Logistics Meets Creativity: Eileen Curran's Journey

I'm Jennifer Karps-Romain , executive Director at the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association , which is a trade nonprofit educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics , and today I'm very excited to have on the show Eileen Curran . She is the newest TMSA board member and a longtime supply chain marketing professional .

So welcome to the show , eileen . How are you doing today ?

So that's why I've always been really connected to sales and that connection to like big projects that made my big thing is silent , but a beneficial difference in the lives of people was really intriguing to me , which is why , as my career advanced , I kept gravitating towards these types of roles .

Eventually I started a entry level marketing and packaging , which grew and ultimately into the supply chain , which is a natural progression right Packaging and supply chain logistics . I'm just a big believer in sustainable value and I believe the industrial market space provides that to every human on the planet .

So no matter what we're doing , we're being touched by those industrial marketers and sales professionals .

Every day there's something different , not just in your personal day-to-day work , but in the world impacting shipments , no matter what happens , whether it's weather , you know global events and , as everyone knows , it's been especially lively the past few years , especially the past four years .

so there's also been , and continue and will continue to be , an exceptional amount of opportunity in the supply chain and it's unique to this industry because we're in the beginning stages of true data mining and collection and I think that really truly exciting as a marketer because that just creates so many more opportunities to learn more about our customer base , to

learn more about global shipments and all that cool stuff . So it's been I mean , as you know , it's been a lot of adjustment on a day to day basis , but our change muscle is really strong now .

You want to do , that you don't think about the industrial spaces , but in my whole career path through journalism , through marketing , through now TMSA and all these things , this industry is not just for you know the supply chain leaders or production lines or any of those things . Like how do you encourage younger people to come into this space ?

It's difficult to explain to your friends like what you're doing . It's a lot more exciting to be , I want , you know , maybe a more of a popular , more exciting to be at one , you know , maybe a more of a popular everyday brand .

But going back to the sustainability of it all , there's also a security in what we do , like we will continue to provide value no matter what trends come and go , because it's something that's necessary .

So , when it comes to new students or anything like that , we're engaged with junior achievement a lot , so you start talking at a younger age to new students or anything like that we're engaged with junior achievement a lot , so you start talking at a younger age to these students and they're always like well , I want to be a TikTok influencer or I want to do

all this stuff , and that's great and you can do all those things within this industry . But it's about exposure to what this is .

It's about exposing the younger generation to like what it is we do on a day-to-day basis , and I think COVID provided that inflection point of information to the everyday American about what it is that we do on a regular basis , and that made it a lot easier .

It made it a lot easier to explain what the supply chain is when people are complaining about toilet paper and all that good stuff .

But when it comes to the you know , younger students , and when you you talk to college kids who are deciding which go , I love the collaborative spirit of the industrial space and I'll talk about that with TMSA to always like we are just a very giving industry , like we're just very much like , okay , this is what we're doing . We're small but mighty teams .

We need to learn from each other , we need to share information . We're stronger together and that's really been my path , my whole career too like whether it's packaging or supply chain .

So I encourage especially those newbies to kind of be in this space , because there's a lot of opportunity to learn and when you learn , you make a lot of mistakes , and it's a really compassionate industry for that , because it changes all the time .

So what I like to tell individuals is if you want something that's not boring , if you want something that you're really going to become a generalist in a lot of ways , because you have to do a lot of different things for your organization , this is the place to be , because you're going to learn how it all works and how it all integrates into your business

strategy .

I learned that , um , last spring , so like six months ago now , I had to speak to my nieces , like third grade career day , and I really didn't know how to approach that at all and , um , I feel like I had to do it for my one niece and then I'm sure I'm gonna have to do it this year , because I have another niece in third grade and then my son ,

monroe , will be in third grade next year . So I feel like , hopefully , by the time he gets to career day , I will have mastered how to pitch supply chain in my job specifically to third graders .

But my sister was there too as her kid and by like halfway through the sessions , she just started screaming at the children that I'm on YouTube , and so then that is what brought the hordes of children . So like , right now we are on YouTube in this interview .

So like , uh , you can in fact achieve those goals of being a YouTube star , whatever that means , and of all the things I do , that's what they get most excited about . But it's , yes , like I didn't think about how important .

Yes , like I didn't think about how important , um , education and quality information and messaging and all of the things that we care about as I started in journalism , but as marketing , as sales people , all those things are critically important to industrial spaces and I would say I'm when I started in journalism why I came to the industrial side , because I felt

like writing to those people and the stories and the trends and the things I was covering was almost more important to their day-to-day life than if you're a community writer or something , or like following the bigger stuff , like the more mainstream stuff , if you will , because it's so important and I found a home here and you can still spin those fun elements ,

those different elements , into that and help them understand how awesome it is to be here .

And now I mean you have podcasters . You have Blythe , who is like a dynamo , you have Kara , who's a published author . You have all of these people you have , you know , different podcasts that are are speaking to thousands of people on the daily about our topic .

So you don't feel like you have to justify why you're here as much , which makes it a lot easier to focus on the important stuff , and I thank all the way cooler people than me who are doing all those cool things , because it elevates all of us right .

It makes it a lot easier for us to say to the young kids hey , you can have your own podcast , you can be a trailblazer . You can then speak at major events and really share your passion with people and then , in effect , enhance our industry as well , because your perspective matters , your perspective matters .

Or , on the tech side , I don't know how to build the software . So my perspective is always so different in those conversations . Software so my perspective was always so different in those conversations . And for a long time I felt like stupid because I didn't understand .

But then I was like wait , I have a different perspective and if we're selling to laymen who need us to explain things in ways that they understand , my perspective actually becomes really important . And that took me a really long time to understand .

And so then when I was building like marketing strategy , sales strategies , I did think about okay , do I understand what we're saying here ? Because if I don't understand it , the people we're selling to , the people we're connecting to our prospects , our customers , they might not understand it either .

And so that was when I realized that my perception , my voice , really mattered that's was when I realized that my perception , my voice , really mattered .

But with the digital age came , that it's like the great leveler , and now it's B2B to see there's a consumer at the end of every conversation , to every marketing line , to every sales pitch , and that consumer doesn't always look like us . So it's really important to have that kind of depth of perspective .

So I think it's really a special time to be in industrial . And I would encourage students for that reason alone . Like you can make , your voice can make a difference , yeah .

Like I know I taught like social media marketing at a community college for a while and I would hear the students come in and they care so much about what companies are doing , how they give back to their communities , their employee engagement and all that stuff , which are things that I didn't care about as much .

When I came in I was like , do I have a job check ? Okay , I didn't think . I didn't think we were allowed to have it matter .

And so it allows even these like theoretically boring spaces even though we all know that they're not boring to really showcase themselves in a different way , while still putting out the work and still doing . And I agree , like I think the supply chain became .

It's always been important , but people realize how important because of COVID and the loss of what they considered their norm of when they were able to get the stuff that they want , and so what does that mean to them . And so it kind of opened a lot of doors .

What does this award mean to you and what are some of those brand innovation pieces that you've really kind of put out there that you're most proud of ?

And you know , we did a lot of really good , hard brand work about integrating a bunch of different brands , unifying a lot of the language , unifying internally and externally . So I love when everybody kind of plays together and starts singing from the same song sheet and doing it in a really collaborative way .

So there's buy-in and , to the cool part , a lot of these brands need to evolve and to be refreshed and to feel stronger in the marketplace and more modern .

So that's what we spent a bulk of the year doing and I always feel I mean I'm very biased , so I always see the work that my fellow team members do is like being awesome on a day-to-day basis , because they're really awesome on a day-to-day basis , so for that work to be recognized , it's really it's just the greatest compliment , I think , and that it's worthy

of recognition by sales and marketing leaders across the industry that have either stronger brands or not stronger brands or what have you is it ? I think it's always the greatest compliment and I never take that for granted , like any kind of dialogue I have with the group , with TMSA . I never take for granted because I always learn something .

So I have it right here . Actually , I have my award right on my desk awesome .

You've done a lot for us . You have served in the education committee for many years . You've spoken at TMSA events , you are the subcommittee chairperson on our DEI task force , and so I'm curious kind of why did you put such a commitment into TMSA and what has all those things , that journey , been like from your perspective ?

Make sure you're active in the community , blah , blah , blah , blah . And so I did that . I , you know , I got out of my comfort zone and sat in those meetings for different nonprofits and it's really important .

I think this is something I also encourage a lot of individuals like , especially the college age , to say is that get out of your comfort zone and maybe even out of the industry and see how the world works .

And sitting at those tables with such a broad breadth of experience , like we had accountants , we had realtors , all these random people like mortgage brokers , and they all brought this crazy perspective . But I learned so much because business is business . Best in class marketing is best in class marketing .

It doesn't matter what industry you're in , and so to have all of those different perspectives and different approaches to problem solving was really helpful early in my career . So when I joined I was very obviously new to the industry , to supply chain and logistics , and also just wanting to like meet the new characters , right , the cast of characters .

So I actually just got engaged to the events and I loved all the events because they were probably the most collaborative . I've spent a whole career going to industry events and you kind of always are just a participant , like you're there , you RSVP , you check that you're present and that's it .

But TMSA is unique in the fact that you're actively participating , like you're encouraged to participate , people get you out of your shell , even if you're like I don't know , I want to kind of stay by myself .

In a very good way , and I knew immediately I just and it was just through conversations , it wasn't even like do you want to be on the education committee ? It was like how do you handle this ? Or I have new , some new employees who need to understand logistics . Are there any tools that they can use to kind of onboard faster ?

And so it kind of happened just organically . I think you kind of fall into committees at TMS . It's just like , oh , happen just organically .

So , and I think back to like how I was in the beginning there's so many different , unique experiences within TMSA whether it's a partner , member or a marketer or a salesperson or a newbie or a tenured person that it's kind of fun to have these conversations , because we were just on a meeting earlier this week where everybody had a different opinion on something ,

but it was healthy , it was constructive and it was respectful , which I think is really important . And I just I mean , I I always feel like I'm not doing enough for TMSA , because TMSA does so much for every organization . So that's kind of why I got involved and continue to stay involved , because I get way more out of it than anything I could give .

It's a selfish . It's selfish in a lot of ways . It's selfish .

I well , I think that you do plenty for TMSA and I feel like , when I look so , one of my favorite things in my tenure at tmsa that I've been able to accomplish and we've been able to accomplish , is that dei task force and being able to really think about how tmsa can be more equitable and inclusive itself but also help our partner members and I remember so

specifically , um , calling you as like a sounding board

on this . So I I have not been shy of saying that after I go to trade shows , I get massages . This is something that's part of my self-care , and so I was driving to my massage and I called you .

I'm like , hey , eileen , I have this concept of doing this DEI task forces committee because I look out and I think the industry is changing and I really want to highlight that and make sure that we're doing what we can . And I've heard from people like we want to do those things but we don't even know where to begin .

Is this something that could be of value to our members , to sales and marketing people ? And I came to you with a very small , very specific idea and you told me and I don't even know if you remember this . But you said think bigger , you are able to achieve more . This will matter and this will rise , ignite , like , open your brain to its full potential .

So I don't even know if I was coming to for a task force . Actually , when I say that , I was just saying like is dei important to members ? And from that then I was like , okay , eileen believes in me and so I'm able to take the lid off my brain of this smaller concept and be able to create something . And from there we launched the DEI task force .

We've created a DEI like permanent diversity chairperson on our board of directors . We've been able to have a wellness room at Elevate . We've been able to one of the best things at Elevate that people said is how inclusive they felt , that we had both a cocktail and a mocktail that people could have . And really thinking through all of those things .

And so for anyone that is supporting TMSA's DEI program , who cares about DEI and that's where you're coming into TMSA know that how big it's gotten , how big it will continue to grow , is because Eileen Curran told me she believed in me to do something bigger when I called her on the way to a massage two years ago , and so I think the best things happen when

we're most relaxed . Yeah , but that was like a really cool moment for me and I think does speak to the camaraderie of the group , because you have to be vulnerable sometimes and be like this is the I believe in , but is this something that other people will care about ?

And have those dialogues and then see if you can even go bigger , and so thank you for that .

With this task force , it isn't so much having all the answers , it isn't doing everything right , it isn't being so far along the path that you're the expert , it's , we're vulnerable , we're learning . Every time we have one of those task force calls , there's always an introspective moment where I was like , oh , I made that mistake .

Or I said something that might have put somebody off , and it's not about being overtly sensitive , it's just being aware . Aware that we're all part of this ecosystem and we all want to make everybody feel welcome and safe .

Right , and I think , when it comes to when you said you had this idea with anybody else , isn't that the truest sense of like a marketing or a sales complaint ? Right , like if one customer saying it , multiple customers have that experience , they're just not speaking up .

So if you have that thought , other people have that thought , they're just not speaking up , and to have that space and I think it's a testament to TMSA's leadership too to say , ok , this is how we've done it , this is something new , this is something that can be tricky in a lot of ways . Right , it's a very sensitive topic , but it shouldn't be .

It's just a sensitive label . The topic is something I think we all as humans try to be . We try to be kind and try to be open and supportive . But I think just those kinds of actions where it's like this is what we've always done , can we change it ?

Can we do something different that might actually make not only the organization better but other organizations better , is an important one , and I applaud you for taking that step , because it wasn't easy .

It's not just like , okay , we need , you know , different ethnicities , we need different sexual orientations , we need the neurodivergent we have all those things in there but it's not like we're fielding for those people . It's like , oh , is this something that you care about ?

We love that and we love that we have all those different perspectives and that's what is able to move us forward and I think that's important in all categories across the board just having different perspectives , different viewpoints .

In that meeting that you referenced earlier , I said that , like I , we should be questioning what we're doing and seeing if we're moving forward in the right way or in a different way , or if it makes sense , and you should voice your opinion on that , because that's the only way we're going to move forward , and the best way is if we are collaborating forward ,

Absolutely so it's .

But what I take away from the year and looking forward is that it's easy to get lost in the noise and the trends , right Like we all have the micro and macro views of things , but it's also easy to forget what got us all here in the first place , and that's customers looking for help to make their businesses run right . That's the end of it .

That's like take all the trends

out of it . At the end of the day , it's really about the customers and what they need . Every day . We're not monitoring trends to be the first in the market . We should be monitoring the data and the trends to be first to help our customers to get to where they need to be in the market , and then it comes full circle .

So , of course , there are operational efficiencies to be had . There's a ton of low hanging fruit in our industry to make pretty quick progress when it comes to technology . So I think that that's going to happen in 2025 fairly quickly , I think the first quarter especially .

But if the customer isn't at the center of every one of those conversations , we have no value as sales and marketers . So that's really important and so ultimately our job , especially going into the new year with technology advances is to insert them into every conversation and pitch we have .

It's not about how we grow our business , it's how helping our customers grow our business . It's how helping our customers grow their businesses help us grow , and I think that that's really important . And I'm not saying like everybody's forgetting about the customer , but it becomes almost like taken for granted , like it's unsaid .

But it should be said in every conversation . It should be brought up like what value does this bring to the customer ?

And I feel like sometimes we have such great ideas , or we think we do , and we get so excited about them , but it's like , yes , we have to , at the end of the day , come back to that . How is this actually helping our customers ? How is this meeting our business goals ?

And if you don't know the answers to those , then it might not be as great of an idea as you think it is , or it needs to be developed more to then add those layers to it .

what comes to market . So I think it'll be really important to work with them and , as a marketer , also align with them to get as much native data out of your business as possible to help make informed business decisions . So that'll be really important . I think that that should be a priority in any group .

Also , reaching out to industry experts we do kind of you know they're the true analysts of trends , right , and they have such reinforced value . They often speak at TMSA events . So the combination of leveraging them with the data that's already available .

There's a lot of people out there that have a ton of like spreadsheets , or maybe not spreadsheets , maybe like something more dynamic than that , maybe taboo tables and all that good stuff , but what's locked up in some of these individuals' brains that institutional knowledge is so incredibly valuable , that look at the data , have the conversations and then apply it to

your business to really optimize that . I think those and then as a sales tool , I think project management tools are everything I think you need that . We talk about it a lot . I think gone are the days of checklists and to-do lists .

There's way too many things flying around , so there's a lot of really good opportunities to integrate those into your tech stack as well .

So you really have to trust yourself and trust your gut and not to say you can't have any levels of discomfort , but just always know that you know what's best for yourself .

, a good life tip .

I think if I had just had to trust and always bet on myself , I don't think the butterfly effect would be that impactful . I just think I would have diminished a lot of internal narrative . That was probably toxic .

We also have a membership committee , marketing committees , recognition committees all kinds of things that you can get involved and , even more exciting , we have registration open for Elevate next year . We're going to Austin , Texas , June 8th through 10th 2025 . So you can go ahead and grab your tickets today .

It's the early bird pricing , so it is the most cost-effective measure or time that you will have to register for Elevate . So we hope to see you there . And thank you so much , eileen , for coming on the show today and for all that you do for TMSA .