Beyond the Loss: How Cargo Theft Impacts Trust, Revenue, and Customer Relationships

Cargo theft is no longer just a security issue. It’s a business issue that affects customer trust, brand reputation, and long-term growth. In this episode of TMSA’s On the Move, Jennifer Karpus-Romain sits down with Matt Wagner, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Jarrett, to discuss how transportation and logistics companies can navigate the growing impact of cargo theft beyond the immediate financial loss.

Matt shares insights from his nearly two decades in logistics leadership, including how customer expectations have evolved, why communication during disruptions matters more than ever, and what sales and marketing professionals can do to help protect customer relationships when things go wrong. The conversation also explores lessons from Matt’s career journey, the importance of aligning sales and marketing around the customer experience, and a preview of the key takeaways attendees can expect from his ELEVATE session, Beyond the Loss: How Cargo Theft Impacts Brand Trust, Customer Experience and Revenue.

Check out the Transportation Sales and Marketing Association (TMSA) website or engage with us on LinkedIn.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

0:20

Hello everyone, and welcome to On the Move, a show where we share transportation sales and marketing success stories. I am Jennifer Carpis Romain, Executive Director of TMSA, a trade nonprofit, educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics. And today on the show, I'm excited to have Matt Wagner, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Jarrett. How are you doing today, Matt? Hey, great Jennifer. How are you? I'm doing very well. We are in the week before Elevate. So things are a little hectic here at headquarters at TMSA, but I always like to sit down and talk to our members. And you're actually speaking on stage this year at Elevate. So we have so much to talk

Jarrett’s Shift From 3PL To 4PL

1:03

about. But for those of people who might not know Jarrett or know your role and career at Jarrett, can you tell us a little bit more about the company and um how you got to the chief sales and marketing officer spot? Yeah, absolutely. Well, first of all, thank you for having me here today. Uh really appreciate the opportunity and super excited for Elevate next week in Denver. So uh look forward to seeing you in person out there. But yeah, a little bit more about uh myself and about Jarrett. Um, you know, absolutely happy to kind of talk a little bit more about it. Things today, the way that do we describe Jarrett are very different than what they were when I started. I started at Jarrett back in 2007, and we've really been on a journey over the course of that time and even here now, as far as we talk about positioning, but a little more about Jarrett in general. We are a family-owned supply chain solutions provider. We're based in uh Orville, Ohio. It's in northeast Ohio, about 45 minutes south of Cleveland. Um, we were founded back in 1999. So this year we've celebrated our 27th year in business, which is very exciting. Uh, for a lot of that history, we operated more as a 3PL, uh, providing supply chain solutions for customers all over North America. But over the last several years, we've been making more of what uh deliberate transition and uh acting more as a 4PL. And we've been working recently as far as positioning and things that way, which that matters a lot. You know, a 3PL, obviously, everybody knows that a 3PL executes freight, you know, but a 4PL designs, integrates, and operates the end-to-end supply chain network. And so what we've built at Jarrett is a model that we sit above the complexity of a client's transportation and supply chain environment. We orchestrate all of those things through one centralized control tower. That's the Jarrett Routing Center that's here in Ohio. So we provide them one team, what plant, one platform, one set of KPIs that are built around what they actually care about specifically to them, and we integrate that with our technology, our proprietary TMS. We've got an integration layer that connect with any of the systems that a client already has, whether it's an ERP, a WMS, or an existing TMS, and we don't have that rip and replace environment that they have to go through. So that's big for enterprise shippers. Uh, we also have over a million square feet of warehouse space between Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah. So that helps us provide coverage all over the US from East Coast to West Coast. And we work with a lot of different vent industries and verticals across the board. So manufacturers, distributors, retailers. Uh, we do a lot in the CPG and retail space with food and beverage, chemicals, industrial manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and defense. Um, really, anybody with a complex supply chain is where we're able to provide a lot of value. So, my role as a chief sales and marketing officer is really to own like how we tell the story, how we build the brand, how we structure the sales organization. And really, the most important part of that process is making sure that what we promise in our sales and marketing efforts actually match what a customer experience when they start doing business with us. Awesome.

Why Cargo Theft Hits Revenue

4:19

And we're so excited to have you speaking at Elevate next week. So you're speaking with Mark Gordon, your COO, and your session together is called Beyond the Lost: How Cargo Theft Impacts Brand Trust, Customer Experience, and Revenue. So, why did you feel like that was the right topic for you guys to talk about right now? You know, it's it's kind of one of those topics that you know we're really digging into, but everyone's talking about it. It's a really big uh problem within our industry. And the more you think about it, uh, like if you go to industry events, cargo theft comes up, it's probably been the hottest topic in truckload the last several years. And the remove, the room, and the topic always goes to prevention. And so carrier vetting, GPS tracking, all the security protocols, insurance coverages, all of that stuff is super important. So don't get me wrong, but the conversation almost never gets to the part where we actually think about keeping sales and marketing leaders what's keeping us up at night, which is like what happens to the customer relationship when stuff like this happens. And so here's the reality: like, cargo theft is at record levels, like it's continuing to increase. I think the average stolen load right now is approaching $200,000, which is up significantly. Um, the advanced, you know, uh processes, how that stuff happens is you know continuing to evolve. And so those are all things that we've got to get our arms around. And, you know, because some of those things that don't necessarily show up on kind of loss report, those are things that we're gonna be talking about next week. Uh, and so I thought this topic was gonna be right because like sales and marketing professionals are typically some of the folks that may not necessarily be the first to know when some of these things happen, uh, but they really need to be involved in this so that we can make sure that we get uh any gaps closed to make sure that things are communicated well to the customer and that they're taken care of. And then we can look at how can we reduce and minimize the impact, not only immediately in the situation, but also long term over anything that occurs going forward with relationships. I agree, it's really important. I think a lot of times, and that's why I think TMSA exists too, because we do focus on those sales and marketing roles, and sales and marketing people are the ones who are responsible for getting your messaging out, for being in charge of your brand, for creating that trust. But they're often like the, like you said, like the last ones to kind of be told about what's going on, but they're the ones responsible for putting the information out. And so we have to think of things through a lens, and there needs to be a space to have those conversations because, as you said, at all the other shows, we are talking about it as like the actual operational side of things. And so at TMSA, that's one of the things we try to do is take these huge topics that are going on in the industry, but put that sales and marketing lens on it to make these big, big topics applicable for the people who are in our realm. And cargo theft is then, you know, treated as an operation or claims issue. Your session then really does look at it in that lens of building trust and communication and customer loyalty and what you can do. So, without kind of giving away your session, what are some of the key things that you'll be hitting on during that? Well,

Communication That Preserves Trust

7:43

like I think one of the first things that that we need to understand is just that you know, stepping back when things like this happen is probably the wrong instinct. And in some cases, it's a lot of folks' default. You know, the thinking may be, well, hey, this is an operations problem or a claims issue. I really should kind of back out, let them do their thing. I don't know what's going on, I don't have all the answers. Um, and you know what? I mean, I think that makes sense, but nobody wants to be in front of a customer when they're still piecing everything together as far as what happens. But, you know, what the actual customer is experiencing when that happens is they feel abandoned. And so the person that just fought for their business, that built the relationship over years of touch points, when they go quiet, you know, that's really like the first human that they actually hear from, maybe a claim trap. And sometimes that language, sometimes those messages aren't necessarily delivered in the best manner. And so you just want to make sure that there is a person behind the message. And you know, I heard a version of the story, like there was a company that handled an incident operationally about as well as you could, and the claim was filed fast, everything was uh was recovered, and like the the solution or the resolution was pretty solid. Um, but like I'm I'm going to an event, and and one of the guys that I was talking about, I'll see him later this afternoon. But they told me like about three months later, the account went away. Nobody understood why. Um, everything that operations did was was perfect in their eyes. But what they found out was that you know they didn't communicate well enough. You know, when they found out about it, the situation, they found out in a manner where they didn't hear it from the partner that they had. And by the time everything got resolved, it got resolved pretty well, but they had lost a lot of trust from the customer that they had. And so if you think about it, just being able to kind of understand like it's not the salesperson's job or the sales team to manage the claim, but they do have to be involved in the relationship. And those are two very different responsibilities, you know. And, you know, from a marketing perspective, just being able to understand that we can provide an impact, but it's much further upstream. It's about being proactive, it's about making sure that trust and credibility and things like that are very well established and that you're able to follow through with those relationships and be open, transparent, and reliable for when your partners and your customers need you in that time. That's when you've got to be able to deliver. I agree. I think that no one is perfect, things are gonna happen. And when something goes wrong in that supply chain, the customers are gonna remember how they were communicated with, what they were told, and when they were told, and how quickly they were told. And if they were communicated in a transparent manner of like, this is what's happening, this is what we're doing to fix it, that kind of information. Um, you mentioned like having the sales rep be part of that communication plan so that they are communicating with the person they're familiar with, but is there anything else that really separates a response that protects trust from one that damages it? Well, I think I think two things that come to mind. The first is speed. And I think that, you know, at Jarrett, we believe in being able to proactively manage a supply chain. And proactiveness doesn't mean you sit around and you wait. And so the customer should never be the first one to reach out and initiate contact when there's stuff like that that's going on. Um, it's a balancing act because you've got to understand and you got to know what's going on, and you may be put in a position where you've got to start communicating without all of the answers and without all of the details. But if a customer is kind of like proactively leading those things rather than the provider, you know, you're already kind of losing ground there. And so I think speed and also the the human touch of that is where things like are the most important. And so making sure that you've got the tone of voice and the tone to deliver that message where, hey, it's it's not about liability, it's not about all of the specific terms within the industry as far as like um everything that's going on, it's a matter of being able to work with people because people work with people and being able to understand what's going on, be able to be transparent, be up front, but also talk through all of the different moving pieces and parts as things continue to play out. And so it's not a it's not a quick situation overall. I we feel like customers don't want process updates, they want to feel like somebody that they trust is engaged, they want to feel like you're in control of the situation, that you're taking care of them, that you're taking charge of things, and that that requires like a real person, it's a real conversation. And I think those are things that go a long way because you know, one thing we know about transportation and anything is that it doesn't always go as planned. But when things don't go according to plan, that's when you really find out like what kind of partnership you have and what people are made of, and gives the opportunity. We don't want the opportunity, but when those things do occur, that's what separates one provider from the next and one relationship from the next. And you've got to be very intentional about making sure that um you're prepared for situations like that. You know, who makes those calls, when do they make those calls, how do they make those calls? Uh they're not technology problems, but it's more of like a leadership and alignment and uh things like that that you've got to make sure that you've got in place good processes and procedures.

How Transportation Buyers Have Changed

13:52

And you've spent more than two decades now in business development, sales management. How has that transportation buyer changed over that time? You know, I think I think from a long time ago, like when I started, um I think buyers are a lot different than where they are today. You know, like like when I got into this industry, you know, there were there were folks that had a lot of experience, but I think they were always they didn't know what they didn't know. And you know, you always have folks that that know everything, and and that's not gonna change, but it was much more transactional and it was much more um, you know, decisions were made on rates and relationships, right? Um today, I think, especially at the enterprise level, um, you know, buyers and decision makers walk into conversations where they know so much more than they ever did. And the ability to do a lot of research, the ability to find out a lot of information about folks, um, all of that stuff is so much more readily available, and people are much more well prepared than they were 20 years ago. And so they're they're not necessarily just asking, can you move my freight? What's your cost, but they're looking for more of like that partner that can help their business get better over time, that can be for them to support them like when things don't go as they should. And so, you know, I think those are big things overall that you know people are looking for. It's that it's that partner, it's that the the people that can execute in times of uh chaos and that actually be able to come back and provide a lot of value to them. And so that's why that shift of like a big part of why like four PR 4PL models. Um sorry, I've got a truck coming through here. It's okay. We are on the move. All right, but Matt is he's parked, he's not driving and talking to us. Correct, correct, safety first, though. Um, so in today's market, then, so it's more about relationships over that transaction. Is there something that you think the customers are asking for the most right now from their logistics partners in those relationships? Like, is it transparency? Is it pricing? Is it just they we trust that you're doing the best that we can? Is it proactive communications of being like, oh, hey, we think that we could meet you here and do this kind of work? What do you think about those relationships are most important right now? You know, I think what I hear the most from folks that, you know, as we're looking at, you know, trying to establish new relationships and new business, um, I I don't hear what I hear the most is like we need somebody that is helping manage our business, not just executing things. Um what what they mean by that is like executing just means like book in freight, move in freight. But what I've heard people refer to as management is basically when folks have more context, more visibility, and more perspective over the entire supply chain and the entire business, being able to identify problems before they become crisis and being able to help them make and manage, uh, make better decisions within their network so that they can help them run better, faster, and more efficiently, especially with all the pressure going on right now from a cost and a fuel different perspective. You know, being able to know that they have professionals on their side that are helping them look at and identify ways to manage their supply chain faster and more efficiently, like that's the biggest thing. So if I think about it more specifically, like visibility is one of the first things. You know, everybody needs tracking visibility and understanding where their shipments are right now. But the more part of that process that people are looking for for visibility is being able to have visibility into data and being able to turn that into actionable insight so that they can really make good business decisions overall. You know, continuity is one of the others that come to mind. Uh, I met a met a guy, a business leader uh last week at an event in North Carolina, and they had just mentioned that they have grown so much by acquisition, they work with providers, but they have different contacts for every site, for every mode. And so the right hand never talks and knows what the left hand is doing. And so they're really looking for continuity that can be able to look for some of those higher level, more strategic optimization opportunities that will really make their business better execute. And the third that kind of jumps to mind is everybody wants more technology. I think integration is one of those levels that they're looking to integrate. And integration means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but the ability to exchange information at a quick and easy pace to be able to speed up the process of doing business, but also reduce errors and be able to be more efficient and accurate. You know, being able to do that quickly and easily, because no one has enough IT resources these days. So you've got to be able to do that seamlessly in order to be able to help move the needle. So um, partners that help do that, those are the things that I hear the most often at a high level, but then breaking that down into three separate areas and what that typically means. Yeah, it sounds like they're looking for a true partner that they can trust. Like it's a chaotic time. So the more that they can know that they can trust their partner and what the information they're getting is true, accurate, up to date, and is ebb and flowing with everything that's going on in the market right now. I think that's a huge impact for them so that they can focus on what they need to do. Like everyone wants to have that partner that you can fully put the ball in their hands and know that it's not going to drop. And I think that's so important in the market right now.

Visibility Continuity And Tech Expectations

20:05

Yes. Um, okay, so you lead both marketing and sales strategy. We talk a lot about like marketing sales alignment, things like that, and especially when we're talking about all these big, big issues and making sure we're going to market and having the messaging and what we're saying on sales all match. How do you keep those teams aligned so that the brand promise actually matches that customer expectation and experience? Yeah, that's a that's a big question, and I think that's a big project that is is always ongoing. You know what I mean? Um I feel like if anybody tell you tells you that they've like fully cracked that alignment problem, um it it's a challenge. It may be in a vacuum, but it's something that you constantly have to work on because I think your team is consistently evolving, whether that's new people coming on board or you know, other different changes that are going on within an organization, um, it's it's not easy to do. I think um I feel like alignment doesn't really happen like in org charts or just internal memos and things like that. Like I think you have to be very intentional about using like a shared language, um, shared accountability, uh, and being able to share the customer's voice. And so um typically marketing sales, they they're all kind of going about the same thing, but they tend to think and speak very differently. And so the more that we can do in order to be able to kind of get both teams together and hear each other's different perspective, um, it was it was, I think that's what helps. We just had a corporate sales meeting in May, and we we got everyone together. And one of the things that we did was like a cohort session, we just kind of refer to it that way. And the intent is every individual you know is able to bring some sort of a challenge. Or something that is an opportunity for them and share that. And so this year we did a little bit differently and we incorporated our marketing and our sales operations team into that. And they kind of spoke collectively as a group. And it was really good to be able to have them share some of the challenges they were up against. And really, again, it's alignment, it's buy-in, it's different things like that from the team were a lot of those things. But then being able to hear some of the ideas that sales had provided to them. And it uncovered some different things that we can work on, but it was just an opportunity to be open and upfront, and which was very positive. And on the flip side, our marketing and our sales ops folks, they may not be out selling deals, but they came up with some of the most creative ways to help them get over some of their challenges. And so it was a really good and constructive piece on our side that was very positive. And so just keeping the teams interacting together on a consistent basis on the challenges that are up to, re and uh restating how everybody's working towards the same common goals. I mean, those are all the things that we're trying to do, but it's a process, it's not easy. It's not, and I would I would say it's almost similar to what we're talking about with your customer, too, like creating that transparency, creating that trust, understanding what each side is doing, like especially in this then internal side, you know, your your sales should doesn't need to be a marketer, your marketer doesn't need to be a sales, but they need to understand bring value and that transparency and working together is what's going to bring that biggest output. And I do I think that, like, yes, you can't just send a memo, you can't just do a monthly meeting and expect these people to collaborate and work together. It it takes work and putting them in the same room and having them, you know, do that um like thought-provoking and engaging activities together and seeing how those different perspectives can actually mold together for the best output and not kind of friction points between each other. So I think that's great. Yep.

Keeping Sales And Marketing Aligned

24:06

And that's taking us kind of full circle back to when we were talking about um you speaking at Elevate. And we've talked about this, the the shifting of the buyer in the market. We've talked about the importance of sales and marketing alignment. Thinking about your session next week at Elevate. I'm curious if there's one mindset shift that you hope attendees will take back to their teams after hearing your session on um cargo theft relating to sales and marketing teams and messaging and brand and trust. Yeah, I I think I think probably one of the one of the shifts that Mark and I talked about as we're kind of getting this ready is just the the way of thinking that cargo theft is not necessarily someone else's problem to own. It's more of a shared responsibility throughout the organization. And, you know, I think from our understanding, just with networking with others in the space, you know, I think a lot of this stuff lives more in a clearly defined box. And, you know, sales and marketing doesn't always necessarily fit inside that box. But if we leverage the resources, the relationships, and the expertise that we have, I think together we can all accomplish more. And you know, the customer is the beneficiary of that. You know, if we're if all hands are on deck and you know, we're working through that, it's a mindset, it's a mindset shift as far as who's managing those client relationships. But um those are things that I think are going to pay off. And really, I think the TMSA audience, I think the I've been a member now from going on maybe eight or nine years as far as from exposure. And what I love about this group is that everybody's willing to help everybody, and it's truly a close-knit organization. We have a lot of folks at Jarrett that have been able to be part of it over the years, and I'm really excited about being able to kind of get back out to elevate here next week and be able to see everybody. Um, but this is something that is gonna be much, much more beyond this discussion. It's a discussion that's gonna continue to go and evolve and just being able to kind of give some folks some opportunities to talk about it and think about it in a new way and what they can take back to their organization. Um, they may have a lot of different uh takeaways, but I think it's gonna be a really good discussion next week, and we're looking forward to it. Yep, me too. And that's June 7th through 9th in Denver. You can still scan to learn more up here. We still have registrations coming in every day, lots of last-minute decisions in this market as we talk about all the chaos, but um excited to have you and Mark come speak and the whole Jarrett team um coming. Uh, there's quite a few of you coming this year, which is exciting.

Shared Ownership And Career Advice

26:55

Um, one last question for you that I ask everybody who comes on the show. And if that's if you could go back in time and advise your younger self anything, and it could be personally or professionally, when would you go back to and what would you say? So I hadn't thought about when. I guess like I was talking to um a group of of folks at at Kent State University here recently, and kind of was asked a similar question. And I'm not necessarily going back to my college days, but I'm just I feel like this is one of those uh pieces of advice that can be really represented at any time. But my thing is just be open-minded and just be genuinely comfortable with being uncomfortable, and what I mean by that is I think that's really like how I got into logistics is I shoot, I didn't know anything about logistics, I couldn't I couldn't spell it, let alone like try and talk about it and sell it. Um, but I had the opportunity to get into this industry in 2007 and didn't know anything about what I was doing, but I had great people around me at Jarrett that were great operators, they were very helpful, they were willing to kind of answer questions, kind of show me the way. And what I've found out is that I it's like addictive. I know, I know there's supply chain majors and all of that stuff now, so you can intentionally get into this field, but I feel like there's so many of us that just kind of accidentally got into this line of work, but it's kind of like addicting, and there's so much complexity, there's there's so many challenges, there's so many opportunities to kind of grow and overcome things. Like that's what makes it interesting to me because it's not easy. And you could have the same customer that makes and produces the same widget that that has a uh facilities right across the street from each other, but the way they operate inside those four walls are so different, and you've got to be able to learn and figure it out and put the puzzle pieces together, and everybody's at different spots within their journey, and so just be open-minded, I guess is what I would say, because you never know where you will find passion that you didn't even know existed, and you'll never know, like if you don't try things and you're not willing to listen to things, and so um that that goes in a lot of different things, but that would be my advice is just be open, have an open mind, explore different opportunities and possibilities, and figure out what you like, where your niche is and where your groove is, and then just go out and own it. Well, I think that is great advice. Thank you so much for sharing that and coming on a show today. I'm so excited to see you in Denver next week at Elevate. And anyone listening, learn more about the show at events.tmsa today.org. Uh, thanks, Matt, and I will see you next week. Awesome. Thanks for having me, Jen. Really appreciate this and look forward to seeing you next week. Awesome.