Wrapping up: Day 3 of SMC³’s Jump Start 2025
Authored by SMC³ on February 5, 2025
Another year, another remarkable Jump Start! The final day brought this year’s event in for a landing with the insights and connections we’ve come to expect from such a diverse group of logistics professionals.
In addition to a prize drawing and complimentary massage sessions (very relaxing), the final moments of Jump Start 2025 yielded great conversations on the top issues facing the industry today. From accelerating the adoption of new technologies to regulatory changes to the ever-present topic of AI, Day 3 sessions covered issues both evergreen and emergent.
The future of industry partnerships
The day began with the final installment of our Leadership Series: “Life in the Fast Lane.” Grant Crawford, Vice President of LTL for Total Quality Logistics, mediated the discussion. Crawford was not afraid to speak frankly about how far intra-industry partnerships have come in the past few decades––specifically, partnerships between 3PLs and carriers.
Crawford urged carriers not to move away from 3PLs, noting that those partnerships can help carriers trim costs in customer acquisition, customer maintenance, customer service, and back office staff.
“Let me, as a carrier, just focus on what I do best: the operation,” Crawford said, drawing on his experience at carriers. “Picking it up, maximizing my productivity through density, aligning proper resources, on-time delivery with no damage––let me focus on that.”
On the topic of AI, he noted that TQL has saved about 2 million hours in back office work from AI and automation this past year. At the same time, he stressed the importance of retaining the human touch in such a customer-centric space.
“The human touch is how we’re built and it’s what we believe in,” Crawford said.
Navigating upcoming changes
At the second session of the day––“Navigating a Changing Market: Innovating for the Future”––a stacked panel of industry leaders gave their insights on the challenges on the horizon.
Christina Carroll, Vice President of LTL at C.H. Robinson, pointed to the upcoming NMFTA classification changes, noting that it’s a huge priority “navigating that with customers, helping them understand how it’s going to impact them, and, in some cases, how to get it prioritized on their roadmap.”
Chris Scheid seconded Carroll’s comments. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of MyCarrier, Scheid underscored that customers have many questions: “What can they do to be proactive? How can they address the handling of their freight to get ahead of the change?”
On the topic of AI, each panelist had the opportunity to share their theory of the case: How can and should logistics companies incorporate AI into their operations?
Chase Smith, Vice President of LTL and Parcel at MODE Global, offered a unique answer. He noted that his organization is focused on training AI on financial data and sales training materials to “bring that subject matter expertise to users when they need it. That way they can engage internally, ask questions, and ultimately get to answers quicker.”
New tech for a changing industry
The final session of the event focused on a hot-button topic that came up in many other sessions: AI.
Bill Ward Jr., President and CEO of Ward Transport and Logistics, focused on AI’s usefulness in route planning. Megan Orth, Sr. Director of Commercial Connectivity at C.H. Robinson, highlighted its ability to help organizations build a structured digital footprint: “Our carrier-facing employees receive over 2 million emails per week. That’s where we’ve really sought out AI. We’ve been focusing on the shipment lifecycle from quote to tender to tracking to appointments.”
Stephanie Bixler, Chief Product Offer at eShipping, added that AI can add value by helping customers optimize distribution chains. But she noted that requires looking beyond transportation data to include order information from ERP systems, product information, customer information, etc.
Overall, it was a jam-packed three days of insightful discussions and invaluable networking. We’ll see you next year at Jump Start 2026!
The three-day SMC3 Jump Start 2025 supply chain conference facilitates meaningful knowledge transfer and collaboration between logistics and transportation professionals from carriers, shippers, logistics service provider, and technology verticals. To learn more about SMC³ supply chain conferences, visit https://www.smc3.com/supply-chain-education.htm