The Logistics of Logistics

In "Scale or Fail: Navigating Trade Volatility for Emerging Brands", Joe Lynch speaks with President and CEO of the Americas region of GEODIS, Laura Ritchey, about how emerging brands can navigate trade volatility, manage inventory, and build scalable, resilient supply chains.

Laura Ritchey joined GEODIS in July 2025 as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Americas region. Laura is responsible for overseeing the region's freight forwarding, contract logistics and transportation business units along with engineering and technology, IT, ProVenture (U.S.-based subsidiary of GEODIS focusing on industrial real estate) and Material Handling Resources (one of the country's leading material handling distributors owned by GEODIS). In total, Laura oversees GEODIS Americas' expansive operations including nearly 20,000 employees and more than 230 sites across eight countries. Laura brings over 30 years of experience to GEODIS, with 15 focused on supply chain management in both retail and third-party logistics. Laura began her career in finance before transitioning to supply chain operations, including sourcing, distribution and strategic transformation. Prior to her current role, Laura was most recently CEO at Radial, Inc., a leader in e-commerce fulfillment solutions, where she drove revenue growth and profitability through operational excellence. At Radial, she led the North American P&L for a $1.4B e-commerce logistics division, responsible for relationships with over 170 clients across four service lines. Before joining Radial, she held leadership positions at L Brands, FullBeauty Brands and Centric Brands. Laura is on the Dean's Advisory Council at Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and is an active board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Nashville Branch. Additionally, she is actively involved with C200 whose mission is to inspire, educate, support and advance current and future women leaders. Laura earned her J.D., MBA and bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University. Additionally, Laura is accredited as a certified public accountant and admitted to the bar in Ohio.

GEODIS is a leading global logistics provider acknowledged for its expertise across all aspects of the supply chain. As a growth partner to its clients, GEODIS specializes in four lines of business: Global Freight Forwarding, Global Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express Transport, and European Road Network. The Group operates a global network spanning nearly 170 countries and 48,000 employees. In 2025, GEODIS generated €10.6 billion in revenue. GEODIS is a company owned by SNCF group.

• Beware the "10K Order Trap" During Rapid Growth: Scaling operations from 1,000 to 10,000 monthly orders often breaks a business before demand stalls. Emerging brands must build strong foundational supply chain building blocks early—such as maintaining clean master data (accurate dimensions and weights) and choosing a 3PL capable of global growth—to avoid costly operational failures when reaching inflection points.
• Adopt a Hybrid Inventory Strategy to Balance JIT and JIC: Shifting strictly between "Just in Time" (JIT) and "Just in Case" (JIC) risks either stockouts or trapped working capital. A balanced, hybrid approach—keeping adequate stock of fast-moving core basics while tightly controlling slow-moving seasonal items—helps protect cash flow without sacrificing availability.
• Re-evaluate the "Amazon Effect" and Recommerce to Protect Margins: High-speed, free shipping creates an illusion of necessity that drives up last-mile costs. Brands should focus on order delivery certainty over pure speed while implementing circular economy strategies (recommerce) to rehabilitate and resell returned apparel, which often recovers up to 95% of inventory value.
• Mitigate Sourcing Risks Beyond Single-Factory Bets: Diversifying supply chains requires going all the way back to raw material inputs rather than simply relocating assembly plants. Navigating evolving global tariffs requires nearshoring flexibility, dual-sourcing critical SKUs, and re-orchestrating supply chain flows across regional hubs.
• Understand True Landed Costs to Avoid Margin Shock: Delegating freight forwarding and customs clearance entirely to overseas manufacturers often leads to hidden markups and supply chain delays. Leveraging an end-to-end global provider with licensed customs brokerage capabilities ensures clear visibility into total landed costs and regulatory compliance.
• Leverage Global Scale with Curated, End-to-End Execution: Supported by a global network spanning nearly 170 countries, over 48,000 employees, and €10.6 billion (USD $12.35 billion) in revenue (2025), GEODIS provides emerging and established brands with an agile, end-to-end "launchpad for global growth" across contract logistics, freight forwarding, and transportation.
• Avoid the "Set It and Forget It" Supply Chain Mindset: Ongoing volatility, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical friction require continuous evaluation of supply chain networks. Taking a cautious, practical approach to emerging technologies like AI (for labor forecasting and route planning) ensures operational stability while safeguarding proprietary data.

Laura Ritchey | Linkedin

GEODIS | Linkedin

GEODIS

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "The Collision of Capital, Technology & Logistics", Joe Lynch speaks with Founder & Managing Partner of Gamma Point Advisory, Joey Milstein, about how the intersection of private equity, artificial intelligence, and operational execution is reshaping the future of supply chain M&A.

Joey Milstein has spent more than 35 years inside the machinery of global trade, leading commercial organizations for ocean carriers, freight forwarders, and venture-backed logistics technology companies before moving to the advisory side. Having built businesses, sold technology, raised capital, and led growth from inside the industry, he brings an operator's perspective to every transaction. As Founder & Managing Partner of Gamma Point Advisory, Joseph advises founders on sell-side M&A and guides private equity firms, institutional investors, and strategic acquirers on buy-side strategy, growth, and logistics technology. He is known for connecting the worlds of operations, innovation, and capital, helping clients identify opportunities others miss and navigate one of the world's most complex industries with clarity and conviction. Joseph holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from New York University and serves as a strategic advisor to multiple logistics technology companies.

Gamma Point Advisory is a boutique M&A and strategic advisory firm focused exclusively on transportation, supply chain, and logistics technology. Unlike generalist investment banks or consultants, Gamma Point combines deep operating experience with transaction expertise, giving clients advice grounded in how the industry actually works. The firm advises founder-led businesses on sell-side M&A, capital formation, and strategic growth, while providing buy-side advisory to private equity firms, institutional investors, and strategic acquirers sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments across the logistics ecosystem. Gamma Point also works closely with emerging logistics technology companies to accelerate commercialization and market adoption. Gamma Point sits at the intersection of three worlds that rarely speak the same language: operators who move freight, innovators building the future, and the capital that funds it.

• In "The Collision of Capital, Technology & Logistics", Joe Lynch speaks with Founder & Managing Partner of Gamma Point Advisory, Joey Milstein, about how the intersection of private equity, artificial intelligence, and operational execution is reshaping the future of supply chain M&A.
• The Intersection of Three Disconnected Worlds: Capital markets, technology providers, and logistics operators routinely "talk past each other" at industry conferences. Sustainable progress requires a "translator" who understands the nuances of operational realities, deal structures, and true software utility.
• The "Silver Tsunami" Driving Consolidation: Hundreds of healthy, lower mid-market logistics companies (drayage, family-owned forwarders, customs brokers) are reaching an inflection point. Owners in their 60s and 70s without generational succession plans are seeking capital infusions, mergers, or buyouts to exit.
• Prep Work Directly Impacts Valuations: Founders often lose millions in prospective sale value by going to market unprepared. Spending 3–6 months to audit operations, clean up balance sheets, remove unutilized assets ("dead wood"), and document institutional knowledge transforms potential multiples from 4x to 6x EBITDA.
• Private Equity's "Buy-and-Build" Playbook: Private equity interest in logistics—especially freight brokerage—is accelerating. PE firms look for established "platform" companies to serve as a base, then execute a "buy-and-build" strategy by acquiring smaller complementary add-ons to build scale rapidly over a 3-to-5-year horizon.
• Adopting Technology to Boost Valuations: Tech adoption is no longer optional for legacy operators. Implementing scalable, transferable software or modern AI tools directly increases a firm's exit valuation multiple, whereas sticking to outdated manual processes or disconnected legacy tech depresses market interest.
• Evaluating "Real AI" vs. Expensive Demos: With capital drying up for speculative "digital brokers" that subsidized freight rates without long-term profitability, investors and buyers now focus on technology that delivers measurable operational productivity, security, and lower overhead rather than slick, superficial software demos.
• Culture and Team Depth Outweigh Simple Financials: Successful acquisitions require balancing human dynamics and cultural fit alongside pure financial metrics. Founders must build institutional depth rather than centralizing all sales, financial, and operational expertise within a single leader.

Joey Milstein | Linkedin

Gamma Pint Advisory | Linkedin

Gamma Point Advisory

Gamma Point Podcast

AI In Logistics | What works and what doesnt

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "Eliminating EDI Headaches: Managed Integration vs. Ticket Queues", Joe Lynch speaks with Co-Founder and Leader of Atadex, Mitch Bernet, about how fully managed EDI and API integrations eliminate operational bottlenecks, speed up customer onboarding, and drive supply chain profitability.

Mitch Bernet is the Co-Founder and Leader of Atadex, bringing decades of supply chain expertise and executive leadership to the role. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he earned a degree from Providence College, an MBA in Finance from Creighton University, and launched his career at Union Pacific Railroad before taking senior management roles at Conrail, APL Logistics, and Hub Group. A seasoned entrepreneur, he went on to found Integra Logistics in 2003 and co-found Coyote Logistics in 2008—growing the Atlanta-based business through its eventual acquisition by UPS—before taking a brief hiatus and returning to the industry to co-found Atadex. Married to Rosanna for 35 years, he is the proud father of two children, Matthew and Katherine, who graduated from Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, respectively.

Atadex is a full-service EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and API integration provider exclusively focused on the supply chain and logistics industry. The company was founded to deliver fully managed, fast, low-cost data integration—handling everything end to end so clients don't need in-house EDI expertise and positioning itself as an alternative to legacy EDI vendors, self-serve platforms, and traditional professional services. Atadex connects any TMS or WMS (including Blue Yonder, Trimble, Manhattan, Turvo, Shipwell, TAI, and McLeod) to any trading partner, supporting all major formats (X12, EDIFACT, API, XML, CSV, JSON) and transaction types. The company processes over 50 million messages per month and has completed more than 5,000 go-lives, pairing each client with a dedicated, US-based account manager. Its goal is to fundamentally change how data integration is managed and serviced, helping clients improve productivity, performance, and profitability. Target customers include carriers and 3PLs with complex partner networks, warehouses and 4PLs seeking a fully outsourced EDI department, and TMS/WMS providers wanting to offer integration without building their own delivery teams. Atadex also offers AssetMaps (fleet consolidation) and Freight Board Central (freight board integration).

• In "Eliminating EDI Headaches: Managed Integration vs. Ticket Queues", Joe Lynch speaks with Co-Founder and Leader of Atadex, Mitch Bernet, about how fully managed EDI and API integrations eliminate operational bottlenecks, speed up customer onboarding, and drive supply chain profitability.
• EDI as a Profitability Driver, Not Just an IT Task: Data integration directly impacts the bottom line by eliminating manual data entry, reducing human error, and allowing logistics staff to manage up to 25% more volume per person without adding head count.
• Overcoming System Incompatibility via "Universal Translation": Supply chain tech remains heavily fragmented between legacy systems (like mainframes or EDI X12) and modern RESTful APIs. Atadex acts as a universal translator, mapping and converting any data format into whatever spec a trading partner requires.
• Speed to Integration Equals Speed to Revenue: Onboarding delays can stall new customer relationships for months and destroy projected margins. Rapid implementation and proactive partner coordination directly protect customer retention and protect sales commissions.
• Fully Managed Service vs. Anonymous Ticket Queues: Logistics operates on extreme urgency where every minor issue feels like a major emergency. Relying on dedicated, domain-expert project managers who proactively catch failed transmissions beats putting in tickets with traditional tech providers.
• Decoupling Customer Support from Technical Engineering: Mirroring the operational structure pioneer Jeff Silver used at Coyote Logistics, separating client-facing project managers from back-end technical mappers ensures seamless communication and higher overall customer satisfaction.
• Transparent Pricing Over Complex VAN Fees: Traditional EDI value-added networks (VANs) often obscure costs behind per-kilo-character charges. Simplifying billing to clear, per-message rates provides total transparency so companies can calculate precise integration costs per trading partner.
• Practical AI Integration with a "People-First" Foundation: While AI tools (like Claude) are being developed internally to speed up complex mapping and protocol translation, technology will supplement—rather than replace—the critical human element required to support high-stakes logistics operations.

Mitch Bernet | Linkedin

Atadex | Linkedin

Atadex

USMMG Partners with Atadex for EDI Solutions | LinkedIn

Trailer Bridge's Partnership With Atadex as Their EDI Provider Revolutionized Their Efficiency | LinkedIn

The Game-Changer for Riverside Transport's EDI and Target Performance | LinkedIn

Atadex| Facebook

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "The Infrastructure Autonomous Delivery Needs", Joe Lynch speaks with Chairman and CEO of Arrive AI, Dan O'Toole, about why smart endpoint infrastructure is the missing link to scaling autonomous logistics.

Dan O'Toole, CEO of Arrive AI, can speak to why endpoint coordination networks and logistics software are becoming the unresolved infrastructure problem—and the most durable value driver—in commercial autonomous logistics. Drawing on clinical-grade deployment data that reveals what the market actually needs to scale, he offers actionable lessons on how these operational insights translate seamlessly from healthcare to the broader commercial logistics ecosystem.

Arrive AI (Nasdaq: ARAI) stands apart by addressing the critical gap in autonomous logistics: the endpoint. Its Arrive Points smart hubs and Arrive OS software form a hardware-agnostic, AI-orchestrated network that connects drones, ground robots, and human couriers through verified, chain-of-custody handoffs. Backed by a decade of development, 10 U.S. patents, and international filings in 20-plus countries, this architecture isn't a feature add-on—it is the essential operating layer that makes autonomous delivery commercially viable. While competitors rush to deploy vehicles, Arrive AI has already proven its infrastructure in high-stakes, live hospital environments—securing a second contract on the strength of its initial deployment—positioning the company as a defensible, revenue-ready infrastructure asset as public markets increasingly reward durable AI networks.

• In "The Infrastructure Autonomous Delivery Needs", Joe Lynch speaks with Chairman and CEO of Arrive AI, Dan O'Toole, about why smart endpoint infrastructure is the missing link to scaling autonomous logistics.
• Solving the "Last 50 Feet" Problem: While multimillion-dollar autonomous drones and ground rovers can navigate miles via GPS and LiDAR, deliveries often fail at the final drop-off point. Arrive AI bridges this gap with Arrive Point™ smart hubs, providing a secure physical landing pad and drop-chute for autonomous vehicles.
• Creating an Unbroken Chain of Custody: To combat the 1.7 million packages stolen daily in the U.S. and secure high-value goods like pharmaceuticals, Arrive Points utilize biometrics, RFID, and time-of-flight sensors. The unit stays locked until accessed by an authorized recipient, maintaining a verified digital record from dispatch to retrieval.
• Hardware-Agnostic Infrastructure for Universal Access: Rather than fragmenting the market with proprietary drop zones for different brands, Arrive AI acts as a carrier-agnostic portal. Its open operating layer (Arrive OS) allows drones, ground robots, and human couriers from any fleet to execute seamless handoffs at a single managed endpoint.
• Unlocking Asynchronous Delivery: Traditional delivery requires both courier and recipient to synchronize schedules, leading to costly re-delivery delays. Arrive AI's smart hubs decouple drop-off times from human availability, allowing 24/7 unattended deliveries and pick-ups without risk of weather damage, theft, or product degradation.
• A Defensible "Napkin to Nasdaq" IP Wall: Founded in 2014 and listed on the Nasdaq (ARAI) in 2025, Arrive AI established a critical first-mover advantage by filing foundational patents before major tech giants. The company now holds 10 U.S. patents and international filings across 20+ countries, creating a robust intellectual property moat.
• Proven Performance in High-Stakes Environments: Beyond residential ecommerce, Arrive AI's infrastructure has been validated in live hospital settings—where delivery failures carry strict regulatory consequences rather than just operational inconvenience. This clinical-grade reliability directly enabled the company to secure follow-on enterprise contracts.
• Climate Control for Sensitive Payloads: Outfitted with Climate Assist™ technology, Arrive Points can actively heat or cool up to 20 degrees within minutes to preserve perishable groceries and temperature-sensitive medical supplies, while integrated top-door heaters keep snow and ice from freezing the automated doors.

Dan O'Toole | Linkedin

Arrive AI | Linkedin

Arrive AI

OpenAI's IPO filing and the broader public-market rush into AI

PepsiCo is running 35 driverless trucks commercially. Amazon just deployed a next-generation warehouse robot as part of a $12 billion investment push

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "How Nordian's Platform Enables Long-Haul Autonomy", Joe Lynch speaks with Co-founder and CEO of Nordian, Michael Schramm, about how Nordian enables long-haul autonomy by combining precise positioning, satellite connectivity, and edge intelligence into a single platform.

Michael Schramm is Co-founder and CEO of Nordian, the positioning and connectivity platform for Physical AI, delivering centimeter-level GNSS corrections, satellite connectivity, and fleet lifecycle management to some of the largest industrial OEMs in the Americas. A serial entrepreneur with 15+ years of executive leadership, he is a founding partner of Ambush, an applied AI engineering firm; co-founder of Echo54, an advanced sensing R&D company serving US and allied government agencies; and founder of GOAT, an acquired consumer micro-mobility company. Across nearly two decades of building companies that operate in the physical world, he kept running into the same failure point: machines break when positioning and connectivity aren't engineered as one system. Nordian exists to fix that.

Nordian is the positioning and connectivity platform for Physical AI. One platform delivers centimeter-level GNSS corrections, integrated satellite connectivity, and fleet lifecycle management to industrial OEMs across transportation, agriculture, and mining. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and deliberately launched in the hardest environments on Earth, Nordian built South America's largest PPP-RTK network, and its platform serves 80% of the region's 20 largest agricultural OEMs. Proven where networks fail and machines can't, Nordian is now expanding globally to power autonomous operations at scale.

• In "How Nordian's Platform Enables Long-Haul Autonomy", Joe Lynch speaks with Co-founder and CEO of Nordian, Michael Schramm, about how Nordian enables long-haul autonomy by combining precise positioning, satellite connectivity, and edge intelligence into a single platform.
• Physical AI is a Connectivity and Processing Challenge, Not an AI Model Problem: Current AI systems are fully capable of handling autonomous navigation, but real-world physical AI is constrained by connectivity and real-time processing capabilities. Offloading critical decisions to back-end cloud servers introduces latency, which is dangerous for heavy machinery like a 25-ton autonomous truck moving at highway speeds.
• Edge Computing and Local Inference Eliminate Deadly Latency: To operate safely without reliance on uninterrupted internet access, 100% of mission-critical decisions must occur directly on the device using edge computing. Nordian provides the local processing capacity needed for real-time inference, allowing autonomous vehicles, drones, and heavy equipment to operate safely in "air-gapped" environments or during brief network dropouts.
• Centimeter-Level Positioning Replaces Imprecise Traditional GPS: Standard GPS provides meter-level accuracy, which is acceptable for route navigation but unacceptable for vehicle control, lane-level autonomous driving, precise geofencing, or row-crop agriculture. By combining satellite signals with dedicated ground reference stations to calculate real-time differential corrections, Nordian achieves centimeter-level accuracy required for absolute control.
• Integration Burden is the Primary Bottleneck for OEMs: Equipment manufacturers historically acted as their own integrators—trying to bolt together separate vendors for chipsets, satellite bands, cellular modems, and edge computing. Nordian abstracts this complexity by unifying precise positioning, resilient connectivity, and edge intelligence into a single plug-and-play factory-installed package with an SDK for custom software development.
• A Multi-Band "N+3" Connectivity Model Bridges the Connectivity Gap: Autonomy dies where cellular coverage fails, particularly across the 71% of U.S. roadways located in rural environments. Nordian solves the connectivity gap by layering cellular networks, L-band communications, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations (including integrated Starlink connectivity) into a redundant system capable of rapid sub-10-second signal convergence.
• Agricultural Battle-Testing Translates Directly to Transportation and Logistics: Before expanding into long-haul trucking and yard logistics, Nordian proved its system in South America's harsh agricultural environments, building a massive reference station network across Brazil and Argentina. This foundation enabled them to capture 80% of the top 20 agricultural OEMs in the region—proving the technology where infrastructure is non-existent and atmospheric interference (scintillation) is severe.
• Autonomous Technology Target Long-Haul Workloads to Improve Quality of Life: Autonomous technology is positioned to address structural labor shortages by replacing high-turnover, long-haul routes (where drivers are away from home for weeks) with fully autonomous systems or human-augmented modes. This shifts human operators toward last-mile and short-haul jobs, improving driver safety, operational utilization, and overall work-life balance.

Michael Schramm | Linkedin

Nordian | Linkedin

Nordian

Contact Nordian

Nordian Authorized to Resell Starlink High-Speed Internet to Businesses & Enterprises.

Nordian Expands High-Precision GNSS Positioning to Brazil Through Strategic Partnership with u-blox

Federal News Network's Space Hour Podcast - Connecting devices out in remote regions

Fierce Network - Nordian authorized to resell Starlink internet to businesses and enterprises

Ending the 60% Waste: The Radical Shift Trucking Needs Right Now

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "Trimble's Perspective: The Future of Freight is Connected", Joe Lynch and Rob Painter, Trimble's President and Chief Executive Officer, discuss how Trimble connects the freight ecosystem—people, data, and workflows—to navigate the difficult truckload market and drive customer efficiency using AI and integrated commercial solutions.

Rob Painter became Trimble's president and chief executive officer in January 2020. From 2016 through 2019, he served as the Company's chief financial officer. Joining the Company in 2006, Painter held a variety of leadership positions, including corporate development, corporate strategy, general manager of Construction Services, general manager of the Intelligent Construction Tools international joint venture, and vice president of Trimble Buildings construction software. In August 2023, he was appointed to serve on the Synopsys Board of Directors. Painter holds a bachelor's degree in finance from West Virginia University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Trimble Transportation provides fleets with solutions to create a fully integrated supply chain. With an intelligent ecosystem of products and services, Trimble Transportation enables customers to embrace the rapid technological evolution of the industry and connect all aspects of transportation and logistics — trucks, drivers, back office, freight and assets. Trimble Transportation delivers an open, scalable platform to help customers make more informed decisions and maximize performance, visibility and safety.

• In "Trimble's Perspective: The Future of Freight is Connected", Joe Lynch and Rob Painter, Trimble's President and Chief Executive Officer, discuss how Trimble connects the freight ecosystem—people, data, and workflows—to navigate the difficult truckload market and drive customer efficiency using AI and integrated commercial solutions.
• Holistic Solution for a Difficult Truckload Market: Trimble's T&L segment directly addresses the pressures of the current truckload market by providing core operational platforms (TMW.Suite, TruckMate) to help carriers, shippers, and brokers manage operations, accounting, and dispatch, ensuring maximum efficiency and cost control when margins are tight.
• Driving Strategy with the Connect & Scale Message: The entire product portfolio—spanning TMS, maintenance, visibility, and procurement—is structured to embody Trimble's "Connect & Scale" message, which focuses on integrating people, data, and workflows into a unified ecosystem to drive growth and efficiency.
• AI-Powered Autonomous Freight Procurement: Trimble is leveraging AI within its Freight Procurement solutions (Transporeon, Freight Marketplace) to move toward autonomous procurement. This helps shippers and brokers efficiently source capacity and optimize freight spend in real-time, which is critical in a volatile capacity environment.
• Commercial Mapping for Efficiency and Safety: Essential tools like Trimble MAPS (CoPilot, Appian) go beyond basic navigation. They provide commercial-grade routing that accounts for truck-specific constraints and HOS, acting as a crucial element in optimizing routes and protecting drivers (part of the people and workflow components of Connect & Scale).
• TMS as the Core Workflow Integrator: Comprehensive Transportation Management Systems (TMS) platforms like TMW.Suite act as the central brain for workflows, integrating data across the business from operations to financial accounting, which is foundational to the "Scale" component of Trimble's strategy.
• Proactive Maintenance and Data Connectivity: Solutions for Asset & Fleet Maintenance focus on maximizing uptime—a key lever in today's market. By using data from connected trucks (fault codes, location) for preventative and predictive maintenance, they ensure assets remain productive and reduce unexpected downtime.
• Regulatory Compliance and Risk Mitigation (People & Data): The Safety & Compliance offerings help fleets mitigate risk and adhere to federal regulations, ensuring the safety and legal operation of their people (drivers) and assets, proving that technology is essential for responsible management and effective use of operational data.

Rob Painter | Linkedin

Trimble Transportation | Linkedin

Trimble Transportation

Revolutionizing the Road: Trimble's Tech Solutions with Kelly Williams | The Logistics of Logistics

Trimble & Platform Science: The Future of Telematics with Rob Painter and Jack Kennedy

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "The Fictitious Pickup Boom: How Fake Drivers Steal Freight", Joe Lynch speaks with Chief Operating Officer at IDScan.net, Jillian Kossman, about how modern fraudsters use fake CDLs to execute fictitious pickups—and how automated identity verification at the gate can stop them.

Jillian Kossman is Chief Operating Officer at IDScan.net, an identity verification firm helping businesses combat fraud and build trust in digital and in-person transactions. As COO, she leads the company's day-to-day operations, scaling processes, technology partnerships and customer delivery to support organisations operating in highly regulated and high-risk environments.

IDScan.net offers the leading AI-powered identity verification platform focusing on ID fraud prevention, age verification, and access management for security and compliance. Across their suite of products, IDScan.net performs more than 23,000,000 ID and identity-related transactions monthly for more than 7,500 customers. Including many of the world's largest manufacturers and logistics organizations. For more information, visit www.idscan.net.

• In "The Fictitious Pickup Boom: How Fake Drivers Steal Freight", Joe Lynch speaks with Chief Operating Officer at IDScan.net, Jillian Kossman, about how modern fraudsters use fake CDLs to execute fictitious pickups—and how automated identity verification at the gate can stop them.
• Cargo Theft Has Evolved from Physical Hijacking to Digital Fraud: Cargo theft is no longer defined by armed robberies or physical break-ins like in decades past. Today's threat landscape relies on organized digital impersonation, synthetic identities, and illegitimate credentials—making cybersecurity and physical cargo security completely interdependent at the point of pickup.
• The Non-Domiciled CDL Crackdown is Driving Fake ID Demand: Strict federal enforcement and regulatory changes have led to many drivers losing their valid non-domiciled Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs). Unwilling to walk away from high-paying haul opportunities, many of these drivers are turning to fake IDs sourced from the dark web, triggering a massive surge in fictitious pickups across the logistics industry.
• Visual Gate Inspections Are No Longer Sufficient: Modern counterfeit CDLs feature accurate window panes, microprinting, holograms, and realistic barcode structures that are virtually impossible for gate guards or dock workers to catch visually. Effective fraud prevention requires forensic-level automated scanning that checks physical and digital security features against thousands of global document templates in seconds.
• Rapid ID Parsing Eliminates Yard Bottlenecks and Human Error: Manual check-in workflows—like handwriting details on paper clipboards or taking unencrypted smartphone photos—cause long yard queues and introduce human error. Automated driver intake via kiosks or guard-shack scanners processes credentials in under 15 seconds, instantly populating accurate driver data into the TMS, WMS, or YMS.
• Remote Biometric Verification Neutralizes Double-Brokering Risks: Fictitious pickups often rely on dispatching unvetted or impersonated drivers. By deploying remote identity verification (such as IDScan.net's DIVE platform) via SMS prior to arrival, freight brokers and 3PLs can cross-reference live facial biometrics against the CDL photo and dispatch records to ensure the correct driver is at the wheel.
• Encrypted Digital Audits Replace Vulnerable Paper Logs: Relying on paper sign-in sheets leaves operations exposed during CTPAT/AEO security audits or law enforcement investigations. Automated, cloud-based ID scanning creates a time-stamped, searchable, and encrypted chain-of-custody record (capturing driver IDs, entry/exit timestamps, and truck photos) while protecting sensitive driver PII.
• Instant Watchlist Cross-Referencing Blocks Unauthorized Access: Physical security gate checks need real-time, automated defense against blacklisted or prohibited drivers. Point-of-scan verification instantly matches scanned driver credentials against internal "do not admit" (BOLO) lists, expired license databases, and government sanction watchlists (such as OFAC), stopping unauthorized entry before a trailer is ever loaded.

Jillian Kossman | Linkedin

IDScan.net | Linkedin

IDScan.net

2026 supply chain & logistics ID fraud report

The state of digital IDs in 2026: A complete guide

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "Built to Last: Inside Holman Logistics", Joe Lynch speaks with President and COO of Holman Logistics, Mike Gardner, about how the company's 162-year heritage, safety-first culture, and long-term customer partnerships drive sustainable growth in today's supply chain landscape.

Mike Gardner is the President & COO of Holman Logistics, a national third-party logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. With a 40-plus-year career in supply chain management, Mike has held executive roles at GATX Logistics, APL Logistics, and DHL Supply Chain, previously serving as CEO of Kane Logistics before advising in 3PL, real estate, and venture capital. At Holman, he oversees 1,400 team members, over eight million square feet of distribution space, and a nationwide transportation network. Mike holds an MBA from Southern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science from Miami University, where he serves on the Center for Supply Chain Excellence board. Passionate about empowering family businesses, he is also a founding board member of ALAN. Beyond logistics, this former high school chef, Cincinnati native, father of three, and marathoner has raised $7.4 million for cancer research over 16 years through Pelotonia.

Holman Logistics is a national third-party logistics (3PL) provider offering multi-client warehousing, manufacturing support, and nationwide transportation solutions. Founded in 1864 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the privately held company manages over eight million square feet of distribution space and operates a network spanning 20 locations across nine states. Operating with over 1,400 team members, Holman specializes in high-exacting verticals, including consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, ingredients, pet food, and major appliances. Its core capabilities range from contract warehousing, plant sub-assembly, and Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) services to private fleet shipping, dedicated shuttles, freight brokerage, and direct-to-consumer ecommerce fulfillment. Grounded in a culture prioritizing operational safety and long-term customer partnerships, Holman balances its multi-generational heritage with modern operational capabilities—incorporating advanced automation, continuous improvement programs, and AI-enabled site tools to deliver consistent, high-performance execution.

• In "Built to Last: Inside Holman Logistics", Joe Lynch speaks with President and COO of Holman Logistics, Mike Gardner, about how the company's 162-year heritage, safety-first culture, and long-term customer partnerships drive sustainable growth in today's supply chain landscape.
• Safety as an Operational Strategy ("Journey to Zero"): Holman Logistics treats safety not as a metric compared to industry averages, but as a non-negotiable core value targeting zero incidents. Operational safety sets the foundation for service quality, and every associate is empowered to "own the stop button" to pause unsafe operations.
• 162+ Years of Adaptability: Founded during the Lincoln administration and family-owned for over a century, Holman's longevity is proof of continuous adaptation—navigating world wars, recessions, deregulation, and eccommerce growth by staying close to customer needs.
• Culture Drives Retention and Service Consistency: In an industry plagued by high turnover, Holman relies on a people-first, performance-driven culture—reinforced by leadership orientations and awards like the Bob Downie Legacy Award—to retain experienced associates who know the customer's business inside out.
• True Strategic Partnership Over Transactional Service: Holman builds long-term, embedded relationships (some lasting since the 1960s) using open communication, system integration, and gain-sharing models that align financial incentives around mutual cost savings and continuous improvement.
• Nimble Innovation Without Tech Hype: Holman balances legacy heritage with modern capabilities. As a privately held "thinking company," it rapidly adopts practical technology—such as AI vision tools on forklifts for training—while quickly discarding tech that doesn't add operational value.
• Private Ownership as a Strategic Advantage: Unlike 3PLs beholden to private equity exit timelines or quarterly public earnings, Holman's multi-generational family leadership offers stability, long-term capital planning, and agility when customizing solutions for mid-market shippers.
• Focusing on Core Complex Markets: Holman deliberately specializes in high-exacting verticals—including CPG, ingredients, pet food, and major appliances—providing tailored services ranging from plant sub-assembly and store-door delivery to Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) support and final-mile execution.

Mike Gardner | Linkedin

Holman Logistics | Linkedin

Holman Logistics

Costco | Acquired

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "SPS Commerce: Optimize Speed to Revenue", Joe Lynch and Wes Arentson, Senior Sales Manager, Logistics at SPS Commerce, discuss how streamlining the supply chain's Order-to-Cash cycle is the key to accelerating business growth.

Wes Arentson is a Sales Manager at SPS Commerce. He leads a logistics sales team focused on providing 3PLs and Carriers with tools to optimize their supply chains, connect with their partners more efficiently and make onboarding new customers easy. Wes has over 15 years of experience in supply chain and technology helping customers solve business problems with software and automation.

SPS Commerce is the world's leading retail network, connecting trading partners across the globe to optimize supply chain operations for all stakeholders in the retail ecosystem. The company enables data-driven partnerships through innovative cloud-based technology, customer-centric service, and a team of accessible industry experts—allowing clients to focus on their core business. With over 45,000 recurring revenue customers spanning retail, grocery, distribution, supply, manufacturing, and logistics, SPS Commerce powers a vast and growing global retail network.

• In "Optimize Speed to Revenue", Joe Lynch and Wes Arentson, Senior Sales Manager, Logistics at SPS Commerce, discuss how streamlining the supply chain's Order-to-Cash cycle is the key to accelerating business growth.
• Direct Correlation: Order-to-Cash Speed = Revenue Acceleration. The single most critical factor in optimizing revenue is the speed of your Order-to-Cash (O2C) cycle. Wes stresses that every inefficiency in processing orders, from receipt to payment, translates directly into delayed revenue. Streamlining O2C with efficient data exchange is the fastest way to pull cash forward.
• Stop Margin Leaks by Eliminating Disconnected Systems. Learn how disjointed or manual systems create costly margin leaks—the silent erosion of profitability. These leaks are often caused by the lack of connection between trading partner portals, forcing manual data re-entry and increasing the risk of chargebacks and penalties.
• EDI as the Foundation for Impeccable Data Quality. At the core of SPS Commerce's success is the commitment to data quality. Listeners will understand that clean, standardized, and automated data transmission via modern EDI is essential not just for compliance, but for enabling accurate forecasting and preventing operational errors for all SPS Commerce customers.
• Master Retailer Scorecards by Fixing Data Exchange. Achieving and exceeding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs)—the foundation of retailer scorecards and milestones—is non-negotiable. Wes explains that a failure to meet these standards is often a symptom of poor EDI connections or the lack thereof, not operational failure. Automated, accurate EDI is the fix.
• Accelerate Onboarding with Proven Compliance and Security. Wes highlights the comprehensive service offered by SPS Commerce, focusing on mapping, testing, compliance, and security. This end-to-end approach drastically shaves weeks off the process of onboarding new trading partners, ensuring systems are instantly compliant and secure, which minimizes risk and accelerates time-to-revenue.
• The EDI Advantage: Consolidate Portals and Win More Tenders. True efficiency moves beyond basic EDI compliance. By consolidating disparate retailer portals into one platform, you eliminate the "swivel-chair" chaos. This improved efficiency and performance not only stops margin leaks but directly improves your scorecard performance, helping you win more high-value tenders.
• Future-Proof Partnerships with Automated Data Strategy. The conversation culminates in the shift from tactical order management to a strategic, data-driven approach. Wes advocates for using centralized EDI to build continuous learning and accountability, allowing companies to focus less on manual data work and more on connecting world-class technology with senior executives who control budget and strategy.

Wes Arentson | Linkedin

SPS Commerce | Linkedin

SPS Commerce

Woods Distribution Case Study

Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics Case Study

Jay Group Case Study

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In "How to Turn Freight Data into Audit-Ready Scope 3 Reporting", Joe Lynch and Michael Rentz, Chief Revenue Officer at Gnosis Freight, discuss how operational-grade logistics data automatically simplifies complex carbon compliance.

Michael Rentz is the Chief Revenue Officer at Gnosis Freight. He joined the company in the Summer of 2020. Before joining Gnosis, he got his start in the industry with the South Carolina Ports Authority and Maersk. He left Maersk in 2018 to pursue his own endeavors, which eventually led him back to Charleston, SC, where he worked for Techstars in an attempt to stand up the first-ever Supply Chain and Logistics Accelerator. The pandemic put an unexpected halt to that, and it was then that he fortuitously met Austin McCombs (CEO/Founder of Gnosis) and Jake Hoffman (CTO of Gnosis).

Gnosis Freight is the AI-native Global Freight Operating System for enterprise supply chains. It gives logistics, operations, and finance teams real-time insight into container movement and helps them Intervene earlier when delays, inventory risk, or cost exposure arise. By linking containers to SKU- and Inventory-level detail, Gnosis enables smarter planning, improved product availability, and more predictable business performance. Powered by continuously reconciled container Intelligence, Gnosis orchestrates exception management through configurable, low-code workflow and agentic AI across logistics, finance, and operation – reducing demurrage and detention, accelerating invoice resolution, and shortening goods-to-cash cycles. Headquartered In Charleston, SC, Gnosis serves global enterprises across retail, manufacturing, and logistics-intensive industries. Learn more at gnosisfreight.com.

• In "How to Turn Freight Data into Audit-Ready Scope 3 Reporting", Joe Lynch and Michael Rentz, Chief Revenue Officer at Gnosis Freight, discuss how operational-grade logistics data automatically simplifies complex carbon compliance.
• The Foundation of Scope 3 Reporting is "Sovereign Data": Accurate emissions reporting is impossible without high-fidelity operational data. Gnosis Freight utilizes "sovereign data"—logistics data they originate, validate, and structure directly from primary sources (ports, terminals, carriers, and railroads) rather than relying on third-party aggregators or high-level assumptions. If your operational data isn't audit-ready, your carbon reporting won't be either.
• Regulatory Shifts are Turning ESG from a Checkbox into a Mandate: With major regulatory updates like California's SB 253 looming in 2027, large enterprises (doing over $1B in revenue) that touch these key economies will be legally required to disclose their Scope 3 emissions. What was once a marketing slide about "valuing the environment" is rapidly transitioning into a strict, auditable corporate compliance requirement.
• Solving the Category 4 "Data Black Hole": Scope 3, Category 4 emissions (upstream transportation and distribution) are notoriously fragmented and difficult to track. By overlaying the GLEC (Global Logistics Emissions Council) framework directly onto their existing container tracking data, Gnosis calculates precise emissions across every single leg of the journey—ocean transit, port idling, rail, and final-mile drayage—without requiring manual spreadsheets or guesswork.
• Shippers Want a Unified Operating System, Not More "Point Solutions": Enterprise Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) are experiencing software fatigue and actively moving away from single-use point solutions. Instead of buying a standalone carbon tracking tool, shippers want emissions data embedded directly into their daily workflow. Gnosis solves this by making carbon tracking a seamless "flip of a switch" within their broader Container Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform.
• Data Must Be "Operational-Grade" to Be Useful: In logistics, if data is only 80% accurate, it is functionally 0% useful because operators will simply bypass the system and default to manual website cross-checking. For emissions data to survive a financial or regulatory audit, it must be built on the same operational-grade, real-time milestones used to run daily supply chain execution.
• FinOps and Carbon Audits Share the Same DNA: There is a direct parallel between auditing freight invoices and auditing carbon emissions. Gnosis found that 85% of invoice discrepancies stem from incorrect operational milestones (like when a container was actually made available). By mastering these physical execution milestones, Gnosis can simultaneously spot billing overpayments in their FinOps suite and defend carbon calculations in an emissions audit.
• Build Solutions by Getting in the Trenches with Customers: Gnosis's rapid growth—from navigating the pandemic's demurrage and detention (D&D) chaos to launching carbon tracking—has been entirely customer-driven. Rather than building flashy tech in a vacuum, their strategy is to deeply embed themselves with logistics managers, solve their immediate operational headaches first, and give them their time back to focus on strategic growth.

Michael Rentz | Linkedin

Gnosis Freight | Linkedin

Gnosis Freight

Gnosis Freight: The Journey Between The Ships

Carbon Emissions Landing Page

Carbon Emissions Upcoming Webinar

Carbon Emissions Whitepaper

Gnosis Freight LinkedIn

Testimonials & Case Studies

Container Lifecycle Management: Gnosis Freight Streamlines International Logistics with Jake Hoffman

The Container Payment Portal and the Rise of AI in Freight with Jake Hoffman

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues.
• The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast
• Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube