I have worked for HG Logistics LLC, a third party logistics company in Cincinnati, OH, since its start up 3 1/2 years ago. Recently, I was given the title “Team Leader.” I felt a good place to start in learning my new position was to concentrate on the “team” aspect. Coincidentally, I had just read a book that addressed this very idea called The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack. Stack emphasizes the idea of approaching business as a game, not because he does not take it seriously, but because he does. Part of the “game” concept is making everyone, from the President to the janitor, feel as though they are part of the team. Stack explains the importance of the team is to ensure everyone is working towards the same goals.

 Although I found his book quite interesting, I also read a story my daughter wrote about for a school assignment that I found even more inspiring. Even though she is writing about the qualities of a successful athlete, I believe these same qualities can apply to anyone who wants to be a good team player in the business world. Following is what she had to say about the qualities of a team leader and the significance of teamwork.

 Talent, attitude, strength of mind, leadership, and perseverance are all qualities I believe make up a successful athlete.  However, I have concluded that it is not always the athlete with the multi-million dollar contract that is the most successful.  There is one man I read about that fits the description better than most of your top athletes.  You have probably never heard of Dick Hoyt, but him and his son, Rick, teamed up to run the Ironman Triathlon, one of the most grueling sporting events in which anyone can participate.  What makes their story so amazing is that Rick has been handicapped since birth when his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and cut oxygen off to his brain.  As a result, Rick cannot swim, ride a bike, or run.  Therefore, when they compete, Dick swims while pulling Rick lying in a small raft, cycles with Rick sitting in a seat-pod attached to the front of the bike, and runs while pushing Rick in a special wheelchair. 

 Dick Hoyt had to possess all the necessary characteristics of a successful athlete to even attempt such a task.  Dick had the natural athleticism to swim 2.4 miles, cycle for 112 miles, and run for 26.2 miles.  However, it was his go-to attitude that carried him through the course.  He did not quit when the waves knocked him back and forth, or when his muscles burned with pain as he peddled up and down the course, or when he could barely catch his breath as he jogged the grueling path.  He maintained a strong mindset as he focused on the reward the race had to offer—the reward of seeing the smile on his son’s face as they crossed the finish line, the trust in his son’s eyes for a father who kept his promises, and the love in his son’s heart for a father who sacrificed it all.  Dick was the leader who led by example, and united them together as a team. Dick provided the physical and Rick the mental.  Dick was his son’s legs, and Rick was his father’s motivation.  They persevered and together they finished the race.

 Rick did not even have the ability to walk, yet his father, Dick, could never have accomplished what he did without Rick. They did not win the race, but together they crossed the finish line, and they both became winners.

 My goal as Team Leader at HG Logistics LLC is for all employees to work as a team in order to overcome each others’ weaknesses and to build on each others’ strengths. When we work as a team, we are all playing the same game, shooting for the same goals, and in the end, we too will be winners.

Nancy

Cincinnati, OH, January 8, 2010—

HG Logistics, LLC, a third party broker company specializing in moving freight in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, announced in January 2010 that Doug Bierman has been promoted to General Manager.

David Greek, President of The Hill and Griffith Company, a well established manufacturing company in Cincinnati, Ohio, looked to expand and strengthen his relationship with his customers. As part of that expansion, David Greek ventured to start up his own truck brokerage company, and in September 2006, he hired Doug Bierman as the Logistics Development Manager. Doug had full responsibility for building a customer base, developing a database of reliable carriers, overseeing dispatching and load progression, and establishing a dependable, supporting staff of employees to help him accomplish the company’s goals.

 In just a short three years of business, HG Logistics LLC has achieved great success and as a result, it has increased from 1 to 8 employees. This success would not have been possible without the consistent effort of Doug Bierman. The promotion to General Manager is well deserved, and HG Logistics LLC extends their congratulations to Doug on his success.

During these trying economical times, more carriers are resorting to unethical and deceptive business practices. Carriers are requesting in transit agreement modifications in which they are demanding payment after they pick up the load, but before delivering the freight.

Carriers are using such tactics as repeatedly calling the third party broker, the shipper, and the receiver demanding payment. These numerous, unwelcome interruptions are causing headaches for all parties involved.

At HG Logistics LLC, we are working to eliminate these problems by checking all our carriers for due diligence through are Carrier 411 service. Carrier 411 reports that brokers can make themselves less vulnerable to fraudulent practices by identifying suspect conditions such as:

• Similar Company Names
• Coinciding Telephone Numbers
• Multiple Business Registrations and Addresses
• Coexisting Business

This season do not be taken by an Ebenezer Scrooge. Make a list, check it twice; do your research would be HG Logiistics’ advice.

Every now and then you see local magazines listing the “Top 10″ places to work in Cincinnati. Well, I have to say that HG Logistics LLC would get my vote for #1. I have been with this third party logistics company since May 7, 2009, and I have nothing but positive feedback for anyone interested.

The atmosphere is wonderful. Everyone does their job and is in a good mood all the time, which is great because as the saying goes, “One bad apple can ruin the whole bunch.” Management gives employees quick, easy access to the necessary tools they need to grow their business. Not only do they practice the “open door policy,” but HG Logistics’ management actually cares. Almost every morning, the V.P. makes his stroll through the office and says, “Good morning. How is your day?” The logistics coordinator is also open for suggestions about how we can improve as individuals and as a company. His playful nature invites us to speak our mind and to be open to all aspects of the logistics business.

As employees, we never experience that feeling that someone is constantly looking over our shoulders counting phone calls like in other sales facilities. As long as we do our job, bring in business and put in a full days work, we are free to incorporate our own ideas and strategies in order to meet company goals.

Once again, I just want to say what a great place HG Logistics LLC is to work and in this economy, I am not only thankful to have a job, but even more so for a job that I actually look forward to going to when i wake up in the morning.

Eric Fiehler

In this economic turmoil and with the “me, me, me” attitude so evident in the society we live today, it is good to know that there are still companies that stress accountability to their customers. HG Logistics LLC, a third party logistics company located in Cincinnati, Ohio, understands the need to stand accountable to each and everyone of our customers, whether it is doing our due diligence when selecting a trucking company to move our loads, or by trying to find new and more cost effective ways to help our customers save money.

Trying to “do right” for our clients is a continuing goal of HG Logistics. It is what keeps us on our toes, keeps us competitive, and it keeps us at the top of the heap. What we are talking about is the search for the fastest and most economical way of shipping. We are not willing to settle for business as usual without looking into new options each and every time to help reduce our client’s cost. Sure, we know how we usually ship. However, each time we present a proposal, we need to satisfy our own curiosity. For our own peace of mind, we research all possibilities to know that in our proposal, we have fulfilled all services.  We want to know that we are not only shipping the quickest, but also the most economical way so our clients can achieve the highest profit margin possible. Period!

It is time again today to review our shipping methods to see if we can seek out an avenue we have never explored before. You just never know. Sometimes doing something a little differently can open up whole new worlds. Yes, we know, it is a little scary and strange, isn’t it? But in the end, it is what keeps HG Logistics an accountable, top of the line company.

Reflections by Dave Greek Jr., President

About three years ago, HG Logistics was founded.  As a sister company to Hill and Griffith, we knew there were opportunities to expand and strengthen our relationships with our customers, while in turn utilize the values of HG Logistics to expand our horizons into new markets.  While some may look back and question the timing of opening a new business in the early stages of a recession, I saw this as an opportunity to fill a need with exceptional customer service at a time when other companies began to cut back to rein in expenses.  

The timing could not have been better. Entering the market when others were leaving and providing a high value added product, allowed HG Logistics to build a customer base using the quality of our service and high integrity of our staff.  Our customers have come to appreciate the personal service and quick response in helping them with their freight solutions.

Today, HG Logistics continues to expand its customer base and is consistently achieving double digit monthly revenue growth.  The team at HG Logistics has a much diversified background that allows us to provide freight solutions for any industry, which we believe is one of our core competencies.  Unlike many other 3PL’s, we are not tied to a specific industrial/commodity segment, thus affording us a much larger potential customer base to draw. 

While the economy continues to struggle through the recession, we here at HG Logistics feel that these times allow us to keep on providing the highest level of service that so many others are considering non-essential.  We know the value of providing first in class service, and when you combine the high degree of integrity of our staff, it can only lead to a bright future. 

From all of us here at HG Logistics we appreciate your past, present, and future business.  We look forward to continuing to develop those customer relationships that lead to a mutually beneficial relationship.

Three Year Anniversary

Growth: 

Three years ago, HG Logistics started with just three employees–a logistics manager, an office assistant, and a human resource/sales coordinator. We have now grown to five brokers and three office staff, and our looking to expand further by adding two brokers by October 2009.

Credit Score:

At first, HG Logistics’ credit score was not available. However, as our business continued to grow, so did our credit score reaching 63 at one point and as of recently, climbing to an impressive 90. Our average day to pay is 27.5, which has contributed to our notable credit score. Establishing these numbers in such a short period of time proves HG Logistics LLC is here to stay.

Staff:

Only the best are hired at HG Logistics LLC. As members of TIA and a soon to be Gold Book Broker, all staff must adhere to a high code of ethics to set us above the rest.

Growing in a down market, confirms that service and quality still count.

Doug Bierman – Logistics Development Manager

In a recent article that I read by Dr. Andrew Myers in the Internet Truckstop, prevention could be our cure for the nation’s healthcare woes. Having spent three days in the hospital myself in January with a heart ailment at the age of forty, Dr. Myers’ point hits home. America is facing a health crisis. We are less active than ever before. Every year 900,000 people die from avoidable or preventable causes because they fail to maintain a healthy weight, eat smart and exercise, or because they smoke or drink excessively. Preventable deaths represent almost 40 percent of all U.S. deaths.

Dr. Myers notes that with our nation’s unhealthy behaviors, it greatly impacts our already overburdened healthcare system. The U.S. spent more than $2 trillion on healthcare in 2007 and that number is expected to climb to 20 percent by 2017.

There are some simple daily habits that can have a big impact on our body’s prevention of future health issues–drink more water, eat fresh, exercise daily, focus on sleep and breathe! Stress is a disease-causing agent and simply taking a few deep breaths a day can reduce some risks.

As an employee of HG Logistics LLC, a third party logistics company located in Cincinnati, Ohio, I can say that HG Logistics is a company that promotes and encourages its employees to incorporate healthy habits into their daily routines. It is reassuring to know that the trucking industry is taking an interest in the health and well being of its employees.

I have heard and seen a lot of comments stating “Don’t ever use a broker!” plastered all over some carrier’s(/broker’s) websites. I can see the appeal of wanting to bypass the broker fee by contacting the carrier directly. For many people, the bottom line is all that matters. I realize that economic times are tough and most of the people are interested in getting the best price possible. However, I would like to point out a few things to the customer looking to deal directly with the drivers as opposed to paying a freight broker. The first thing being–most carriers are also brokers.

Imagine this…trucking Company X gets a call from a customer looking to ship their freight from point A to point B. This customer wants to know if the company owns their own trucks. Yes, Company X owns their own trucks. That is good news to the customer who is looking to deal directly with the carrier, not a broker. The customer schedules transport. Well, Company X’s trucks are all in different areas and will not be near point A or B for at least a week or two. What  are they going to do? Are they going to tell the customer it may be a week or two before they can pick up? For some, this would not be an issue at all. However, the majority of the customers I work with are on some kind of time schedule and do not have weeks to wait for their product. So what if the customer does not want to wait? Do you think trucking Company X says “I’m sorry. I guess we cannot help you.” No! They will not say anything and instead broker out the load to a friendly company that they do business with. After all, they did not lie when they told the customer they owned their own trucks. They just failed to mention that those trucks would not be anywhere near the location of the customer’s freight.

Most of the truckers HG Logistics LLC, a third party logistics company in Cincinnati, Ohio, deals with are owner operators. The cost of maintaining and operating their own truck can be very expensive. Understandably, they are usually happy to let a broker pay for the cost of advertising and supply them the freight for free. A good percentage of truck drivers HG Logistics works with do not even have websites. Therefore, a broker provides a very valuable service to the carrier. In addition, your standard broker pays carriers in 30 days. HG Logistics is a broker that does even better, paying our carriers in 15 days.  If a carrier works directly with a customer, they are looking at a 45 to 60 day wait for pay, which is the average pay cycle for many businesses in this struggling economy. If a carrier chooses to work through a broker, they can expect quicker pay for their services, while the broker floats the money waiting out the longer pay cycle from the customers.

There are many other very good reasons to schedule your transport through a broker, but my goal here was to point out the obvious ones to those who feel brokers are an unnecessary additional expense and should be avoided.