ThinkFreight – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the ThinkFreight podcast, Thomas Werdine sits down with Eric Williams, co-founder and CEO of Beagl, to explore his unique journey from financial markets to freight brokerage. They dive into the challenges faced by brokers versus shippers, the importance of understanding the shipper’s perspective, and how to optimize freight operations. 

Eric shares valuable insights on the role of contracts and how to foster successful partnerships in logistics. They also discuss the importance of specificity in brokerage services and building strategic relationships between brokers and shippers. 

Then, Eric introduces Beagl, a cutting-edge tool that transforms the RFP process using data and automation. Plus, hear about feedback from early Beagl users and what the future of freight sales looks like as technology continues to evolve.

—————————————————

⚫️ Rose Rocket and TMS.ai are transforming the freight industry with seamless transportation management solutions. Improve your operations, streamline communication, and gain real-time visibility—all in one powerful platform. Try RoseRocket and TMS.ai today!

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.

⚫️ Vendorflow assists dispatch teams and drivers in overcoming typical communication challenges and enhances safety by reducing distractions, including preventing message delivery while drivers are in transit. Check out Vendorflow today!

⚫️ Purple Squirrel is enriching careers in logistics. Representing freight agents, brokers, and forwarders, they secure multiple winning offers tailored for today’s top freight talent. Check out Purple Squirrel now!

In this episode, I sit down with Andrey Yakimchuk, founder and CEO of Hawk Logistics. Andrey shares his inspiring journey from immigrant truck driver to building a successful trucking company. He discusses the early struggles of becoming an owner-operator, how he navigated challenges like high-interest loans and finding good drivers, and the evolution of Hawk Logistics as it grew into a fleet of 70 trucks.

The conversation dives into Andrey’s leadership philosophy, focusing on empowering people, building strong relationships, and fostering a positive company culture. As Hawk Logistics continues to grow, Andrey shares his vision for the future, including expanding into direct shipper relationships and setting ambitious goals for the coming years.

📍Massive thanks to our podcast sponsors:

⚫️ Talento is not just a nearshoring solution – it’s a partner in building and scaling a thriving logistics business. Focused entirely on freight, supply chain, and logistics, Talento offers more than just talent—it provides an entire ecosystem designed to support and optimize growth.

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.

⚫️ Vendorflow assists dispatch teams and drivers in overcoming typical communication challenges and enhances safety by reducing distractions, including preventing message delivery while drivers are in transit. Check out Vendorflow today!

⚫️ Purple Squirrel is enriching careers in logistics. Representing freight agents, brokers, and forwarders, they secure multiple winning offers tailored for today’s top freight talent. Check out Purple Squirrel now!

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I sit down with Jason Mansur, CEO of Yellow Diamond Logistics, to trace his journey through the logistics industry. Starting from his early days at FedEx and later at Logistics Planning Services (LPS), Jason shares how these foundational experiences shaped his leadership philosophy and strategic thinking. 

We discuss his move to Evans Transportation as President and COO, where he helped drive growth from $65M to $400M by introducing new service lines and expanding operations into multiple locations.

Jason offers insights into his current roles on various boards, leveraging these experiences to guide his CEO decisions at Yellow Diamond Logistics. He also talks about launching Navix—a freight audit and invoicing automation tool—explaining how machine learning and AI help reduce errors, shorten DSO, and free teams to focus on growth.

As the CEO of Yellow Diamond Logistics, Jason outlines his goals for scaling the company, improving operational consistency, and diversifying the customer base.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.
=================================

🌎 Find Jason Mansur & Yellow Diamond online:

Jason's LinkedIn

Yellow Diamond's Website
Yellow Diamond's LinkedIn
=================================

🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I chat with Tristan Bordallo, founder of IAmFr8, about his journey from freight broker agent to trucking company founder. Tristan shares how he got started, why he ventured out on his own, and how investing in assets like trucks has shaped his business model. 

He emphasizes creating a positive, “go with the flow” culture and explains why he’s chosen to build his company in public for greater transparency. We discuss the challenges he’s faced, how he’s tackled them, and his vision for IAmFr8 moving forward.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.
=================================

🌎 Find Tristan & IAmFr8 online:

LinkedIn

IAmFr8 LinkedIn

=================================

🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of ThinkFreight, we sit down with Cale Pearson, President of B2B Transportation Services, a company that has been a staple in the freight industry for over two decades. 

Cale shares his journey from his early days in freight to leading B2B, offering insight into how the company has thrived with its unique W2 and agent-based model.

Cale also discusses the current challenges facing freight brokers, from market fluctuations to pricing pressures, and how B2B has adapted with strategic growth initiatives.

He offers valuable advice on how brokers can thrive in tough market conditions, the importance of building meaningful relationships with shippers and carriers, and the growing role of digital content, especially on platforms like YouTube, in shaping the future of freight brokerage.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.
=================================

🌎 Find Cale Pearson & B2B Transportation online:

Cale Pearson - LinkedIn

B2B Transportation - Website

=================================

🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I sit down with Oliver Jones, Founder of Manifold Freight, to discuss his journey from the pioneering digital brokerage Convoy to launching his own company focused on spot freight solutions. 

Oliver shares his background in logistics and technology, detailing how his 6.5 years at Convoy shaped his approach to building Manifold Freight. 

During his time at Convoy, he played a crucial role in its operations and experienced firsthand the highs of working in a well-supported startup, as well as the challenges of winding down operations.

Oliver talks about the inspiration behind Manifold Freight and explains its unique focus on the spot freight market.

He discusses why he chose to specialize in spot freight, how Manifold supports shippers through market volatility, and the key analytics tools available on the platform, like win-rate tracking and team metrics, to help companies navigate this competitive space.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Vendorflow assists dispatch teams and drivers in overcoming typical communication challenges and enhances safety by reducing distractions, including preventing message delivery while drivers are in transit. Check out Vendorflow today!

=================================
🌎 Find Oliver Jones and Manifold online:

Oliver Jones - LinkedIn

Manifold Freight - Website

=================================
🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I sit down with Jake Guso, Co-Founder and CEO of Rig Hut, to explore the critical issue of truck parking and how his company is working to solve it. Truck parking is a growing concern in the industry, and Rig Hut is stepping in to address this challenge by providing innovative solutions for outdoor storage and transportation.

We kick things off by learning about Jake’s background in real estate and how his journey led him to get involved in the truck parking industry. Jake shares Rig Hut’s core mission, focusing on optimizing truck parking spaces and outdoor storage. 

Jake walks us through the current state of Rig Hut, including the number of locations they manage and the total truck parking spaces available. We discuss the biggest challenges Rig Hut faces when securing and optimizing spaces, and how they determine which regions to prioritize for expansion based on demand.

=================================
🌎 Find Jake Guso & Rig Hut online:

Jake Guso - LinkedIn

Rig Hut - Website

=================================
🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I sit down with Carlos Otero-Palencia and Gino Carnevale from efRouting to discuss how their platform is transforming the way owner-operators and small carriers optimize their routes and improve profitability.

Carlos and Gino kick off by sharing their backgrounds and giving us an overview of efRouting, a service designed to provide actionable insights to carriers, enabling them to earn more per mile and improve their quality of life through smarter route planning.

=================================
🌎 Find Carlos, Gino and efRouting:

Carlos Otero-Palencia - LinkedIn

Gino Carnevale- LinkedIn

efRouting - Website

=================================
🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I sit down with James Brewer, Co-Founder of ImportYeti, to explore his journey from working in traditional freight roles to becoming a tech entrepreneur. 

James takes us back to his early career, starting as a college senior tasked with moving a full truckload of books, and how this experience set him on a path through brokerage and asset-based logistics with a focus on intermodal freight. 

James shares the story behind ImportYeti, a platform that leverages customs data to help businesses identify the best suppliers for their products. He recalls how he was one of the platform’s earliest users while working at Challenger, using it to prospect leads, and how he connected with the original developer, Dave, to get more involved with the project.

We dive into how freight brokers and drayage providers can use ImportYeti's data to grow their customer base, including which specific data points to focus on for prospecting. 

James also explains how ImportYeti helps businesses tackle logistics challenges like reliability and cost optimization, offering insights into how the platform’s data can be used to predict trends and make strategic decisions.

We also look ahead to the future of ImportYeti, discussing potential new features and expansions in the pipeline, including a cross-border dataset focused on Mexico.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.

=================================
🌎 Find James Brewer and ImportYeti

James Brewer - LinkedIn

ImportYeti - Website

=================================
🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube

In this episode of the ThinkFreight Podcast, I catch up with Matthew Chapa, Logistics Manager at Crunchyroll, as he returns for his second appearance on the show. 

We start with some personal updates, discussing life in Texas, Matthew’s recent move from Austin to Dallas, and how he’s been adjusting to the new city during this hot summer.

The conversation then shifts to Matthew's new role at Crunchyroll. He shares insights into his transition to the company and what it’s been like managing logistics for an anime-focused business.

For those unfamiliar, Matthew provides an overview of Crunchyroll’s operations and the critical role logistics plays in supporting the company, explaining the unique logistics needs of an anime brand.

We also dive into the world of freight broker outreach, where Matthew discusses the volume of sales calls and emails he receives, the effectiveness of these outreach efforts, and what impresses him when brokers try to get his attention.

We wrap up with a fun twist, as Matthew shares his idea for a logistics-themed anime, adding a creative spin to the world of freight.

=================================
📍Massive thanks to our sponsor:

⚫️ Salesdash CRM is built specifically for freight brokers & 3PLs. Organize your sales outreach, notes, follow-ups, and lane profiles for your shippers and carriers. All for an affordable price. Try Salesdash free for 14 days with no credit card required.

=================================
🌎 Find Matthew Chapa & Crunchyroll online:

Matthew Chapa - LinkedIn

Crunchyroll - Website

=================================
🔗 Our Social Links:

Newsletter
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Instagram
YouTube