By Bruce Lilly

(Editor's note: This is the 8th in a series of articles which will show how some of our members have achieved success and are willing to share their story with our members.)

Robert Nathan, CEO of Load Delivered Logistics, started his company during January of 2008, not exactly the best time to start a new logistics business. The economy was in a tailspin and many logistics firms were scrambling to capture enough freight to stay afloat.

Since its start up, Nathan's firm has not only survived, but flourished, moving freight for a score of Fortune 500 companies.

Nathan, still under 30, as is much of the staff, and in order to provide ease of access to each other and to facilitate collaboration and teamwork, forgo cubicles. This also allows all to enjoy a stunning view of the Chicago skyline through the large windows that line their space. The idea behind this "non-corporate" culture is to provide an atmosphere where a new generation of freight brokers can thrive.

Nathan strongly believes in teamwork and collaboration, using technology to provide full transparency as everyone can see all aspects of the system. "Our software platform allows us to have strong internal communication between our staff as well as excellent external communication with our customers and carriers," says Nathan.

To foster the teamwork, new members are asked to do two things. One is to be positive. Problems will always arise in the transportation industry but they want to respond to them in a positive manner. The second thing they ask is a willingness to learn.

Nathan's style of management is to show rather than to tell everyone how it should be done. The staff is told, "You've been given the proper training and the best technological resources. Here's the performance data and you can determine how to utilize this information to take your game to the next level." They have found that people who are excited are going to take that statistic and run with it.

Nathan explains that he analyzes individual statistics as well as team statistics and puts this context around the isolated figures. If he sees reduced margins for moves being booked by one of his staff, he may discover, for example, that carrier rates are suddenly spiking in their region. Once they have uncovered the cause, they can try to find a remedy. Nathan analyzes, assesses, and formulates a plan of action based on the information he has.

Nathan's team looks at the internal metrics so they can make decisions on how to service customers and when to service customers. If certain markets are changing, maybe the company can be one step ahead of the game by utilizing their data and finding a way to assist our customers.

Nathan looks at the same data the Load Delivered Team is viewing, including load count per day, profitability per day, customers serviced per day, carriers added to their network. The list is long, but anyone can review everything very quickly because the pertinent data is stored in one report that was designed internally.

The company has a rigorous training program that Nathan is directly involved in, as he believes it is important for members of the Load Delivered Team to be trained from the top down. The company has individual meetings analyzing the reports. Logical and realistic goals are formulated and specific, individualized goals are all aligned to the overall business objective. "Our basic driving goal is to service our customers. We'll do just about anything for them. We never say 'No', we are always going to provide some sort of option for our customer," says Nathan.

Nathan feels that his extensive use of technology and attention to our carriers are critical to the company's success. Software technology boosts every aspect of our business and our technology impresses our customers. Our customers have real-time access to order-delivery status starting with a standard update via e-mail when the order is entered and additional e-mail notifications are sent as the load gets delivered. Nathan indicates that his customers forward these e-mails to their customers.

Nathan feels that having strong relationships with the carriers is just as important as servicing the customers. The company treats our carriers just like our customers. The firm tries to pay their carriers quickly as cash flow is extremely critical to the operation of a trucking company. If they deliver on time, the carrier deserves to get paid on time.

Load Delivered's technology helps their carriers, making it easier for carriers to work with Load Delivered on all levels. The staff has access to the system 24/7, so if a carrier is calling at 2:00 a.m. with a critical issue, they can log on remotely, getting the driver the information he needs so he is on the way without delay.

Load Delivered can function as an intermediary for the smaller carriers who don't have the technology, but who want to haul for larger corporations. Nathan thinks that they can help them conduct business, and probably help them grow.

The company believes that they have a role to play in creating positive social change in our community, which is why they strongly promote philanthropy from within the company through their Charitable Match Program. Together, with Load Delivered employees, contributions have been made to American Red Cross, Children's Memorial Hospital, YMCA, Chicago Firefighters Run for the Kids, U.S. Holocaust Museum, Save-A-Star Foundation, Miseri-cordia, and many more.

Nathan says that the Load Delivered team has worked really hard to service our customers and foster good, solid relationships with carriers. Everyone on the Load Delivered Team really understands the importance of representing Load Delivered with every transaction. "At the end of the day, all we have is our name and our integrity, and so far we can say that Load Delivered has established a reliable reputation in an industry where dependability is everything", says Nathan.

Bruce Lilly is a freelance writer in Bloomington, Indiana who writes for and about the transportation industry. He can be contacted at 812.333.2390 or Bruce@BruceLilly.com