Lightning like Steve McQueen I'm in the fast lane when the light turns green and I built up find nothing but grit Because I made rugged blood sweat and spit yeah, like a horse I fly for a bumpy ride I like to play hard but I work harder and I weather the storm Because I'm.
Building stronger what is up, ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is the Freight Coach podcast, the top podcasting transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central, to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show.
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve, so you can take that information, apply it, utilize it, and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. I have a very special guest for you guys here today and I am very excited to talk about this topic because in a tech enabled world that we live in and all this push for automation and everything that's out there. And again, I'm a massive fan of a lot of this, but is it actually required in your business? What is necessary, what is not necessary?
And when this guy put this post out last week, I instantly sent him a text like, bro, we got to come on and we got to talk about this because this is something that I am very passionate about. So without further ado, the strongest man in logistics, Mr. Robert Bane, is back on the show. What is going on, brother? How are you?
Life's so good. Like we said in the green room, man. It's so good to be me, dude.
Yeah, you're. I mean, obviously we know each other outside of this and you know, it, dude, you. It's true, man. Like, you got a lot of great things going on in your life and, you know, becoming grandfather is the coolest thing ever.
And yeah, nothing tops that. It's so freaking cool.
I love it, man. So, dude, what's up this week, man?
Dude, like I said, life's busy. It's crazy feeling the FOMO right now, missing out on freight Waves, you know, seen a lot of my friends down there and doing the networking, but, you know, we've been busy, man. Glcs we're crazy busy right now with our clients, with our partners. We've been really jumping up our partnership program. We're super excited to make a lot of announcements around that. Some of the ones we've been putting pen to paper on, so kind of rejiggered our business model, which has really been fun to adjust that. And just as the wave is coming, I believe with 2025. So we'll get into that here in a second, but we've been crazy busy and that's great. Life is busy.
It's never dull in my house with the kids and the animals and the grandchild and Violet is 10 months old next week and. And I'm competing this weekend. So, like, it's meat week, so like all types of things going on. So.
Hell yeah, dude, I love it. What, what pivot did you guys make? What are. I mean, if you can't announce anything, that's fine. But like, I know that, you know, with you guys doing a lot of, you know, consulting work and, you know, especially on the tech side of things and everything for fleets and brokers and all things of all sizes.
I think someone's been coming for a little while. Like we've had some projects like in a silo for a lot of our clients with we're going to help you pick out this software platform or we're going to help you with this part of your operation. But really what we're seeing is a need for more of a retainer type of approach. And so we want to make sure we provide value with that. And you know, where we do that is with our managed services and our outsourced it, which is where we really excel and our application managed services. So not to make this a whole GLCS commercial, but I think it's important because it plays into our topic that we're going to talk about, you know, IT groups over the past three, four years have just been decimated across transportation.
As you look at when people start tightening the belt, what are the first few things to go? Typically marketing, HR and it. What. What can we survive off of for X amount of time? And now you've got a lot of organizations that are, they're strong, they're good organizations, and they've got three or four IT people that are stretched crazy thin. So how do they. Without necessarily having to go seek out more talent? Because that's a challenge right now in the market. You know, people actually understand the freight side of freight tech. You can bring in experts like us, so we can be an outsourced piece for that, whether it's a certain number of hours or whether it's particular platforms that we're going to help you with, your tms, your maintenance system, you know, whatever software is it.
So we do a lot of different things with like integrations, which again, we'll talk about here in a second. That's really where we excel, is assisting with that and being that outsourced group. But that what that also allows us to do is really start to get into some of the nitty gritty of an organization's business and look for where a lot of the extra motion is that we can help reduce. And that's where the tech really comes in. So again, you can only do so much when you're there for a few weeks or a few hours, you know, so being able to be involved with a business for, you know, months and a few years at a time, you know, what a 20 hour per month clip. But you're constantly in contact.
And so the outlier situations that become an issue, you see them a lot more frequently. And you're able to really define this is the root cause because you've got XYZ process that leads to all these outliers. Does that make sense?
Yeah, no, it makes perfect sense, man. And I think that this is a, what you're describing is a battle that a lot of people go through. And this is something that I like, I'm very fortunate with SPI logistics. And then the tech stack that they provide as an agent for them is like, dude, it's like second to none out there, right? But like for. But this is also something that I think about in my business where it's like, I want to grow in scale, right, Just like everybody else. But like, I also want to have my people armed with the best technology that they possibly can. Because, you know, when you and I have talked about this, you know, in private, where it's like, I want to hire the right five people.
I don't want to do this cycle of higher 20 hope 5 workout and everything. And I know that this is a lot of perfect world stuff, but you know, in a bootstrapped organization that I'm in, I got it, you know, I gotta make a dollar into 15 cent or whatever they, you know the rap lyric is. But it's like, dude, it's the, it's the truth, man. Every dollar that I have come in, I got to get like 15 of ROI out of that. And when there's so much Automation that's coming out. There's so much technology that's coming out. I am guilty of this. In these last brief four and a half years that I have been self employed where I think that this is the thing that I need and that's the thing that I need.
And then all of a sudden I'm looking at my P and L, I'm like, why the fuck did I just have 5 annual subscriptions renew for like 2500 bucks this month? What the hell was that? Why haven't we used that? And that's something that I've personally implemented inside of my business. Now every 90 days I go through and I go, Christian, who does marketing on my team? Every 90 days, hey, what are you using every single day? What are we not? And then I've matched up with the expenses on my P and L, because again, you know, some people might think, oh, it's only 50 bucks or 70 bucks. But yeah, compound time that times 10 every month, times 12 months out of the year, that's seven, $8,000 that we're talking about.
And that might seem like peanuts to some people, but I'm trying to pin all of this together. Robert, here's one thing, this is the discipline that you need to create early on. So when I become bigger, when I'm doing 50 million a month, I'm going to be having this exact same approach where we are running it as a hyper focused thing of do we actually have what we need inside of our organization?
So that's a perfect explanation on that. And what I always come back to, people say, well, it's not that much money. Okay, like your example, you know, over the course of a year, it's a Grant. If there's $8,000 on the ground in front of us, I'm going to fight you for it. Yes, correct. And so that tells you if that's a dollar amount that you would fight someone. If it's on the ground in front of you should fight for it in your own pocketbook.
Yes.
And another good example is I did this on the, on our personal side. I went through all of our subscriptions. By the way, if you don't do this just one time, one. You'll be sick to your stomach on how many things you subscribe to over the years and didn't really realize it.
Yeah.
So, yeah, dude, get a picture for everybody. We have six people in our house. We have six devices minimum, but six phones. We've got, you know, Internet, tv, we've got all the streaming. You know or had all the streaming service I went through and did all this. Plus we have the extra stuff we get. We get my wife's Ipsy box, her bookish box. We've got some of the threads, things that come which never fit me. So I cancel that immediately. So like good on those different things. Like I sent them my measurements and they're like, yeah, a couple things. But this ain't gonna work, sir.
That's why I was laughing at that man.
Yeah, like I am not an off the rack kind of guy. So this did not work out well for me, bro. It was $600 a month in subscription services between streaming data, you know, like some stuff you keep. Like I've got my LinkedIn Premium. Yeah, I keep that because that has value for me. I get more than my $43 a month out of it. But it was wild to me. Like 600 bucks a month, you understand, over just three months. That is a round trip ticket first class anywhere in the US pretty damn close.
Absolutely.
That's crazy. Yeah, so. Yeah, so that. So taking it to our topic though and kind of what one we wanted to talk about was they're all. There's all these shiny objects out there and it's not that be very clear because I have a lot of friends in freight tech. This is not me pointing fingers at you and saying your product is bad or your product doesn't solve its problem. There are some of you that you know, doesn't solve the problem. That's neither here nor there. Not every product is right for your business right now. Notice how I said that right now, Chris, you move however many loads a week or a month that you move, you do not need an enterprise tms.
You know, there's no reason for it now with SPI backing you and because they have the aggregated buying power and volume of the rest of the agent network. Now they do. Now you need those things. And here's the thing, you may not need to go the route of a. And I'll throw a couple names out, The Trimbles, the McLeods of the world. You can look at other solutions and say, hey, you guys are bootstrapping, so are we. How can we work together and build a product that's going to fit our individuals like you and still also be profitable for both sides. This is the thing that you have to look at every single year. What is our tech stack doing for us? To your point about the subscriptions, what are we using? But what does it do?
For instance, if you look at some of the load boards out there. Are those valuable subscriptions? They may be. They bring you data, they give you an idea where volumes are at. They give you some other things you can work with. They help you price stuff out. But also, if your pricing process is crap, then your pricing is going to be crap. But also then you look at the exposure you have with some of the partners you may find on there from a capacity perspective. So is it the best tool for you? What is the exposure of your business? These are questions that not a lot of folks have wanted to ask recently because, let's be real, the last two and a half years, it's just survival. You stay afloat.
Well, if you're not using a product, you're going to help stay afloat by not spending as much money. Point one. But point two, if you want to scale. I love that you use that word earlier because some people think scaling is just adding headcount. Not necessarily. You have. If you're going to scale, I mean, you're adding headcount also exponentially adding volume and revenue.
Correct.
It's not a one to one ratio. It should be a one to five ratio or more, to give it some examples. But so that also means your people that are currently in seats are going to have to redline a little bit before it's time to bring someone on. So be ready for that seat, little folks. But again, the technology is what allows you to do it without going crazy.
I, I also look at it like this as well, is everybody thinks they're way more busy than they actually are.
Thank you.
Like, straight up, man. And I, and hey, you guys, when I say everyone, I throw myself into that category as well. There are times where I think I am so busy and then the wave dissipates and I'm like, damn, I got this is fine. And then I find that. And that's why it's like I always, when I go out there and, you know, a lot of the content that I create is designed to help you kind of overcome a lot of those early anxieties that come along with it, right? That's why I'm not like, start making 75 cold calls every single day. No, fucking start with five, all right? Start with five. Do that for a long time to where it's disciplined routine, then increase, right? And then you ratchet that up. Because this is long, right?
Like, and I think this is where social media comes in and just fucking ruins it for everybody is because everybody can scroll through LinkedIn right now. And you see the same people posting, and ironically, they're all worth a hundred million dollars, but they all post on social media 87 times a day. That's neither here nor there. But you see a lot of that and you think you're behind, you're not behind. And here's the thing. You need to create your own processes, right? Whether. And this is something that I'm going to probably start creating a little bit more content on, because I know the agent thing is really making an appearance out there about how great it is, and it is great for the right people. And I'm going to kind of create that because, you know, here's the thing.
I have to create my own process, right? I have to create my own how I'm going out there if my sales, if my cold calling isn't working. Guess what? I got to make those changes. Nobody's coming to do any of that stuff for me. So when it comes down to operating inside of my business, I need to go out there and I need to find. All right, is this working? It's not.
Boom.
I got to change, I got to pivot. I got to move on. But here's the, like, the ultimate tech stack that most individuals need. Internet connection, all right? Cell phone, computer, Microsoft Office subscription. That's where the majority of people need to start. You can use an Excel spreadsheet to track everything. I use an Excel spread. Actually, we use Google Documents because my business partner and I share permissions.
We're using Google. The Google suite is fantastic, is phenomenal.
Absolutely phenomenal.
A whopping $8 a month or whatever it is. And you don't even have to have the Gmail extension. You haven't created your own extension. It's not hard.
It's that and then tms. You need a TMS as a freight broker. But, but that's like the base of.
What you actually challenge. That. I'm going to challenge that up to a certain point. I don't believe. You do. I believe that a spreadsheet is going to be sufficient.
Okay.
And realistically to me, I look at. This is first, Robert, second opinion. Up to about 15 loads a day that you're shipping, you do not need a tms.
That's interesting.
And, and here's why I say that when you look at a day in the life of a freight broker, even a cradle to grave and an agent like, I believe you guys are cradle to grave in your model. Correct?
Yeah, yeah. We do everything right.
And for the most part, you are probably Using a similar subset of carriers. Maybe not the exact same ones, but similar subset of carriers. And a lot.
90% of our freight is booked by the same trucking companies.
Okay, fantastic. So you know that you're going to be low. Touch. It's going to be. I get one phone call for 10 updates, not one update. And I'm focused on building the business. So as long as I am following my process to your point of my process of I do my cold calls, I do my check calls, I get my updates, I provide my updates proactively, and all that stuff is kept track of in the spreadsheet. You can manually kind of bootstrap this stuff for a long time before you even need to look at a tms. And the best part is when it's time to use that tms, there are low and no cost options that realistically take you to almost 50 or 60 loads a day. Yeah, and that's a real number when you think about it. That's 300 loads a week.
Yeah. And that's, you know, and again, it's not like either of us are sitting up here and saying that nobody should have any of this stuff, but this real dollars and cents, you guys. You know, again, back to this whole fallacy that business is free and just because you started something, you're all of a sudden going to be entitled to a, you know, billion dollars a year is just, you know, I, I see this as an outsider on social media all the time. And I'm like, it's so much harder than you think because like, ultimately when you're out on your own, the work is the easy part. All right? Like the cold calling, the moving freight. That's the easy part, man. It's all the other bullshit you learn about the noise.
The noise, yeah.
That's the hardest part about all of this stuff. And that's where all the learning comes in. But again, like, I want people to understand, like the flashy tools that you think a lot of people do have, I mean, even if they do, that's not your business. Literally and figuratively. That is none of your business. You need to understand where is your business at right now? Is this technology right for you? And then here's another thing too. Is this technology platform that you're going to sign up for actually actively integrated with everything else that you possibly need? Because that's another iteration of this, right? Like, and then these integrations in progress and on the roadmap and everything else, like, does that serve you right now?
And that's the way that you need to look at this because like, if you're going to go out there and get a tms, for example, like TIE tms, they're integrated with literally everybody that you could possibly need to be integrated with, right? Load boards, everything else, green screens, you know, Adenum, all of those companies they're already integrated with. So that's one of those things. If you're paying for those other services, again, once you build up that next iteration, you have that tms, that is the only system you should be in all day long when you're operating, essentially when it comes to the buying and selling of the freight that you have. I will probably always use a Google document no matter what because it's just the easiest way for my simple brain.
But that's one of those things that you need to implement and have out there so you can roll that out because again, the next thing you, the last thing you want to do, sign up for a two year contract and then actually have that piece of technology hinder your operations because it isn't what.
You were sold on, it isn't what you're sold on. And let me be very clear, there is no tech. No one, I will say this about any of your sponsors who to be fair, I'm friends with almost all these folks. There is no piece of tech that is the silver bullet. None. And it is so crucial understand that the silver bullet is the work.
Correct.
Silver bullet is your people. That's honestly, that's why I wore the grout fit today, is because we are the silver bullet.
Yeah. No, dude. And that's true though, right?
The training on this tech that is what is missed by so many organizations is all right, I signed up for X, Y, Z. I would say X because it's a platform too. I sign up for XYZ and now my people should be empowered. No, they have to learn. You need super users, you need troubleshooters. All this. And that stuff does take time. And so to your. You said earlier, you have to look at the long game. If you are looking at tech in the short game, you're going to lose, period. Full stop.
Yeah, no, I mean it's true, because it's not. And I've said this for the last two years and I'm going to say this till I'm probably dead. Automation is great, but if you have shitty processes, you're just automating shitty processes at that point, right? So it's like it's the Fundamentals, it's the blocking and the tackling that you need to instill into your team. And you got to focus so much on training, right? Like, I don't know where this came from, and I doubt that this is just a transportation thing, right? I'm not that naive to think transportation has all of these unique problems. Every industry does. But training is a constant thing. There is no goal line. There is no end line with transportation or with training. Excuse me, this is constant. Because here's the thing, man.
I've never been the CEO of a $10 million organization that I built. Guess what? I'm going to be constantly training and developing for that. Same with a hundred. A hundred million a year. When we hit a billion, when we hit 10 billion, it's going to be a constant evolution for me as an individual. So why would I not have that for my team? Why would I not invest in my team's continual training and development to keep them up to speed? Because things are constantly evolving, right? Like, I know the Uber thing last week, you know, makes its way out there. But here's the thing. It's only a matter of time before that idea hits and people can scale with it. It's only a matter of time. Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.
If you want to hear my opinion on it in depth, listen to Friday's show. But it is only a matter of time before what Uber and Convoy tried to do hits and people run with it and it grows in scales. All right? Nobody is safe from automation. Nobody is safe from any of that. But how do you compete with that? Right? Here's the thing. I'm technically competing with C.H. Robinson right now, all right? C.H. Robinson has a $15 billion revenue, top line revenue number every single year. How do I compete with that? What is C.H. Robinson not doing? That I can do. Right.
And that you're handsome as. And I've seen them. So that's one of the things you can do.
Very much a leg up on a lot of individuals out there. But, you know, again, what can I do? What are my resources at my disposal for a company my size? And that's going to be the human element, no matter what. And I'm not saying C.H. Robinson doesn't do that. Right. But what I am saying is that's a competitive advantage to automation that a small business can do. Because while everybody else is looking to automate everything, I'm looking to bring that relationship in a little bit closer. Right? What can you do? How can you compete with that?
And I love that you said that because the automation, what that does is that if you do it the right way, the way it augments relationships is all the things that your clients worry about. You automate the easy button for them. Yeah, the relationship part you never stop working on, ever. But if it comes down to pricing, updates, visibility, whatever those things may be, the more and more of that you can automate. And if you focus that on how do I make doing business with me easier for my clients, that's the technology solution that's really going to help you.
That right there, Robert, is the ultimate thing because there's, you know, like I have to make it so easy for my customers to work with me. Right. Same thing. Like we. I got hit up at 5:00 this morning, my time. No, this isn't a gotta grind 247 fucking yada, yada. But my customer hit me up, hey, we have an emergency order. We need a truck in here today. It's got to pick up. Between that initial email and our driver showing up was three hours. All right, three hours. Right. And again, consistency. That is the exact same level of service and communication that my customer has received from us for the last two years that we've been hauling freight for them.
Right.
So again, that's my competitive advantage. There was no automation there. There was no technology there outside of email. That was a trusted customer coming, hey man, this is what we got. What can you do for us? And it was me during that response, as soon as I hit my inbox and getting them an option, because they.
Know that, yes, like that part was not automated on any level at all. But what they know is that the experience that they get is going to be so consistent. When they say, hey Chris, we need to deliver. And you say, yes, I'm going to. That they can set it and forget it. They're going to check you trust my verify. But if you can be the provider that truly becomes as close to set it and forget it, you win.
Yeah, because.
Because here's what's coming. You're gonna see the spot market open up a little more. You're gonna see some capacity go out. I hate to break it to folks, I've said this on every podcast I've been on for the last three months. I'm going to keep saying it until it really comes, like it's already starting. But as the Fed cuts, rates are going to cut them again in March. They're probably going to cut them again in September. So when as that is happening now, you're going to see financial institutions go, okay, we're not going to make as much on this. We have truck notes that are a year and sometimes two years not paid. Now they're coming to collect and you're going to see a bloodbath. And right, wrong or indifferent, that is what what's coming.
And so then what's going to happen is you'll see capacity wane. But if you continue to produce those similar results because you've got the right carriers, you treat them right, you've got the relations with your customers by the way, it's all plays into what everybody, the broker carrier summit is trying to do, what freight movement is trying to do, what GLCS is trying to do, what good people in the industry are trying to do is weed out all these people that are susceptible to this crap and do business with the right folks. Yeah, because listen, your truck know there's a lot of stuff you're not doing too.
Yeah, no, that's exactly it. Right. And you know, and ultimately, you know in I'm always about technology when you can afford it, I'm all about all of that. But when fundamentally when it boils down to it and I'm not going to be convinced of this in differently my and really the only way you guys to get to this point because it does not matter whether it's C.H. Robinson, TQL or any of my other friends out there who own brokerages, when we're initially reaching out to a shipper, we all sound the same. They've all heard it before. The only way that they're ever going to experience it is them ultimately setting you up and having you move their freight. Right. And that's a very long time, that's a very long sales cycle and everything else to get in the door.
But that's really the only way to separate yourself from your competition because it does not matter. We all sound the same. We're all really saying the exact same shit out there. But it's are you hitting them at the right time and then again. This is why I always say sales is the easy part, you guys, because the execution piece, you can, anybody can make that happen one time but can you do that year in and year out that consistency, that consistent communication, whether it's your truck that's broken down or it's your delay or your fuck up, are you still delivering that exact same level of service, communication and execution in every single scenario? And when you do that long enough Then. Then you might get considered to be like, hey, these guys are probably our top provider at this point. Yeah.
And so to kind of put a bowl in this. And we're going to come up on time here in a second. So all this technology, what's it all mean? Right. When you, Chris, when you're out in the marketplace and you're talking to potential shipping partners.
Yep.
Let's be real. They don't care about your tech stack.
They don't. And a little caveat. I've never been asked about that in the hundreds and hundreds of cold calls I've made.
You know, the only thing they ask.
About the last six months.
Sorry. The only thing they ask about is, do you have edi? That's it. If you have edi, can we send you over stuff that way? That's it. That's all they ask about. If they do, that's the only piece of tech they ever asked about. Which, by the way, is antiquated and outdated and sucks. Is that what I said? But. But it's not gonna go away. So it's a necessary evil. Yeah, but. So when you're looking at your tech stack, you don't necessarily have to always have the next latest and greatest thing. Look at what is this going to do for. To make my people more efficient, more powerful, and what does it do to create a consistent client experience? If your tech doesn't enhance the client experience, it's not worth it.
I would wholeheartedly agree with that man. Because ultimately that's who us as the broker, we have to look at it like this. My drivers are my customer. All right? Contrary to popular social media belief, 100%, they are the carriers. They are my customer just as much as the person who's paying me who to pick up their freight. They are just as much. They are of equal of importance out there to me. And I need to make sure their lives are easy. I need to make sure that, you know, again. And I'm. I should trademark this, but broker of choice. If anybody uses this outside of Chris Jolly, they got it off of my show. Because I've been saying this for years now. Carriers and customers are 1A and 1B of importance to you as a broker.
And you need to be a broker of choice to both parties because that time that Robert's talking about is coming up a lot sooner than a lot of people want. Where carriers are going to look at you and be like, why would I take Frey from you now? I don't need you anymore. Oh, wait, I remember all those times that you said this, this, and this. And guess what? That's, that's going to happen. And also guess what, Guess who's in your customer's ear. Me. Cold calling them right now. Because every single one isn't the worst.
Thing when he's in your ear to.
See all know every single one of your customers. As Kara Brown says, every single one of your customers is somebody else's prospect. All right? And you got to keep that out there and you got to take this time right now before there's anything drastic. We got to take this time to fix it all and get your stuff running. But we are going to get a surprise. Please tell me this is. Yeah.
Hello. Hey you. Say hi. Say hi here.
Yeah, get that, get those biceps up like grandpa. Yeah, but dude, as always, man, I appreciate you joining me, bro.
Dude, absolutely, man. It's so much fun. Always love seeing you. There's a difference time, though, that's what sucks.
I know, but you know, I, I pay attention to the data, man. And that 30 minute mark is like, that's the mark for viewership and everything. But hey, how does anybody reach out to you GLCs to find out more about what you guys got going on?
Absolutely. You can find me on LinkedIn, Robert Bain, strongest man logistics. You can reach me via email arbanelcs.net you can also just go to our website, see the whole team there. Or if you want to follow the power lifting stuff at Bain316 on the.
Internet website, hit them up, you guys. And then as always, if you guys can't find Robert GLCS or anything like that, hit me up. I will gladly put you guys in contact with him, but we're gonna have guests on, I think almost every day this week. I, I don't know, I have to look at my schedule, but we're gonna have them back on. As always, if you guys got value, subscribe to the show. You guys share it out there to your network because if you see value, your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon. Let's go.