Author: EKA Solutions

May 11, 2021 • by Heavy Duty Trucking Staff

EKA Solutions, which provides an integrated, cloud-based freight management “ecosystem” for carriers, brokers and shippers, is expanding its transportation management system to help brokers grow more quickly.

EKA Omni-TMS is a native cloud-based software-as-a-service system. It provides affordable,  easy-to-use functionality to give any size broker the functionality and services needed to be more productive and to grow their business, according to a news release from the company.

“EKA has rapidly expanded its broker TMS capabilities to enable any size and type of freight broker to grow fast,” said JJ Singh, EKA CEO, in a release.

New capabilities include:

• deployment of broker agent operations
• seamless connectivity with carriers and shippers via engineered APIs, portals and EDI
• load movement visibility via driver apps and telematics integration
• a full range of pricing methodologies
• ability to handle different loads and services, ranging from dry van, temperature control, flatbed, dry and liquid bulk, livestock, drayage, auto-haul and power only.

James Dockery-Jackson, director of Yeti Logistics, said the Iowa-based third party logistics company recruits agents from diverse backgrounds, from former drivers to salespeople from Fortune 500 companies. In the release, he said the EKA system allows them all to work together in a collaborative environment. 

“EKA’s intuitive workflows are easy to master, so new agents become productive quickly,” he said. “Also, EKA platform’s ability to support multiple business models on a single platform helps us compete effectively against larger competitors, and freight awards from our customers are growing.”

Yeti Logistics is a truckload-focused 3PL built on the Yeti Services platform, allowing drivers, fleets and shippers transparency and visibility to all parties and pricing.

Brian Straight, managing editor, Modern Shipper

Monday, May 10, 2021

For growing third-party logistics (3PLs) companies, the ability to quickly onboard personnel is critical to continued success. That includes getting up to speed quickly on various technologies.

For Yeti Logistics, a Women’s Business Enterprise National Conference-certified 3PL based in Iowa City, Iowa, that means working with technology partners that offer solutions that can be implemented quickly and are easy to train on. Yeti has found that combination with EKA Solutions’ Omni-TMS platform.

“We recruit agents from diverse backgrounds ranging from former drivers to salespeople from Fortune 500 companies, all working seamlessly together in a collaborative environment. EKA’s intuitive workflows are easy to master, so new agents become productive quickly,” said James Dockery-Jackson, director of Yeti Logistics. 

The Omni-TMS is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation management system that offers a quote-to-cash, intuitive platform for brokers of any size.

“EKA has rapidly expanded its broker TMS capabilities to enable any size and type of freight broker to grow fast,” said JJ Singh, founder, investor and CEO of EKA Solutions Inc.

Singh said the new capabilities include the deployment of broker agent operations, seamless connectivity with carriers and shippers via engineered APIs, portals and EDI, load movement visibility via driver apps and telematics integration, a full range of pricing methodologies and ability to handle different loads and services.

Omni-TMS can be used on various equipment types, including dry van, temperature control, flatbed, dry and liquid bulk, livestock, drayage, auto-haul and power only.

“EKA platform’s ability to support multiple business models on a single platform helps us compete effectively against larger competitors and freight awards from our customers are growing,” Dockery-Jackson added. “Adding experienced agents to our team, integrating with customers and connecting with carriers on the EKA platform means continued high growth ahead for Yeti Logistics.”

EKA offers a digital freight management ecosystem, dFEMX, that helps clients manage all of a customer’s freight business including freight exchange and third-party services. It serves as the system of record across multiple applications and seamlessly ties into other freight solutions (TMS, driver apps, etc.) and third-party services, the company said.

Under the dFEMX offering, EKA offers the Omni-TMS for brokers, carriers and shippers. Providing real-time information, EKA Omni-TMS enables brokers, carriers and shippers to provide visibility and transparency as they trade across an expanding and verified network with key, trusted partners.

EKA has announced strategic collaborations with a number of companies as it seeks to offer complete solutions to its customers. These include an agreement with Transflo to develop “transformational end-to-end digital and automated transportation document workflow solutions between shippers and carriers,” as well as an agreement with FreightWaves. That deal allows for the inclusion of FreightWaves’ SONAR data visualization tools for brokers, carriers and shippers with forward-looking analytics on freight movements including rates, volumes and market dynamics to be included.

In July 2020, EKA added a predictive visibility platform to its Omni-TMS offering. The platform is available as a stand-alone product for non-EKA subscribers. At the time, Singh told FreightWaves the solution can provide visibility within multiple time intervals, including minutes, based on the configured service level. The information can be transmitted by the carrier or broker to the end customer through most common transmission levels, including email, text and electronic data interchange.

February 8, 2021 • by Deborah Lockridge

As the supply chain increasingly moves toward greater interconnectedness and visibility between carriers, brokers, and shippers, EKA Solutions said 2021 has already started out strong with adoption of its cloud-based integrated freight management ecosystem.

EKA Omni-TMS for carriers is a transportation management system designed to give small and medium-size carriers the ability to compete with large fleets.

“In just three months, a rapidly increasing number of  small carriers have adopted the EKA Omni-TMS, empowering these companies to ‘tech up’ for the future,” said J.J. Singh, founder and CEO, in a news release.

He told HDT that at least 33% new customer growth expected in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

EKA’s goal was to target a diverse group of small-fleet customers for its TMS, typically those operating 30 trucks or less. “Rapid acceptance confirms our market assumptions were correct, which is very gratifying,” Singh told HDT.

These customers cover a diverse range of businesses, he said, including long haul, medium and short haul freight, using all classes of trucks, and with equipment including dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, bulk and livestock.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected its business in the first half of 2020, Singh said things turned positive in the second half of the year as the economy and freight business environment improved.

This year, EKA is targeting an “exponential growth in revenue,” Singh said. All of its TMS and visibility products are being continually enhanced, he said, and EKA will introduce Shipper TMS for small- and medium-size shippers in 2021.

Also, in 2021, EKA will integrate its supply chain TMS with third-party services to deliver key services at affordable prices to small and medium size carrier, broker and shipper customers.

“EKA TMS is helping small carriers transport all types of commodities, enabling them to handle different customer pricing methods, fluidly pay drivers and settle with owner-operators, and provide complete freight movement visibility to their customers and trusted partners at affordable technology stack and operating costs,” said EKA President Mark Walker in the news release.

CEO JJ Singh expects exponential growth in 2021

EKA Solutions announced Monday that its customer base is broadening and growing quickly.

EKA Omni-TMS is a software as a service (SaaS) transportation management system (TMS) designed to help small and midsize carriers grow. 

“It is empowering small carriers to deliver diverse transportation services including long-haul, medium- and short-haul freight, using all classes of trucks, and deploying different equipment services ranging from dry van, temperature control, flatbed, bulk and livestock,” JJ Singh, founder and CEO of EKA Solutions, said in a statement.

Singh told FreightWaves sales have already been strong in 2021 and he expects “exponential sales growth” this year for the company’s carrier and broker TMS software services. He added that small carriers without a TMS have an especially high adoption rate for Omni-TMS.

Singh said the company’s growth in 2020 would have been stronger if not for the hard hit to the U.S. economy and freight market in the first half of the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He told FreightWaves that EKA Solutions recently introduced the TransFlo mobile app for small carriers and will begin to implement it in March. EKA Solutions announced the partnership with TransFlo to digitize document workflows in July. FreightWaves previously reported that digitizing document workflows across the transportation chain could lead to six-figure savings for customers.

“These small carriers are enthusiastic about implementing TransFlo to derive multiple benefits, including digitizing document flows resulting in faster customer billing,” Singh said.

EKA Solutions debuted Omni-TMS for small and midsize carriers in June and FreightWaves explored the real-time information the TMS provides for carriers. Listed benefits of the SaaS included allowing carriers to easily communicate with partners in real time, adapt to changing business environments and optimize the use of resources and personnel.

EKA Solutions introduced a predictive visibility solution in July that is available for EKA Omni-TMS subscribers at an additional cost. Nonsubscribers can purchase access to the transportation visibility solution as a separate item. 

Singh noted that predictive transportation visibility will soon be a requirement for all supply chain trading participants. 

By Arune SIngh

The conventional thinking is that technology can either be your friend or your enemy.

Then again, conventional thinking has never been of much interest to Jim Best, Chief Growth Officer at EKA Solutions.

Working his way up through C.H. Robinson upon joining in 1978,  Jim Best’s career has spanned every role from Branch Manager to Senior Vice President and been defined by seeing technological advancement as an endless source of opportunity. That solution-oriented focus has made Jim one of the most respected leaders in the transportation, logistics and supply chain field as he imparts the most important lesson of all:

You control your own destiny.

The monthly EKA Insights Interview series continues with special guest Jim Best, who’s also a successful author of children’s books beginning with The Irate Pirate, in both an unedited video interview and in a written transcript below (which includes some edits for clarity and flow).

Questions:

EKA: I want to start with the idea of destiny. You talk a lot about it in your public speaking and your work – what do you feel are the elements we control and what are the ones we need to accept we don’t control? It’s on the minds of a lot of people.

Jim Best: No doubt and it’s a good place to start. If I look back at my career – and you were very gracious in the way you described it and I appreciate that very much – leadership and communication are central not only to myself, my career, my being a father, my being a leader but also central to most people in the pursuits they have, especially the career.

Because what we do in our profession is a way to demonstrate what we know about how to deal with our abilities and resources in a competitive situation.

Years ago, I got passed over for a promotion – I was 29 or 30 years old and a very good salesperson. As we talk about leadership, most people find they are limited in some way in what reward they get as an individual performer-  it becomes a situation where you have to help other people be more effective, more successful and support their success with what becomes “leadership.” I went on a journey and I was able to see that if you get a bad situation then you can learn from it and make sure it never happens again. 

So, to me, being passed over was something I never wanted to happen again and I think a lot of people can relate to the pain of that, so I really started looking at what I could learn from it. 

When it comes to controlling your destiny and how you can do that, that’s the path where people learn to really become successful through self-development and self-improvement. 

Several of the things I learned are:

• You can control your thoughts. Just because a thought comes to you it doesn’t mean you have to pay attention to it.
• You can control your attention, meaning if there’s a bad path in what you’re thinking or feeling, you don’t have to go down or honor that path.
• And through your attention, that’s what you decide to focus on. If you do it right – and that’s tough, because we’re human and have other challenges or people to consider- you can control your focus. That means you can control, as some might say, the reality that you create because we describe our own reality – it’s not too much of a stretch to say that you can in large measure create your reality. This show we’re doing, for example, is a reality you’ve created for yourself. 

Life can be made up of all those things that seem like coincidence or serendipity, but if we choose those things that’s how we can get where we want to be in terms of controlling our destiny.

I think we agree – you’re saying that reality and destiny are both a result of perception. Our mindset really shapes how we view things. You, at the time, looked at being passed over as painful along with being what inspired a journey of self discovery. So things can be both good and bad, but perception is what defines reality.

That’s right. Exactly.

Something else that shapes reality is what we’re using right now to have this conversation – technology. It’s an integral part of our lives and has helped eliminate the idea of work hours. These phones open up the world but can shackle us in different ways, creating unexpected pressures. How do you feel technology is intertwined with leadership and destiny.

That’s a great question. 

If you’ll let me reflect back, I talked about our attention and our focus – and what technology can do is bring in a lot more information to us, meaning it expands our vision of what’s possible, of what’s available and of what we can put our attention towards. 

But it also allows us to focus much more clearly on those things that we deem to be important and to really matter, For instance, I will tell a customer, “Okay, take your top five or ten customers and focus on the three things that are most important to them.” It might be, for example, on-time pickup, on-time delivery, price or those three in different orders for different customers. Then technology allows someone to focus on those elements and drive their performance to be successful.

And then one of the other things that we’ll talk about more is that technology is going to lead to and enable change as a byproduct of this past year and COVID-19. The working from home that so many people have had to do, and the leap in technology usage, is going to enable a greater degree of what I call “performance based relationships,” which I i’ve always trusted more than, “oh, this person likes me, or they really like doing business with us.” It’s good if you feel comfortable in your personal relationship with your business or your customer – however, focus on performance because you want them relying upon you because of the way you perform.

So, if you’re a supply chain participant, you report back to that customer – you don’t have to wait to be asked or for a performance review. I would tell people this, even as an individual employee, don’t wait for a performance review because your manager or leader might not get around to it when you want to get feedback. I would say to focus on those things that are most important to priorities for each customer. Take the aggregate view, drive your performance to excel in those and then report to your customers – you’re guaranteed to increase your business with anybody if you know what their priorities are and if you’re showing them how you’re performing on those priorities. 

I really think that technology will allow us to do those things – focus on what’s important, draw our attention to it, drive performance, then self-report and increase our business with those people that we want to do more business with.

In times past, especially when we were traveling to conferences and meetings, there was a sense of “If I’m the person, they want to have a beer or any kind of beverage with that they’re going to trust me with their money.” But I think we instinctively know we have friends in our lives who make us think “Hey, I love hanging out with you but I never want to work with you” (laughs). I think 2020 has stripped away that artifice and forced us to focus on the work. What you’re saying is really simple – “If I’m good at my job, I will build a reputation for being good and increase my relationships.” But why do you think an idea that’s so simple is so difficult in application? Do you find these some kind of mental or emotional schism when you explain ti to people?

There is definitely a disconnect right now, because people do agree with it and that this is the way it should be. 

But the reality is – and I’m just reflecting upon this now – is that in the universe of performers, there’s 50% that are above the line and 50% of that are below the line, right? So, that means only 50% of the people have anything to gain whatsoever by doing that. And, so, what I would say is that there’s the fact that it’s not always going to be in people’s favor to self-report. 

The other thing – the glaring reality that we’re addressing through the EKA platform – is the data isn’t always available. The data has been expensive, the data has been the province of the multi-billion resource rich organizations and supply chain initiators like Amazon or Target or other big retailers. They have all the incentive to build this supply chain universe, inform people what they need to do in order to be in there, and then gather that data. And Google’s another one where they get the data – the big data –  and they do the machine learning, they do the artificial intelligence, they drive efficiencies, they have all those advantages, because they have many participants, upon whom it benefits them to enforce those standards, right? 

The individual supply chain performer doesn’t have that. 

And in the end, it’s been too expensive to invest in a lot of the TMS, or they’ve been premise-based. Now’s the time really the technology is there and the know-how is there.

But if we’re talking about what companies should do now, and I mean it very sincerely, the answer is to apply technology, upgrade your technology, or update your technology, because if you’ve got technology that’s five years old, you know what, I don’t know if it’s good or bad or indifferent. But, I’m telling you, if you’ve had it for five years you’re not going to get any better performance from it. 

You’ve got to update what you’re doing or upgrade what you’re doing. 

You’re really getting to the core theme of leadership and destiny – namely you don’t want to abdicate your destiny to old software because you won’t be in control. And something that you’ve talked about quite frequently is about owning technology and data, along with democratizing that information with platforms like EKA Omni-TMS that make it available to shippers, carriers and brokers. But what do you think are the other challenges for companies or for any or any entrepreneur who’s watching us and saying, “Jim, that sounds great, but I don’t have unlimited funds to spend and I don’t have my supposed to know where to spend? Do I need the best version of Photoshop or is the version from two years ago okay?” How would you advise them?

I want to circle back on one point that I think is really important to share with people as well. My belief has always been that if you’re an effective leader – and there’s a technology link here – you will have, within your first two years in your role and responsibility, initiated and taken action and successfully implemented 99% of the good ideas that you have at that time. Otherwise, you’re not an effective leader. 

So, if you’re an effective leader, and you’ve been in that role for a while, that’s why it’s critical to invest in more technology so that you get better information and so that you can communicate more clearly – because technology’s not just about getting information. It’s about communicating. 

One of the things that we emphasize at EKA is making sure you have clarity and consistency in your communication. Otherwise, people won’t know what your expectations are and you won’t be able to get the type of performance from your supply chain partners that you really expect to get. 

When we talk about what we’re doing with technology and what we’re doing with leadership capabilities, all those things have to be wrapped together because otherwise you won’t get the good talent to come work for you if you don’t have technology. 

Now, to your question, let’s take it from the perspective that someone doesn’t  have much technology – just the bare basic stuff. And that’s the way a lot of transactional players are within the supply chain marketplace. 

You don’t need the absolute best information system and you won’t be able to afford it right away, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Start where you can get basic technology that’s going to enable some of your employees to be more effective, give it to the people that are the early adaptors and see what you can do. We have people surprised all the time that as they got started they quickly began to see what could be done with it and then it just blossomed into something much more than they anticipated.  

Technology is enablement. It’s empowerment. It’s a facilitator. it’s a path to a much better competitive performance that they didn’t even anticipate. And you shouldn’t adopt these technologies because somebody expects you to do it, – you should do it because it’s the best way to be successful in the future. 

And to anybody that doesn’t have the technology right now, would you believe that you are not going to have technology three years from now? Nobody would say, “yeah, we’re gonna hold out, we’re never going to get it” because everybody understands they’ve got to do it. 

So, do it now. 

Get it started, get the ball rolling, get some forward momentum, do some analysis when you bring in a partner. And that’s one thing that EKA has talked about – we’re not a transactional player. We’re not a software provider. We want to be your technology partner. We want to be able to take the years that we have on supply chain experience, transportation experience, customer service experience, employee performance experience, and help you unleash all the good, all the competitive prowess, all the ability that you have within your organization. 

And that’s what we’re signing up for.

It sounds like there’s one common factor threading through our discussion about the relationship between technology and leadership, controlling destinies all you know charting your own path – and that’s the decisiveness that comes from a confidence in your own belief system. Beyond that, what would you say are the top three most important elements you think in leadership to or to be an effective leader?

I think that the only premise by which you have the opportunity to lead anybody is by making their lives better in some way, otherwise, they have no reason to follow you. And, consequently. you have no right. or reason to lead them. 

You’ve got to have an idea on where you’re going to go with the group. Some people will say, you got to have a “vision,” but I’m not. You don’t get paid a whole lot for being a visionary. You get paid a whole lot for having a vision, being practical, implementing it right, empowering people and seeing their abilities. 

You’ve got to understand that you’ve got a responsibility towards anybody that is going to follow you and you are going to, in some way, improve their life without impinging upon their freewill. That’s a really important caveat.

The other thing is that you’ve got to be a very good communicator – and that’s not just talking, although that’s a very big part of it. Some will say, “lead by example” but we’re all so busy that if you don’t call attention to what you’re doing and saying, “This is what I’m trying to accomplish,”  people may not understand the virtue of your leadership. You’ve got to be a good communicator, but you’ve also got to listen. That means understanding what people are saying, understanding what’s not being said, and not responding. 

I’ve had some people that would say, “Well, I want to be a leader within this office, business organization.” And I would say, “Okay, so tell me why you think that”,  not because I doubted them but because I wanted to understand their perspective. They would say, “Well, everybody comes to me when they need something.” Well, okay, what if they don’t come to you? What if they don’t feel comfortable?

You’ve got to make it so that you communicate well, but also that people feel comfortable communicating to you. And then you’ve got to trust what they’re doing – you’ve got to be willing to work with them to develop their skills, because a lot of times, you don’t know what those people’s skills are. And a lot of times, they don’t even know it, so you’ve got to be able to bring that out in people. 

Now, if you are in a big organization, you’re not going to be able to do it with everyone, but you still set the tone. That’s where you lead by example if you have a direct report and you bring out the abilities that they have by encouragement, by empowerment, by delegation, by however, means you can so that they see that and then that they understand that they’re supposed to do it with their direct reports. 

And that’s how leadership spreads out within an organization and brings things to fruition.

It’s interesting that in everything we’ve discussed, I’ve noticed you’ve talked a lot about emotional investment. You have to care. Even when life knocks you down, you have to invest emotion to reflect on how to get back up. I also agree with something else you’ve been saying – you can’t fake it with the people around you. You’re teaching them to self reflect, you’re teaching them to care about themselves and the people reporting to them. This all goes back to the relationship building you’re talking about and it seems like that’s the core of what you’re talking about – you have to care to be a leader. Is that right?

Yeah, I believe that 100%. 

Nobody wants to be told what to do. 

That’s why – and you touched upon this earlier – it’s important that you explain to people what it is you’re trying to do and why it is you’re doing it.  They need to understand how we look at things, how we handle problems – beginning with if we look at them as problems, pains or challenges.

One of the things that I’ve always tried to do is set the tone within any organization is encourage them to solve challenges for their customers because unless that customer has asked you specifically not to do it with somebody else, you can take that solution and go to the next person. And that’s how you build your business – those skills matter within the business context. 

The other reality is, being a problem solver is just one thing you need to be. I’ve encountered this a lot when people would say, “I want to be a leader because I’m a good problem solver.” Or “I want to do business with you because I’m a good problem solver.” Problem solving is a basic skill. We’re all really good problem solvers. The much higher art is problem prevention and the question I always ask is, “Do you want to live in a neighborhood that has the fastest fire engines? Or do you want to live in a neighborhood that has the least amount of fire?” 

It’s all about problem prevention.

And so what I believe is that, in a supply chain community, you set up technology to prevent problems. And it becomes like a virtual neighborhood watch – wherever there’s a problem, you’ve identified a problem, or you’ve prevented the problem from ever happening just because of the information that you have.

You know, sometimes people are talking about the same thing and using completely different words. And I find that the language barrier we have is not often about borders or culture. It’s just about us, like you said, slowing down, taking a beat and doing the work upfront to understand each other. It sounds like what you’re saying is that it’s important to take an analytical approach and an investigative approach up front, so you can spare yourself the pain of the emotional, reactive response down the road.

Yep. I think it was Bear Bryant, an Alabama coach who became famous for saying something and I’ll butcher it a little bit, to the effect that “everybody wants to win, but not everybody wants to prepare to win.”

I remember talking to customers on the phone – I wanted to be a very good salesperson. That’s what I was supposed to do and had signed up for -literally, you’d be on the phone with them. And if you use the right word, you’d go forward, if you use the wrong word, you wouldn’t go forward. I just became really good at understanding that there are certain words that you do want to use and you want to be honest, because otherwise people won’t do business with you. But there’s ways of saying things that you can learn and it makes life much easier. 

And it doesn’t just help with customers, though I first learned it that way. I also learned it with employees. I learned it with other managers, I learned it throughout my career – it’s really important to use the right phraseology to, again, be completely honest and with integrity while making sure that there is a reasonable way to share what you’re saying without causing any confusion. 

This is also important within a supply chain – and I don’t mean to keep getting back to that, but I do think it’s a really important time to make sure that everybody’s on the same terminology and avoiding the communication breakdown that causes the problems that cause so much delay, that cause so many people to move onto other opportunities. 

Just to give you an example, I used to be a bit of a consultant and I would go talk to a leadership team where they would say, “oh, we’re all on the same page” and, you know, “things are great here.” I would ask this group of people to write down what they think are the three top priorities for this group. I must have done that over 50 times and ever was there much more than 50% agreement.

I think that the opportunity is that if we focus on our message, that means we focus on what we’re agreeing to do. We talk about our expectations and then we drive our performance towards it. I think that’s what makes for a successful organization.

A lot of what we’ve just been talking about has really centered around expectations and about what we expect in behavior, in language and in self reflection from others. It’s something you’ve written about, for a wide variety of audiences in your young readers book The Irate Pirate, which I need to remind everyone is available everywhere books are sold. How do you recommend that people reconcile those diverse expectations? \

One of the reasons why I wrote The Irate Pirate is that it was a little story I was telling my grandkids at the time, but I saw what a useful vehicle it was for talking and helping people deal with a situation that happens all the time.

As people were reading it, somebody would say, “yeah, you know what, my father wanted me to be an attorney”, “my mother wanted me to do this” or “I had a brother who always expected me to be their little sister,” you know, these things like that. 

For those that won’t take your sage advice and buy the book and read it before they listen to this, The Irate Pirate is about Petie, a pirate who was growing up in a pirate village. He haa a pirate mother and father but  decided that he didn’t want that lifestyle. And it’s pretty heavy facing up to somebody who has those expectations of you and I wanted to talk about how to deal with that. 

One of the things that I wanted to communicate in the book was that we all have role models and Petie realizes that the role model before him – someone with a path, a peg leg and a hook – had things that he didn’t want. Petie was able to identify those and then he had to go through the process of dealing with them. 

We all have expectations of other people and people have expectations of us. I think that a lot of expectations that my family had for me were good and positive expectations. Not all of them were expectations that I wanted to live up to. It’s important to learn that if you have expectations of someone then you should express those to them clearly because you can’t expect people to read your mind.

I agree. But now we’re going to wrap this up and I want to ask you one final question – what is the number one resolution that you feel like every company should make in 2021 to better control and improve their destinies?

Apply, upgrade or update your technology.

However, I would just say, plan to make technology a major part of your success strategy going forward. Not just a small part – don’t make it a number four priority. 

Make it one of the top two priorities, because you know what, if you don’t do it, you’re gonna get beat every day by one of your competitors that has technology working in their favor.

All right, well, listen, Jim, thank you so much for the time. Thanks, everybody for tuning in to another episode of EQ insights. We’ll be back next month with more.

Thank you. Thanks, everyone.

By Arune SIngh

For many people, there’s always a question of how to balance work and family.

But for Darrel Wilson, who founded Wilson Logistics in 1980, there is no question – his business is all about family and family is what drives his business.

Over the past 40 years, Darrel and Wilson Logistics have thrived where others have struggled to survive by adapting to unimaginable technological growth, finding opportunity to refocus his business during the Great Recession and then staying one step ahead of a rapidly changing distribution chain during the worst pandemic in American history.

And through it all, Darrel has remained committed to the core tenants that inspired him to buy his first truck before he was even legally allowed to operate it: innovating where others fear to tread and creating opportunities for everyone who walks the path with him. You’ll be hard pressed to imagine a challenge that Darrel can’t use to better his business and even harder-pressed to find anyone in our industry who doesn’t have a kind word to say about Darrel.

That’s the Darrel Wilson success story.

Today we’re proud to kick off the EKA Insights Interview series with Darrel Wilson and to share his unique insights with you. We’ll be coming to you regularly with new interviews from members of the EKA Solutions family, from our own executives to our friends across the industry.

EKA: You had a very specific plan – drive a truck – but life took you in a very different direction and your business has evolved from there. When you reflect on your journey, what do you think people can learn from your journey and about adapting to change?

Darrel Wilson: Y’know,  I think my journey is really similar to a lot of other people’s journeys, especially at my age during that time. The thing I’m most proud of and that I think people can take the most from is the idea that you just don’t quit. 

This is America. 

There’s an opportunity out there for each of us and if you work hard, you can get it.

This year, a lot of folks have seen their dreams especially challenged during a chaotic time and feel discouraged. What has your experience taught you about enduring these tough times that you could pass on to readers?

If you’re an entrepreneur and always looking for new things, you’re always going to be a bit nervous – you have to be. But you also have to pay attention to what change is and evaluate it  – Is it for the better? Why is it happening? Do I have any choice? If the answer is no to one of those and yes to the others, then you need to consider the opportunity and make the best move you can with in mind.

That leads well into something else I want to discuss – namely that your career is a story of never fearing the new – and your recent deal with Locomation is a perfect symbol of that philosophy. How do you successfully differentiate between opportunities that are exciting because they’re new and those that are exciting because they’re the smart choice? What’s your criteria for evaluating all the constant change around you?

That’s a tough one, it really is – at the end of the day, we try to look at any investment the same in regards to the return and how long it’s going to take. 

Doing that is tough with new technology or product, so we give it our best look and remember that we don’t believe we can be – or even need to be – on the very cutting edge of some things. But when that technology becomes relevant and at a price point that makes sense for us, we need to make sure that we know  enough about the project or technology to really jump in if we think it’s worthwhile.

We’ll watch it and if we never think it’s worthwhile, then we’ll stay away from it. That works…mostly [laughs].

That makes me think about the very ideas of “failure” or “regret” – those are terms that carry a lot of weight and have a feeling of permanence.  You’ve faced a lot of challenges in your career. Do you characterize any of them as “failures”?  Is that a term that’s in your vocabulary?

No, not at all. 

If we do something that doesn’t work or I screwed up and didn’t pay attention, then that’s probably a “failure.”

IfI made a bad decision but I thought that through, thought it was going to work and it just didn’t, then I’ll chalk it up to a lesson about something I shouldn’t do again. And there’s a whole lot of things I can chalk up to that. 

That’s what keeps you going in the right direction after a few years in the business and, well, in life too.

With that in mind, do you find that working through those challenges with that mindset has given you any particular insights that you’ve been able to apply to your life to make you better, even outside of business?

As you go through life, personally and professionally, you see these hurdles arise and you have to meet them. 

After a while you realize you don’t quit, which may be a quality you didn’t realize was taking you through life all that time.

So, as you mature and come along, you recognize “I don’t quit” as a philosophy that’s helping you. Or something like “I’m adaptable to change” as a quality that’s helping you too. 

Our businesses lives aren’t so different from our personal lives in that respect. But we have a different feeling in each and while business is great,  it’s important to remember that it’s our families that come first and we love the most.

I’ve really found that the most successful people I’ve known aren’t always the ones who seem most fearless, but instead the ones who have been knocked down and don’t fear that anymore because they’ve gotten back up every time. They seem to be the ones who succeed the most.

Yeah, I would agree with that and in my career, which I think is similar to many others, you have to define what success is and recognize it doesn’t come very early. That’s something you really have to work for and if you try to measure it too soon, you might disappoint yourself. 

You have to always keep chasing it.

So, for you, is “success” an endpoint or something you keep striving for, never quite achieving it no matter how close you get?

Well, I think you can look back at something and say “that was a success” or “that was a successful year” but once you look back at something that way, that’s kind of really an end, isn’t it? 

We have to keep moving forward because success is about both getting better and doing better.

That’s good advice for both our professional and personal lives, where our family’s happiness is so much of what makes our lives successful. And speaking of the latter, the term “family business” really applies to you – not only are four of your kids in this business, but your approach to training new drivers and caring for them feels more familial than authoritative. What’s the secret to creating that kind of business environment without blurring the lines?

If you do care, it shows – everybody knows and it’s not something you can hide or you can fake.

You mentioned the drivers, so let’s start with that – because it all starts with them. They’re the guys and women on the road making it all happen. It’s why I  haven’t missed getting a load in on time for over 35 years and no one else in-house has either.

Those folks on the road have a really tough job, so we need to make them part of our families and show them that we really care.

On that note, I want to talk about your “Mental Health is just as important as Physical Health” message on social media. We still have a hard time talking about mental health in modern society, much less taking such a firm stance on this matter in the workplace. How did this all come about and what makes it so important to you?

A lot of that came to the forefront during the pandemic because we have so many meetings and interactions just like this – which I’d love to be doing in person. We don’t get to see our drivers face-to-face right now and that weighs on everyone, which we think is important to recognize. We have to pay attention to each other and take care of each other too.

That’s a fantastic core philosophy. So, as we look inwards, planning for a new year with new goals and new ambitions, is there any other advice you can offer from your experience?

Y’know, it’s still hard work – it really is. But hard work alone doesn’t do it. You need a plan and if you don’t have a plan, you better figure one out or you won’t be as successful as you deserve to be and want to be.

As you put that plan together, look around you for the people who influence you, who could be mentors to you and connect with those people. They’ll be happy to help you, I’m sure.

And remember: don’t give up.

The FreightTech 25 will be announced next month

Ashley Coker, Associate Editor Follow on Twitter Tuesday, October 13, 2020

FreightWaves – the industry-leading provider of news, data and analytics for the logistics markets – has announced the winners of the 2021 FreightTech 100 Awards. 

The world has faced significant collective hardship this year, throwing both the markets and people’s everyday lives for a loop. Innovation and reliability are more important now than ever. The FreightTech 100 highlights companies that are stepping up their game during this time.

Now in its third year, the FreightTech 100 shines a spotlight on some of the most innovative companies across the industry, featuring both young startups and household names. Over half of this year’s winners were also recognized during the 2020 FreighTech Awards. 

“We choose the FreightTech 100 based solely on merit. These companies are shaking up the industry in new and exciting ways. This is not a ‘pay-to-play’ competition,” FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller said. “We want to recognize the most innovative and disruptive companies out there.” 

The FreightTech 100 Awards are based on nominations from FreightWaves readers, many of whom are industry leaders and experts. Readers submitted over 500 nominations for over 200 unique companies across 31 U.S. states this year.

The FreightWaves editorial and research teams narrowed those nominations down to the top 100 companies. From there, a handpicked peer group of CEOs, industry leaders and freight investors selects the FreightTech 25. 

Each member of the independent FreightTech 25 panel will rank his or her top 25 companies on a 1-to-25-point basis. The companies generating the most points will comprise the FreightTech 25. The mathematical formula is the same as the one used for the Amway College Football Coaches Poll, the AP Pro32 rankings and the AP Top 25 rankings for men’s and women’s college basketball.

The FreightTech 25 will be revealed at FreightWaves LIVE@HOME, a standout virtual conference experience scheduled for Nov. 5-6.

Companies returning from 2020 FreightTech 100:

Amazon – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Arrive Logistics
Blume Global
C.H. Robinson – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Cargo Chief
CarrierDirect
Container xChange
Convoy – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Coyote Logistics
Daimler – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
dexFreight
DHL
DrayMaster
Echo Global Logistics – 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Emerge – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
FedEx – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Fleet Advantage
Flexport – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
FourKites – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Forager
Freightos
GlobalTranz
HubTran – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
Ike – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
Intelligent Audit
J.B. Hunt – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
KeepTruckin – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
KoiReader
Konexial
K-Ratio
Loadsmart – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Maersk
McLeod Software – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
MercuryGate – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
Navistar
NEXT Trucking
Omnitracs
Opus9
Peloton Technology – 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Platform Science – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
PostBidShip
project44 – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Redwood Logistics
Reliance Partners
Ryder
Schneider – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
Shipwell – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
SkyBitz
SmartDrive Systems
Spireon
Tesla – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Transfix
Transflo
Transplace
Trimble
Truckstop.com – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
TriumphPay – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner
Trucker Tools
Turvo
Uber Freight – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
UPS – 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Vector – 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
Vnomics
Waze – 2019 FreightTech 25 winner
WorkHound
XPO Logistics – 2020 FreightTech 25 winner / 2019 FreightTech 25 winner

Fresh faces:

6River Systems
Banyan Technology
Baton
Blue Yonder
BlueX Trade
Bringg
ClearMetal
Descartes
DLT Labs
Drivewyze Inc.
Edge Logistics
EKA Solutions
Flock Freight
Forto
Hubtek
Hylion
Kingsgate Logistics
Kuebix
Leaf Logistics
Level One Technologies
Loadsure
Maven Machines
Mercado Labs
Microdea
Overhaul
Parade
RoseRocket
Samsara
Sennder
ShipStation
Trailer Bridge
TuSimple
vHub
Waymo

Article available here

Industry Leading Omni-TMS™ Cloud-Based Platform Powers EKA To Important Recognition

The FreightTech award, presented by Freight Waves, recognizes the most innovative and disruptive companies in the freight industry as voted on by a peer group of CEOs, industry leaders and investors. A full list of winners and news on the awards ceremony can be found right here.

“Everyone at EKA Solutions is honored to be recognized for the FreightTech award in a year that has pushed all of us to innovate in a year of unprecedented challenges,” said JJ Singh, Founder, Investor and CEO of EKA Solutions, Inc. “We congratulate all our Fellow FreightTech 100 nominees and applaud this elite group of companies for their unparalleled commitment to moving the freight industry forward.”

“From day one, EKA has been focused on empowering every shipper, carrier and broker to maximize their success and we’re thrilled to see that success recognized with a FreightTech 100 award,” said Mark Walker, Investor, President and CDO. “This has been our biggest – and, like you, most challenging – year yet and we’re excited to roll out new products and services to ensure we never stop delivering disruptive solutions to those companies who are the lifeblood of our industry.”

In 2020, EKA Solutions has delivered transformational cloud-based integrated freight management ecosystem and supply chain TMS solutions to carriers, brokers and shippers looking for cutting-edge solutions for a modern world through strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Trimble MAPS and Transflo and product innovations such as broker TMS, carrier TMS, shipper TMS, 4PL, predictive visibility and SONAR pricing and analytics. Head over to the EKA Beacon website to learn more about these and other innovations for companies of any size.

About EKA
EKA Solutions, Inc., provides a transformational cloud-based SaaS digital freight ecosystem management platform, dFEMX™, to manage all the customer’s freight businesses including freight exchange and third-party services. As part of dFEMX™ Offering, EKA provides the Smart, Unified Platform EKA Omni-TMS™ for – Virtually – Everyone. EKA Omni-TMS™is designed to transform the transportation and logistics industry. It empowers small, medium, and large size broker, carrier, and shipper businesses to operate from quote-to-cash with affordable and best-in-class digital tools, enabling the higher performance demanded in tomorrow’s supply chain. With real-time information, EKA Omni-TMS™ enables brokers, carriers, and shippers to provide visibility and transparency as they fluidly trade across an expanding and verified network with key, trusted partners. For more information, visit:  https://www.go-eka.com. 

For all other inquiries:
Arune Singh
arune@go-eka.com

SOURCE EKA Solutions, Inc.

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