Month: April 2016

Customer specific pricing (CSP) has been around the LTL Industry since deregulation back in the 80’s. In the era of 3PL’s, general pricing programs or blanket programs have provided an opportunity for customers of various sizes to have access to competitive pricing with technology to boot. When Priority1 has a customer that doesn’t quite fit out blanket program, I get excited to share our program that fits their specific need. It’s like something old that becomes new again.

In the past few years, Priority1 has developed an Enterprise Program to equip our team to provide options for those customers that have needs outside our general pricing program.  Once these customers are identified that’s when the fun starts.

In the early days, we may receive an LOA, a few invoices, and a request to give it our best shot. A lot has changed since then. Before we will take on a new Enterprise account the first thing our team will ask for is DATA. I like to think of data as building material, the agreement as a blueprint, and the LOA as the building permit. Once we receive the data we can determine how big or small the project will be.

The amount of data we receive is the difference between building a mansion or a doll house. A building project was the best analogy that I could think of that fits an Enterprise project or customer specific pricing. You cannot build a house without a solid foundation, material, and tools to complete the job. So next time you have a customer that has outgrown your current pricing program. Think about building a program with Priority1 as the foundation, all we need is the material (DATA), blueprint (Agreement) and the building permit (LOA) to get the job started.

Will Sison, Director of Pricing

Priority1 has been in business for over 20 years with a commitment of serving our customers, carrier partners, and employees. What started as an organization to manage our parent company’s transportation (Priority Wire & Cable) has developed into being considered a leader in the world of managed logistics. Priority1 is “winning” not just by delivering consistent financial results but by doing business the right way and taking care of its people. Don’t take my word for it… Priority1 was awarded the BBB Torch Ethics Award for reputable business practices and we were named one of Arkansas Best Employers for how we treat our staff.

Priority1 is focused on continuing our growth as a leader in consultative logistics. We partner with both small and large shippers to optimize their freight spend through technology, people, and experience. Our sales process evaluates needs and proactively address potential issues within a company’s supply chain. To be frank, what company wouldn’t benefit from having Priority1 (whom manages over 3000 businesses transportation accounts) take a look at its supply chain?

Our mission in 2016 is simple and I broke down our focus for the rest of the year in no particular order below:
1. Continue to grow our carrier relationships. Our business exists because of our fantastic partnerships with our carriers. We pride ourselves on several truths that we believe exist within carrier relationships and which hold true for both our truckload and less-than-truckload partnerships.
a. We don’t play a cash flow game with our vendors. It isn’t fair to do so and we are in a financial position that affords us the ability to pay all of our vendors promptly.
b. We do not back solicit our carrier relationships. Our relationships are founded on trust and principal and this is a big no.
2. Continue to engage customers through technology
a. Priority1 focuses on executive relationships with customers in an effort to streamline their transportation needs.
b. We use the leading state of the art software in the transportation industries.
3. Expand the Priority1 footprint
a. Priority1 has a lot of opportunity to increase our sales force and to gain exposure to new major markets.

With an emphasis on partners, technology, and people; Priority1 is looking forward to another record year in 2016!

Dan Berardi, General Manager and COO

Over the past 15 months, the Priority1 Truckload team has gone through a complete overhaul. We have consolidated all of our truckload team under one roof here in the Little Rock Corporate office. It has been very exciting to see the growth of each member of the team over the past year. With the development of each team member, we have really been able to get traction. We are seeing growth each month in the amount of business we are able to do today vs. a year ago. We have added people to key positions and divided the team into two different roles. Matt Watson has been a fantastic addition and manages the customer liaison reps. His team is responsible for handling all incoming quotes and works directly with our sales reps and their customers to quote shipments, build shipments, and follow up on pickup & delivery info. Rob Haynie has been with Priority1 for four years and manages our Carrier Sales team. His team is in charge of booking, tracking & tracing, and collecting paperwork once the load is delivered.

Dividing the truckload team has allowed us to grow and enables each individual to become more successful at what they do.  This has given us the opportunity to focus on smaller portions of the entire operation.  In addition to the team becoming more efficient, we have put a large focus on technology and automation as we move forward. With the addition of using GPS tracking on truckload shipments via MacroPoint, we are able to aid the carrier sales team in tracking and cut down on the amount of call checks that need to be made.  This has provided more time to be spent on booking additional loads and securing more capacity. The next big addition we will be making to the truckload team will be going to an automated form of carrier onboarding. It is a significant investment from an integration standpoint, but the time saved on the back end will help to offset that initial cost.

In the past 15 months we have undergone a number of changes and now we are seeing some success stories with the truckload group. We are setting new records daily! It is an exciting time for the group and has been a lot of fun to see the growth that has taken place so quickly.  As 2016 continues to unfold, we anticipate seeing more growth heading in to the summer and fall months!

Jason Sheffler, Director of Truckload Operations