As companies continue to navigate economic challenges during the freight recession, a top executive at J.B. Hunt Transport says it’s important to listen and focus on customers’ changing needs to provide long-term value, while also collaborating and balancing investments in technology and people.
“If we think about where the industry has been over the last five to eight years, the level of investment seen in the supply chain has been substantial as billions of dollars have poured in to try and solve some of the industry’s greatest challenges,” said Brad Hicks, president of highway services and executive vice president of people at J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) during his industry keynote Tuesday at FreightWaves’ Future of Supply Chain event in Atlanta.
While investments in technology and companies’ focus on AI to tackle manual processes continue to be a driving force in the supply chain, Hicks said the Lowell, Arkansas-based company prioritizes listening to customers’ changing needs to drive long-term value.
“As we think about the investments that we make, how do we stay disciplined and make sure that we generate returns for those investments?” Hicks said. “It really starts and ends with us by listening to our customers and what they are telling us. We don’t want to try and solve for what we think they might need. … It’s the value of making sure that we hear what it is that our customers are searching for and how do we best provide for that.”
Collaboration with customers is also key to addressing fragmentation in the industry. With insight from industry professionals, logistics providers, customers and technology providers, Hicks said J.B. Hunt collaborated with digital freight companies Uber Freight and Convoy, which was acquired by Flexport in February, to improve freight shipment API standards by creating the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC) in December 2022.
“Think about the value that is created by eliminating waste and driving efficiency,” he said. “It could be significant if you think about the impact that this can have on drivers and their ability to manage their day.”
Despite the deep recession that has lasted more than two years, J.B. Hunt has continued to make investments to expand or improve operations.
“We’ve expanded our transloading capabilities, our cross-border offerings, and we’ve expanded our LTL consolidation capabilities,” Hicks said.
At FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival in November 2023 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, J.B. Hunt and BNSF Railway (NYSE: BRK.B) launched Quantum, a premium intermodal offering aimed at improving delivery times with consistent service. The collaboration between the companies is expected to grow its container fleet by 150,000 units by 2027.
In closing, Hicks acknowledged the important role that technology plays in the supply chain but added that technology will never entirely replace people and their industry expertise.
“We feel like if you don’t have that proper balance of people and tech working together and complementing each other, then you’re probably behind,” he said.
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