Corporate Traffic Logistics’ Vice President of Business Development, Eric Levy, has been an integral player in growing and maintaining CT’s business since he started with the company six years ago. Eric utilizes his 25 years of experience to help lead a team of more than 75 sales professionals and individually maintain and grow CT’s professional long-term relationships with a wide range of Fortune 500 companies across numerous verticals.
We sat down with Eric for a quick Q&A to learn more about his time at Corporate Traffic, key industry trends and what’s on the horizon for CT.
What accomplishment are you most proud of during your time at Corporate Traffic?
The growth of the company in the past several years has been amazing. I have personally focused on the growth of the business on the contractual side and it has paid off. Seeing us grow the way we have since I’ve gotten here is so rewarding. I particularly enjoy sharing these victories with all the employees involved in the process.
I also appreciate the strong bonds I have been fortunate enough to form with our customers. I love letting them know where we are as a company, and what we’re doing to make their freight show up on time, damage-free, without ever turning loads back on them. We have a great track record of success and that has resulted in the growth of opportunities with many of our largest customers during some extremely challenging times. This is a direct result of our focus on the customer relationship.
How has working for Corporate Traffic helped you achieve your personal goals?
I think a lot of my personal goals coincide with our company goals. And the way we’re all incentivized here makes us work harder.
One of the things I’ve always fortunately been able to do has been to sell things that I believe in. That goes a long way in how you’re presenting what you’re selling. And at Corporate Traffic, I totally believe in our process in how we handle people’s freight, and our commitment to making sure it shows up on time. It’s all about integrity. It’s about being honest and communicating effectively.
How has the transportation and logistics industry changed over the past decade?
Logistics in the last 10 years has seen a lot of huge ups and downs. In our industry, it’s very cyclical. It goes from what we call a “shippers’ market” to a “carriers’ market” and goes back and forth. Usually, in a year to a year and a half, you see those cycles flip flop.
For example, when you look at what happened in the pandemic, nobody could see what was about to happen. The change that happened is that it became a carriers’ market for almost 3+ years, which was outrageous in the shippers’ minds because they couldn’t get that relief of rates coming back down. They consistently had to pay historically high rates. We saw fuel go way down as no one was driving and then go through the roof as it started to open up a little more, trucks were getting back out there, and production was picking up. So, we saw fuel go up, rates go up, and everybody’s costs go up. That was a constant that stayed more regular than it normally would have been.
Technology is another huge change that we’ve seen happen in the past ten years. The way technology changes so rapidly right now, you’re almost obsolete if you don’t continue to innovate, whether it is in your TMS, WMS, or CRM. Since we have an in-house development team that is extremely forward-thinking, we are able to stay ahead by utilizing the best data and tools that get carried over to the customer experience.
How does your company work with customers to develop customized solutions that meet their specific transportation and logistics needs?
What’s great about Corporate Traffic is that we’re a hybrid. We run our own assets, and then we do a lot of third-party logistics, brokering of freight. Our flexibility comes from the fact that we partner with good carriers and then couple that with the flexibility and opportunity to run that truck for them. And if that driver drops the ball and can’t move the load, we can send a Corporate Transportation truck in there to pick up that load. Corporate Transportation works with us on our sales front and that way, they can always go in there and help us move loads for various customers to ensure that that service stays in place.
What advice do you have for people just getting started in the logistics industry?
For people getting into the industry, I recommend that they really get a better understanding by reading industry publications and other logistics and supply chain resources. Also, I think it’s important to truly appreciate and understand all the roles in the industry, from the driver and mechanics to the various customer and carrier side operations roles that keep the supply chain network moving along. Once you understand this network, then one can properly focus on sales.
Looking ahead, what are some of the key trends or developments you see on the horizon for the transportation and logistics industry, and how is Corporate Traffic preparing for them?
Well, I think technology is the key. Everybody is really gearing up to be as technologically savvy as they can possibly be. You’ve got to be streamlined, current, and fast. The underlying key to all that will always be communication. So, whether you’re calling or texting or utilizing EDI, or a portal, it’s all about communication.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about Corporate Traffic?
I’ve never worked at a company like Corporate Traffic. Our culture, our ownership, and our people are laid back, but are active, smart and progressive as any company I’ve ever worked for. And I do hope this is my last job. You know, I’m not getting younger, but I’m far from old. I have as much if not more energy than anybody in this building. And so, it’s a lot of fun for me, and I’m going to keep doing it!
Thank you to Eric for joining us for this Q&A. You can connect with Eric here or introduce yourself via email at eric.levy@corporatetraffic.com.