Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/319866
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 49 INNOVATORS CELADON GROUP Indianapolis achieve its vision of creating a new service culture. Lauren Howard, a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in business administration, had studied Celadon in school and admired the things the company was doing. Upon graduation, Howard ap- plied for a job. Celadon hired her as a customer service manager, overseeing the order entry team. When Howard started, keeping capacity commitments with customers was one – if not the only – criteria the team used to determine which load offers, or tenders, to book. Order entry was considered a low- value job, and turnover was high. People who excelled at it were looking for jobs outside of Celadon or moving to more "high-value" departments within the company, Howard says. To change this culture, Howard gave everyone a new title; the order entry team became known as freight analysts. Celadon also developed a new software tool called Order Entry 2 (OE2) to provide freight analysts with a holistic view of profi tability and customer scorecard metrics, along with other information, to use when booking loads. Order entry soon became a carefully measured and strategic process. "Peo- ple underestimate the value of a title," says Howard, who soon was promoted S teve Russell, a mathematician, takes a methodical and planned approach to life and business. Even his beard is the result of a calculation he once made on how many minutes he could save throughout his life and apply to tasks more productive than shaving. One day nearly 30 years ago, Russell, from Brooklyn, stopped at a toll booth on the Henry Hudson Parkway. He always carried exact change for tolls to travel as effi ciently as possible. This day was different; he had to stop and wait for his change. At the booth, he spotted a former colleague in the next lane. They both quickly rolled down their windows. The colleague wasted no time in telling Russell about an opportunity to start a business transporting automotive freight into the United States from Mexico. The rest, as they say, is history. From this chance encounter, Russell created the Ce- ladon Group in 1985. Today, the Indianapolis-based company (CCJ Top 250, No. 36) operates 3,500 trucks and 9,200 trailers and has diversifi ed its operations to include dry van, temperature control, intermodal, local, regional and dedicated. Like all carriers, Celadon is focused on recruiting and retaining qualifi ed drivers, but with the logistics industry growing at 22 percent annually, driving is not the only job in high demand. Attracting top talent from within and outside of the supply chain can be a challenge for trucking, which often lacks the sizzle of other careers. Taking ownership In 2012, Celadon was in the process of hiring a few industry "outsiders" to The company focuses on recruiting top talent from within and outside of the supply chain to create a new service culture. Celadon elevates its workforce to attract, develop, retain top talent BY AARON HUFF