289: Achieve Control, Capacity and Care, with Estes Forwarding Worldwide

Today I’m joined by unique global freight forwarder, Estes Forwarding Worldwide (EFW). EFW is one of the leading domestic and international freight forwarders in the US, providing customized logistics solutions for clients around the world and across all industries including retail, government, automotive, health services and technology. Whether it’s air, ground, or ocean freight, they take a personal approach, and are passionate about fostering the best customer relationships possible, and exceeding expectations each and every time. A subsidiary of Estes Express Lines, and with over 400 employees nationwide, the company earned its billionth dollar in revenue in 2017. Today Michael Campese, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Estes Forwarding Worldwide, joins me to chat all about the company: what they do; the rising focus on home delivery; moving from fixed to flexible; and why everyone needs to be thinking about capacity.   IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:   [07.29] The evolution of EFW, and on overview of their broad range of services. “Some of our best customers are those that we get to do a lot of things for. A lot of our relationships start with one or two solutions, and they grow and expand.” [10.11] The current landscape of the trucking industry, the main challenges, and how EFW are tackling these challenges to help their customers gain a competitive advantage. “We’re not constrained… we have 10,000 asset providers that we work with, and we’re backed by this great network.” [13.49] A closer look at EFW’s Net Promoter Score and the growing importance of customer service and satisfaction. “It’s not just: ‘on a scale of one to ten, how happy were you, how satisfied were you?’ It’s: ‘how likely would you be to refer us?’ And that’s a more critical lens.”   [17.31] The ecommerce boom: the changes EFW have seen over the last few years, the challenges that the industry is still facing, and how EFW are responding. “Supply chain is full of bottlenecks and opportunities for things to go wrong… great partners are the ones that try to get ahead, try to learn ‘why did that happen last time and lets avoid it in the future’ - but when it does happen, they recover quickly.” [19.13] A closer look at EFW’s warehousing capacity and solutions, and how they can scale and flex to meet changing customer demand in a volatile market. “Being a forwarder and a logistics provider, and also having space, has allowed us to come to our customers… who couldn’t rely on just-in-time inventory anymore, and we’ve been able to pull that into our facilities and help them in a lot of ways.” [21.14] An insight into how, and why, customers typically engage with EFW, and how they work together to create the right solution. [22.52] The ideal client for ESW. “Our ideal clients want to come to the table, in earnest, and have good strategic conversations…. It’s collaborative.” [24.28] A case study showing how EFW helped a key customer to tackle capacity constraints and delivery restrictions in order to meet quickly rising product demand during COVID.   RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:   Head over to EFW’s website now to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with EFW and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook, or you can connect with Michael on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, why not check out episode 285, Unlock the Power of Partnerships, with Cargo Chief and Hubtek, or read our blog Managing Crisis and Adversity in Uncertain Times: What We Have Learned from the Covid-19 Pandemic and What to Do and Not Do When Facing a Crisis. Check out our other podcasts HERE.