Ep. 39 | Business Intelligence. Information Technology. Marketing. It’s All In A Day’s Work!

Ep. 39 | Business Intelligence. Information Technology. Marketing. It’s All In A Day’s Work!

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well and let me I'm going to make a parenthetical  comment here real quickly you know we're obviously   from disparate generational cohorts to put it that  way and uh Jordan will often be inquiring whether   he's saying it or not do we really need paper  do we need like we had a podcast here recently   and I just wanted something  sketched out on a piece of paper   and william and Jordan are both a  byproduct of a very important generation   and critical to freight works but the  old guy wanted something sketched out life by the mile delivered by freightworks is  your 30-minute weekly podcast adventure you'll   hear the hearts soul and passions of those who  keep america moving join us we're ready to roll   in this episode of wipe of the mile delivered by  freightworks we have jordan kidd he's the director   of business intelligent marketing and i.t it's  going to be an exciting episode you learn more   about how he came to the company what he does  every day and why our commitment to drivers is   unshakable life of the mile delivered by freight  works you'll enjoy this it's another exciting   episode of life of the mile delivered by freight  works listen folks if you've not subscribed make   sure that you do that become a digital ambassador  get these great stories out to the marketplace   we're here and committed to you what an exciting  opportunity today we have jordan kidd he's the   director of business intelligence he also is a  point person on marketing and i.t i've referred   to him as freightworks swiss army knife he's going  to cover a lot of different exciting things jordan   it's great to have you glad to be here now you  know because you were there at ground zero when   there was the conceptualization of the podcast  you know about the details and typically what   we ask and we often start out with the question  who are you and how did you get to freight work   so why don't you start there so i've i've worked  for josh farmer in various capacities since 2007.  

the president and president and founder of freight  works and so to cut a long story short um worked   for him in various companies that he had prior to  freight works the latest of which was fuel works   the biodiesel company where we took restaurant  grease and and turned it into biodiesel which was   somewhat the impetus for founding freight works  uh so you needed a truck right right so on the on   the day when we bid on the truck that was um i was  there with with josh working at the fuel plant and   um did anyone say what did we just do uh yes  i i don't know if um if that was the immediate   reaction but eventually we realized that we we  had we have a truck yes absolutely we were we were   in and ready to learn about trucking uh so uh yeah  fuel works was quite an interesting experience and   then the you know gradually i grad i shifted the  majority of my time from the fuel operation to the   trucking operation and um yeah there was there  was so much to learn and it was get a lot to do   yeah a lot to do um josh first basically josh did  everything and and you know to get the trucking   launched and then i started to help him with  that and um there was a lot of learn as you go um   we were learning fast and and and it's been that  way ever since now what's so interesting to me is   that the dna of freight works it just appears to  me is decisions can be made very quickly you turn   on a dime and of course a lot of the logistics  work requires all of that where did you finally   have like your first slotted assignment have you  ever had that or has it always been wearing lots   of different hats i'm not sure that i've reached  that point yet uh is still still juggling a number   of things at any given time right and it's just  the nature of of the work and of course in in   the position that you're in you're really part of  the nerve center of what's going on there so let   let's talk a little bit i know your days are never  predictable because you never know what the next   incident is going to be but talk a little  bit about what a day might include for you   well through the years i've i've basically um  filled quite a number of different roles within   the trucking company to some degree  i've done a little bit of everything   thankfully as as we've grown we've added  people and i've i've shed a lot of those   um responsibilities or tasks to other people and  we have an amazing team now that that that uh   allows me to focus in in other areas so um yeah i  i each day i i think it's um it's a new challenge   every day but also you can build on what you've  learned uh from from every previous challenge so   kind of like the same song second verse right you  gotta you gotta take the same things that you've   learned from from each of the the prior challenges  and and uh tackle each problem as it comes up now   let's talk let's talk about the term business  intelligence what does that mean practically   for a company like freightworks because it's a  term that's in vogue you hear it but what does it   mean for freight work specifically and how would  that inspire confidence and drivers and customers   that we actually have somebody that has that  as part of their moniker business intelligence   yeah so basically business intelligence is  taking the data that we we have as a company and   uh translating it into meaningful actionable  uh metrics you know things that we can make   decisions off of and observing trends and data  and give an example like get for the uninformed   or people that aren't in the weeds day to day on  analytics give a practical example of what might   be a grid or a coefficient or something you're  looking at yeah so a real simple one would be like   a rate per mile in in different lanes so  monitoring the market rates in different lanes   uh observing you know what the market's  doing because trucking markets are always   volatile they're volatile it's it's  a free enterprise uh open market and   and uh you've got the the full forces of you  know your basic economic supply and demand and   and everything else playing into that so uh  observing those things and making uh obser   making observations from the data and then uh  offering you know business or data driven business   decisions well you know we had a practical example  this recently folks and again a quick reminder   please subscribe to the youtube channel if you've  not done that yet it's the way that you can ensure   you'll get notifications about these episodes as  they come jordan we had the opportunity recently   for me to see firsthand how that works in the  trenches because you were trying to determine the   value of certain marketing dollars that were  being applied to various channels and so to   be able to say the cost per inquiry is this and  the cost per completed application is this and   the cost to get somebody actually here all of  those things are critical isn't it in making   decisions to keep the company sound and  solvent yeah i i really enjoy it it's it's uh   it's it's good to know that it's good to  see the results of things that you're doing   and make sure that that they're moving in the  right direction now tell me a little bit about   uh what you're seeing in the marketplace in this  whole area of driver recruitment you know when   i come in and we have uh ad hoc meetings little  quick meetings with william and you uh so often   i really appreciate the opportunity to pick up  some nuggets about what you're seeing in the   whole driver recruitment area what what are you  what are you seeing out there in the marketplace   we know it's competitive we know there's a lot  of turnover but what are some of the things that   are perhaps informed by data that you're seeing or  things that you've read or yeah so i think there's   there's a couple of things i look at and  and one is obviously you know you see what   rate per or you know what cents per mile people  are paying the drivers and that sort of thing   but then there's also another side of it which is  how are they taking care of their people and the   culture that that different companies offer and  so i i really enjoy the challenge of of blending   you know competitive numbers and competitive  data and and and looking closely at that but also   making sure that our our our softer  you know side of things the the the   uh care and respect and the empathy that we  embody as a company make sure that that is also   translated through our marketing to the drivers  right because as we've talked many times before so   many companies say the same thing we're committed  to home time we're going to give you good money   you're going to get good rates you're not going  to sit there you're going to get good trucks so   we're really having part of your challenge from a  marketing standpoint our challenge is to present   the value proposition for freight works and you've  been here since the beginning when you talk about   freight works to people that are uninformed how  do you describe the company well um because you've   been in the middle of the fishbowl if you will  and as we're inviting other fish this is a great   place for you to come uh it may be hard but  describe freight works i think one thing that   we do really well um if i may say is taking a a  custom approach to things and not just treating   uh everyone with a a broad brush um everyone's  life is different and everyone has different needs   and i can't say we're perfect um but we do try to  listen to what your needs are and see in what ways   we can you know alter what we're doing to match  your needs and i think that's what drivers uh   don't experience in in a lot of companies and  that's why you know there's a lot of turnover in   the industry i i think that you know uh whoever  can can best evaluate the needs of the driver   and best uh alter the operation to you know  within bounds to alter the operation to   match the driver's needs that's that's the  ultimate match now jordan talk a little bit   about just the multiplicity the number of  different tools that we're increasingly using   i mean uh we're really birthing a communications  function for works uh that includes uh going to   mats you know for the first time i believe so  talk a little bit because i think it reflects   some of your god-given abilities and actually  some of your motivated abilities to pull all that   together talk a little bit about what we're going  to do at mats and what you see happening there   and why we're going and why it matters for drivers  sure so we have done a number of we've had a   number of different strategies over the years for  recruiting drivers some your more traditional job   boards and and you know traditional craigslist  and and those type of things um but we're seeing   diminishing returns on on some of those efforts  and so we've in the past year or so we've pivoted   and focused more on a content-based marketing  strategy so um putting out more content that gives   people the insight of the inside of the company  uh which previously you couldn't have experienced   unless you had either worked here or talked to  someone who had worked here so i think that's a   a key pivot that we've made in the past year or so  and uh and we're continuing to you know uh try out   new channels and new new distribution and social  media in different areas and things like that   and so the the match show mid-america trucking  show uh later this year is is is a part of that um   bringing the podcast to mats uh so we'll  be doing some live streaming from from   the show we'll also do some special pre-recorded  interviews with uh some industry leaders and   thought leaders who are there um and and multiple  other opportunities that we'll have to talk to   drivers and people from all the other parts of the  industry who are key vendors and partners and and   grow our network that way you know we we've  got a number of incredibly exciting things   that are happening really in the current season  that we're in uh being involved in a an entity   like mats is one the podcast is another we also  have a peterbilt acquisition a fleet upgrade   from your vantage point uh you know there's a lot  that that will do and not do but talk a little bit   about that i mean we've got a strategic alliance  with peterbilt talk about what that's going to do   for freightworks and why it's going to matter  to drivers well i believe that's just another   example of of where we are aiming to provide  uh the ultimate driver experience so um peter   builds a brand that has you know that they pride  themselves in in class and and that's what we want   to offer to our drivers in in the truck uh because  people often forget uh driving a truck it's not   like driving a car that you you go ten minutes  to work and then you're in your office all day   when you drive a truck that is your office it's  your it's your commuting vehicle it's also your   home um and so whatever whatever upgrades we can  offer to drivers uh to what's basically their home   uh for the majority of their life um we're happy  to do that you know the truck industry and truck   drivers specifically have really had to develop  an adaptiveness to technology uh talk a little   bit just in the time that you've been here  at freightworks about some of the technology   applications the different companies mcleod  i'd like you to paint a picture i'd like   jordan to paint a picture for just a couple  of minutes about what technology really means   up against the stated commitment the convictions  and values of freight works to care about people   a lot of times people say it's either you care  about people or you're focused on technology   just talk a little bit about some of the tools  that we have and and how it matters for drivers   yeah so we we try to be high-tech  and high-touch at the same time   and and that's something that i personally have  had to work on um i i came from more of a computer   science background and so i was basically abhorred  when i saw the fax machines and clipboards when i   got into trucking i was like what is this well  let me i'm gonna make a parenthetical comment   here real quickly you know we're obviously from  disparate generational cohorts to put it that way   and uh jordan will often be inquiring whether  he's saying it or not do we really need paper   do we need like we had a podcast here recently and  i just wanted something sketched out on a piece of   paper and william and jordan are both a byproduct  of a very important generation and critical to   freightworks but the old guy wanted something  sketched out so in any event technology applied   well really matters for drivers right yeah so uh  i believe technology should either be elegant or   invisible um so if it is something that you have  to learn and you to use it should be elegant and   it should be easy to use or it should be that  technology uh removes a you know a friction   point from the driver's job and so i'm working  on a number of efforts right now to to do that   and one example is our eld solution you know all  drivers have to use an eld but not all elds are   created the same and and and just removing a  little bit of friction from that process it's   a daily thing uh because that was hard for a  number of drivers right yes and and oftentimes   uh it was made worse or made more difficult by  poor technology so um always looking for for   better technologies to to streamline the driver  experience um make things run smoother better   faster easier um so that we can have time to talk  about things that matter not broken technology   right right and talk a little bit about the cloud  we've been in the cloud user for a while right   yeah so we've we uh first explained the uninformed  what the cloud is so mcleod is our our core tms uh   transportation management system it's it's  the the kind of central repository for all the   uh everything that happens in the trucking company  and and and you know from customers to drivers uh   you know and and so forth so um i've been part of  of the effort of implementing that i think i've um   i think through the years we sourced two or three  other tms's before mcleod mcleod being one of the   industry leaders and so um as early as we could we  signed up with mcleod and and have been working on   you know implementing their technology um and it's  been a good experience now when you look jordan   at because i know that you you read and and you  study what's happening in the industry when you   look up ahead what are some of the things that you  you're seeing that might be market changers from a   technology standpoint i mean are we going to see  a day where ai has an influence on load planning   and driver dispatching and i mean just talk a  little bit about what you see up around the corner   yeah so there's a lot of individual technologies  that i believe can play together to really improve   the driver experience that's what i'm always  looking for is not to get caught up in the flashy   buzzwords of technology which is a you know it's  the temptation sometimes but you've got to look   at specifically how it addresses a problem  that is that is happening today and ai you   know it's one of those things that can definitely  improve operations streamline things um there's a   lot of things that that happen within within the  operational side of a trucking company that are   uh repetitive and and and tedious if you will  for for for people to do and those are easily   replaced by you know a well-written software  that that can you know do the same thing just   quicker and easier and you know again the result  is that you can get back you can get an answer   back to your drivers quicker um or you know they  can see their their payroll in you know closer to   real time rather than you know a week in the hole  um you know just all those different things uh it   we like to focus on the driver experience and and  then you know work from the problem back to the   technology rather than pushing technology um first  and then seeing where you can you know use it if   you work from the problem back to the technology  it's always much better that's an excellent way   to say it and you know one of the things that i  found through the years with a lot of business   consulting is one of the more disruptive seasons  for any company is when they had a software change   most certainly right yes i mean it it hits the  culture it hits the practice it can create a lot   of vegetation so it's not just great technology  i mean i've known it teams and companies that   have the next best something but appreciating  the impact on the culture on business process   bottom line people that are resistant knowing who  they call them sometimes the lead buffaloes who   are the drivers that if you get them behind it  they're going to say yeah this is a good thing   is all of that true absolutely um implementation  is a big part of it and and there's a difference   on the you know sometimes the tendency is you  want to be on the bleeding edge of technology   versus the cutting edge and i we we we try to stay  on the cutting edge where we can keep up with it   and we can implement it well rather than being out  a little bit you know there's a tendency to to to   get the absolute latest thing that sometimes uh  if the bugs aren't worked out yet it could be a   lot more catastrophic well and this is where i've  seen in business enterprises through the years   when ego gets in the way because you want to be  the first and you don't realize you can benefit   from somebody else's investment for the mistakes  that will result in modifications that you will   be the beneficiary of that could be extremely  important now let's talk real quickly about   mirai as an example like some people might say  why in the world would you consider that can you   give an example of the calculus the methodology  of you know this is why freightworks would even   consider that in practical terms yeah so uh the  mirror i demo which is a a system that basically   replaces the wing mirrors on a truck with cameras  and monitors inside the cab um they came out here   and did a demo and i was i was actually um along  for the first demo ride with one of the drivers   and the driver the first test driver was skeptical  right so he's kind of an old school guy he's like   you know you're not giving me computers instead  of a mirror are you and and you know so i was   along for the ride uh no one was trying to sell  him on anything it was just try this out and see   how you like it we took a 10 minute ride and after  about five minutes he's like hey i didn't have to   swing forward in my seat to see the  rear of the trailer when i was turning   right which is a driver comforter yeah exactly  and more than comfort i mean and safety i mean   he knew what was at the tail of his  trailer without having to you know   swing where he couldn't really control the truck  well and long story short after a 10-minute test   ride he's like rip the mirrors off give me the  cameras so that's great that's that's an example   of of you know uh a technology that can improve  drivers experience and safety at the same time   that's really good and it really reflects the  conviction and the culture of freight works we   want to do things that help the driver right  that's right yeah you know what let's let's go   ahead and uh take an exchange here in a different  direction i want to talk about the most important   thing we're going to talk about that's your family  uh jordan one of the things it's happened a number   of times that i appreciate so much and i know  it grows out of a heart that you have a personal   faith in jesus and conviction and the way you  organize your life is i love the way you interact   with your boys so tell us about your children  your family yeah so i've i've got three boys   three wonderful boys um three under five so a  four-year-old a two and a half year old and a   ten month old right now and uh yeah when i get  home my day starts over again um which is great   uh it it's an excellent experience of learning  to teach them the things that i've learned um and   and just learn along with them uh i i'm it's an  experience that's hard to describe but it's it's   one that i prize dearly you know jordan i have to  tell you this and and folks one of the things that   we have is a fundamental value at freight works  and it's been said in programs before and josh   farmer the founder and the president very much  consistently reinforces this along with joyce   the vp of operations we call them paparae everyone  in a leadership position we're very committed to   families and it's not uh get all the work done and  then if you have anything left go be a dad go be   a mom it's not that way at all and i have to tell  you i've been so thrilled when i get videos from   when you're playing with your boys and you know  what i have to tell you you got a son and i'm sure   it's going gonna be true with all of them it's got  a lot of you in them because folks i want to tell   you this it's not just a game it's games are great  it's like construction projects so give me give me   one or two examples because it's just so precious  of the kinds of projects that you got going on   oh like lego projects yeah there are many examples  lego's a good one because that's something that i   learned and and it feels like a big part of what  i do every day is still a a big lego a big yeah a   big version of legos dump out all the where's that  piece yes where is that piece most of the time   there's not instructions um so it's it's learn as  you go that's been my my life story more or less   and um and doing that with them is is  really really fun and rewarding uh also   you got to learn to follow the instructions  too so there's a balance between   following the instructions building it as it's as  it's supposed to be and then there's other thing   times that you don't have instructions you've got  to build it from scratch well you know the one   video that that you sent where the identification  was made we're on step number 152 or whatever yeah   yeah simeon yeah so he's four years old and he's  doing eight-year-old legos but but it's it's fun   for him it was just i have to tell you this i just  saw so much of you in in that moment and of course   one time your family graciously took me to the  airport and then they made pictures of airplanes   and all the like it just it's wonderful to see  and when freightworks says that it's committed to   family you see it in the lives of the people that  are in leadership here is the company and when   we say we care about a driver's family we really  mean it we know that there's going to be a moment   where the truck pulls home if they go home or the  car pulls up and there are little eyes looking out   through the window there's dad or there's mom  that's come home and we never ever want to lose   sight of that jordan as you look ahead with  the podcast specifically what what are some   of the things that you're seeing can you give  the the people that are watching on youtube   and listening on the audio platforms a sense of  what this might be looking like a year from now   well time frames are hard to commit  to a little bit when when there's a   lot of competing priorities building the wagon  while we're driving yes yes but um i i believe   one of the things that that we want to do is is  uh offer you know compelling conversations of of   of what drivers lives are like you know the  front line of trucking and and i think we've   we've just got started on that and i think it's  we've got a lot of good conversations coming   and then to bring in industry experts from  different areas and and talk about the other   parts of the trucking industry that's not  behind the steering wheel and i think uh   between those two we've got a lot of exciting  engaging conversations ahead well you know   we've talked about even some additional  content that's not related necessarily to   life by the mile you know it might be something  like tool time or it might be other examples of   what's going on there in the marketplace and  really for a smaller company and how would you   describe the company just in the marketplace i  mean terms of size were how many trucks these   days yeah we're about 125 trucks uh up from one  truck 10 years ago so fairly rapid growth and   uh and still growing and so we're we're a small  to medium-sized family-owned trucking company   right here in western north carolina which we've  come to understand is really a strategic place i   mean when you look at the map uh where  we are in rutherfordton north carolina   puts us just describe that real quickly  i mean the reason it's strategic is what   yeah so we're um i mean semi-locally we're  we're kind of an hour away from four or five   key cities or you know areas like that and  then uh on the east coast we we we've got a   lot of runs that that run you know from the  gulf coast all the way up to the northeast   and and they go right through where we are and  we're able to you know leverage our location and   and split things up and in ways that make make  it easier for drivers to stay closer to their   home areas sometimes and um and then heading west  we're right off of i-40 so we we do a lot of runs   you know out west and back and and so  uh north carolina is a great place uh   it's it's been a great place to go trucking  and it's a real business friendly state   as well talk real quickly before we end about  uh where our drop yards are and burnley and just   the map of where we've got our footprint yeah so  our main our main locations are are western north   carolina we've got a gulfport mississippi terminal  and a firmly nevada terminal near reno nevada um   so those are those are our main hubs and then  we've got drop yards in multiple places in north   carolina tennessee virginia pennsylvania um yeah  so we've we've got a bit of a network going on and   um key key places that that allow  us to meet those drivers needs again   you know uh jordan you know this already  just looking at the clock we're almost uh   it's at the end i i've been with jordan kidd  today he's the director of business intelligent   the point person on marketing on i.t he has  a closet metaphorically speaking with many   hats and he's not sure any given day which  one he has to pull out of the haberdashery   but what we do know is this it's not just what we  do here at freightworks it's why we do what we do   and it's without apology that i'll remind you  that while we have a diverse team of drivers   and even staff we are a company that is firmly  predicated on biblical values we do things because   it's the right thing to do and not just because  it's our heart to do it that way it's because we   believe that's the guiding north star of our life  and uh jordan it's been great to have you here   i was going to offer you a yeti mug or a cap  but what i know is that you're the keeper   of the yeti mugs and the caps and you're able to  get one of those if you need one and i also know   that you're a good steward and probably in your  heart you would say let's save those for another   guest but listen when you're a guest unlocked by  the mile delivered by freight works a yeti magari   cap is in store for you in the days ahead it's  been great to have you here jordan it's been great   to be here this is life but the mile delivered  by freightworks make sure you hit that subscriber   button push this out on your social media we're  here to tell the exciting stories of drivers   trucking and logistics it's an incredibly  important industry learn more in the days   ahead we look forward to seeing you on our twice a  week broadcast schedule on youtube and on podcast   platforms everywhere thank you thanks for watching  this episode you know life by the mile delivered   by freightworks is one of the newest largest and  fastest growing podcasts actually produced by a   trucking company now we want you to like and share  this episode if you'd like to see more episodes   click here and make sure that you subscribe to  this channel by clicking here we'll see you there you

2022-01-22 06:20

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