Greg Brown injects years of transportation and procurement experience into IL2000's promise to embody excellence with crafted transportation solutions for their clients.
Greg Brown shares his experience since joining IL2000 as Director of LTL Pricing & Revenue Management in October of last year. "It's been exciting; it's been challenging. I had to grow into the role. I had a lot of transportation and procurement background but needed to learn the flow of the company, how we do things here at IL2000.
"Everybody's systems are a little bit different. There were some areas where IL2000 was doing things better than places I'd worked before. The emphasis on quality of data stood out, as well as the in-depth work IL2000 does on the front end to understand a new opportunity in detail across the full order-to-cash process. The approach is very thorough and more in-depth than anything I'd seen previously.
"It's been a great year. We've had some good success, and it's been exciting to help growth for the company and deliver successful solutions to our clients."
Finding trucks to move things
Finding trucks to move things is the simple explanation Brown uses when talking with his five-year-old son about what he and his team do every day. But there's a lot more to it.
"When talking to a business owner, I'd say we have a comprehensive process, and we leverage our industry knowledge, our carrier relationships, and our best practices and procedures in bids, implementations, and our discovery process. We bring this all together and build a custom solution -- the best possible solution -- to meet the needs of their supply chain. We bring our expertise to bear on their behalf, and the results speak for themselves. We find success for ourselves and success for our clients."
Finding cost savings while preserving service: Brown's pledge
Brown doesn't hesitate when asked to name what he sees clients struggling with the most. "The eternal struggle is the need to balance cost with service: To get the service you need but at a cost that is sustainable. I'd like to think of it as a fair cost."
"We find cost savings for our clients all the time, but not at the expense of service." -Brown
"You can have a great rate on paper, but if the solution isn't executable, if it fails, then you haven't accomplished anything. So, it's important to balance these things and understand, as we move through the process, the carriers' strengths and weaknesses and the client's particular needs. Armed with this information, we are sure to make the right decision and build the right solution. One that delivers not only a fair cost to the client but also the execution that they need to be successful in their business."
Carrier relationships are crucial. Brown explains that consistent, precise communication with carriers is key to success in pricing and operations.
"If you don't have a good relationship with your carriers - if you don't understand them, if they don't understand you and what you need - you're not going to be successful. You have to know their strengths and weaknesses. You have to strive to be collaborative, and you have to help them help you build the best solution."
A 3PL brings a lot of efficiencies to the process as far as integration with carriers, including technology and procurement. IL2000 also wields its book of business. "We're not one shipper alone. We have the value of the entire portfolio. As an individual shipper, it's much harder to leverage those efficiencies that scale to your advantage."
Taking the market by skill and confidence
It's a very competitive environment out there. Brown knows every day that he must be the best to keep the competition at bay.
"Our focus on precision is what sets us apart. It's that deep dive, that deep understanding of our client's needs, our carriers' capabilities, and where the market is at in terms of freight rates and bringing that all together.
"And then with our technology, being able to build those solutions and execute them. We aim for excellence. In crafting solutions for existing and potential clients we always strive for utmost precision.”
"Our deep dive and precision are what differentiates us from our competition." - Brown