The Logistics of Logistics The Year Ahead with Doug Waggoner
Doug Waggoner and Joe Lynch discuss the year ahead. Doug is the CEO of Echo Global Logistics, a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services.
About Doug WaggonerDoug Waggoner has served as Chief Executive Officer of Echo Global Logistics since December 2006 and was a Board member from 2008-2021. Waggoner served as Chairman of the Board from 2015 until 2021. Prior to joining Echo, Waggoner founded SelecTrans, LLC, a freight management software provider based in Chicago, Illinois. From April 2004 to December 2005, Waggoner served as Chief Executive Officer of USF Bestway, and from January 2002 to April 2004 he served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing for USF Corporation. Waggoner served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Daylight Transport from April 1999 to January 2002, Executive Vice President from October 1998 to April 1999, and Chief Information Officer from January 1998 to October 1998. From 1986 to 1998, Waggoner held a variety of positions in sales, operations, marketing, and engineering at Yellow Transportation before becoming Vice President of Customer Service. Waggoner holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from San Diego State University.
About Echo Global LogisticsEcho Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading Fortune 1000 provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Headquartered in Chicago with more than 30 offices around the country, Echo offers freight brokerage and Managed Transportation solutions for all major modes, including truckload, partial truckload, LTL, intermodal, and expedited. Echo maintains a proprietary, web-based technology platform that compiles and analyzes data from its network of over 50,000 transportation providers to serve 35,000 clients across a wide range of industries and simplify the critical tasks involved in transportation management. For more information on Echo Global Logistics, visit: www.echo.com.
Key Takeaways: The Year Ahead- Doug Waggoner is the CEO of Echo Global Logistics, a leading Fortune 1000 provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services.
- In the podcast interview Joe and Doug discussed the year ahead.
- The Covid hangover, inflation, and higher interest rates are causing softer volumes for shippers and carriers, which is driving cost per mile lower.
- Doug believes we are already in a recession, and we should expect higher unemployment, layoffs, lower valuations for venture backed tech companies, and softening of volumes and pricing. Expect some owner operators will leave the market.
- Technology will continue to be important and logistics providers will continue to invest. Large companies like Echo will invest in their own proprietary systems while smaller companies will leverage SaaS offerings.
- Over the years, Echo has made substantial investment in its technology platforms. Its industry-leading, proprietary technology supports clients by addressing a lack of visibility into their supply chain and provides a more robust, data-driven means of reporting.
- Echo's innovations also support freight carriers by providing more flexibility, transparency, and control. These solutions (and their on-going evolutions) ultimately result in a more streamlined and efficient process as well as increased carrier and client satisfaction. Learn more about Echo's branded technology offerings:
- EchoAccelerator - A flexible and robust proprietary architecture that supports over 16,000 shipments a day and powers Echo's shipper, carrier, and managed transportation systems.
- EchoShip - A self-service shipping platform giving shippers the ability to quote, book, ship, and track, as well as manage invoices, all online. The easy-to-use portal consolidates and simplifies shipping by enabling customers to build loads, store frequently used shipment information, and track shipments in real time. With consistent updates and new location management features, clients have more control over managing their location details, making the booking process faster and more efficient than ever.
- EchoDrive - A web portal and mobile app giving carriers real-time access to search, bid, book, manage, track, and get paid on freight hauled for Echo. EchoDrive's load management tool and document upload capabilities streamline operations, keep dispatchers organized, and help drivers get back on the road faster. EchoDrive also provides the opportunity to book loads digitally anytime, anywhere with the Book Now feature, greatly reducing the time it takes to book a load. Users can set up real-time email notifications for new loads that become available for any desired lane in EchoDrive and save preferred lanes to reduce time spent searching for loads.