The final day of Connections 2023 kicked off with Webb Estes, president and COO of Estes Express Lines, sharing insights from his career as a leader in the LTL market. Estes Express Lines is the largest family-owned trucking company in the United States and the fifth-largest LTL carrier with $4.4 billion in revenue. 

The second day of Connections 2023 opened with Mike Horvath, the EVP, CMO, and co-founder of Revenova, a CRM-based TMS company, identifying several trends that he saw shaping shipping and logistics, as well as certain risks that might be upcoming in the industry. 

Attendees on the first day of SMC3’s 2023 Connections were treated to a keynote presentation from Daymond John, serial entrepreneur, founder of FUBU, and a certified shark from ABC’s Shark Tank.

At the start of the new year, it’s common for freight shippers striving for an optimized supply chain to review their carrier options to make sure they use the ideal mix of freight transportation providers. In 2019, this procurement business has lasted the entire year, as shippers and 3PLs look to take advantage of a softer freight market to secure better pricing and service.

Rising alongside the concept of big data is the job of LTL data scientist. This role combines business and LTL analysis functions and moves it to a broadened level of focus. Many of the traits of the analyst are needed; their formal training encompasses a solid foundation in computer science with emphasis in transportation analysis, math, modeling and statistics.