the main things brands and retailers could do (or stop doing) right now that would immediately improve logistics?
Increasing the use of technology can play a significant factor in improving the logistical strategies of brands and retailers. A logistics professional in inventory and transportation management must have transparent data to help make the correct decisions regarding the organization’s spending, actions and priorities. If it’s unknown where the organization is bleeding, priorities will be misaligned, and budgets can get missed.
Technology investments that bring strategy, data and efficiencies to the entire supply chain will yield better results from employee production, internal and external company communication, time management, order optimization and profit.
When it comes to supply chain logistics challenges, there are things companies can fix, and things that are beyond their control. How can the former help the latter?
Create a cushion. Companies with a logistics-forward mindset will continually evolve their strategy through growth and declining sales with a sense of ease. Consistently reviewing your tools, technology, processes, partners and pricing will result in rewarding outcomes. Companies that radiate a fanatical logistics-forward mindset—like Nike and L’Oréal—showcase these attributes with revenue growth and increased inventory turns year over year.
What area of logistics isn’t receiving the industry attention it deserves?
Retailers and brands have consistently viewed expedited transport as something to avoid unless necessary. When done correctly, expediting brings essential benefits and can be integral to an overall transportation strategy. While expedited is often equated with expensive, that basic connection misses the bigger picture. In fact, in many cases, the speed, care, efficiency and trust that expedited shipping offers are more beneficial than the initial cost and the mode frequently turns out to be more cost-effective in the long run when it is integrated within a transportation plan.
What is the one thing brands and retailers could be doing to make better use of technology to improve logistics?
Focus on collaborative solutions and platforms. As many businesses across the globe step into different technology solutions, they must ask themselves, what is the right tech, when is it too segmented to just one issue within the business and how can it bring all the solutions together.
One company can operate in five or more different systems from start to finish within one supply chain (purchasing, sales, customer relationship management, i.e. CRM, inventory management, transportation management system and beyond with smaller tech efficiency tools). When these systems are in place, they need to be aligned to create inefficiencies within the company and only help some employees work towards their common goals.
Are you optimistic about the state of supply chains in the next few years?
Yes. The state of supply chains will be more forward-thinking from the harsh impacts of the pandemic that shook them the past two years. Companies are more open to ideas now, shifting away from traditional methods and creating additional paths and resources for continual improvement.
While there will be sways in our economies worldwide that impact what people are buying, I am happy to continue my journey as an entrepreneur in this space and help facilitate the changes that will determine how the world of logistics moves.
