The Logistics of Logistics How Will You Compete with Amazon with Charley Dehoney
Charley Dehoney and Joe Lynch discuss how will you compete with Amazon. Charley is an entrepreneur, executive, and investor in the logistics and transportation space who has successfully launched and grown multiple companies.
About Charley DehoneyCharley Dehoney is a growth-focused executive, board member, and investor, with more than 17 years of experience at the intersection of transportation technology. He's helped launch, build, and scale companies that have supported hundreds of millions of dollars in growth. Charley is currently serving as President of Fitzmark, a mid-sized 3PL. Previously, Dehoney served as CEO of Manning's Truck Brokerage, a 50-year-old, logistics company acquired in 2020 by Fitzmark, Inc. Dehoney has also held executive roles in several high growth and venture capital-backed logistics businesses. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska with his beautiful wife and three strapping young sons.
About FitzmarkFitzMark is a leading Indianapolis-based transportation and logistics provider. Fitzmark delivers technology-enabled third-party logistics solutions to shippers and carriers. Fitzmark specializes in expedited transport, dry van, flatbed, refrigerated freight, warehousing, and multimodal. Fitzmark has warehousing locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Indianapolis. Additionally, Fitzmark has offices in over a dozen cities nationwide with new locations planned.
Key Takeaways: How Will You Compete with Amazon- In the episode title, "Amazon" represents all of the tech-forward competitors who have entered the transportation and logistics market.
- The Amazons of the world have some distinct advantages over the average 3PL or broker. A few of those advantages include:
- A worldview that technology can transform an industry and that great tech companies can and should scale very rapidly.
- A plan to build a better mousetrap - not just compete head to head with the existing players in the market.
- A goal to create a superior customer experience using technology.
- Access to capital either because of venture capital / private equity backing or because the company is publically traded.
- Money to invest in sales and marketing. While many 3PLs and brokers skimp on websites and digital marketing, the Amazons will invest because they know there is a good return on investment.
- Mindshare, which is a marketing term that describes the amount of consumer awareness or popularity surrounding a particular product, idea, or company.
- To successfully compete against the Amazons, Charley recommends the following:
- Build a niche and become extremely competitive within that niche. If you develop a service offering that solves the unique challenges of a specific niche, your company will be able to compete and win even against larger rivals.
- Leverage the proper capital sources to scale your companies growth:
- Angel investors/Venture capital for start-ups.
- Bank lending/Growth equity for relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets, or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business.
- Private equity to fund strategic exit and or acquisitions.