The Secret Sauce with Mark McEntire

Mark McEntire and Joe Lynch discuss the secret sauce. Mark is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Emerge, one of the fastest-growing startups in the U.S. and is transforming the $800 billion transportation and logistics industry with its digital freight marketplace platform. About Mark McEntire  Mark McEntire is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Emerge, a freight technology firm that is reinventing freight procurement. Transforming the $800 billion trucking industry, Emerge empowers meaningful logistics relationships through its award-winning Freight Procurement Platform. Founded in 2017, and located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Emerge is one of the fastest-growing technology startups in the U.S.  Mark joined Emerge in January 2022. Mark’s 34 years in transportation and logistics includes experience with Transplace, where he held the position of Sr. Vice President of Operations, as well as experience with J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. and Penske Logistics. In 2001, he completed a two-year Six Sigma certification program with General Electric and is a GE certified Black Belt. In June 2009, he became certified as an APICS CSCP. Mark earned a B.S. in Transportation and Logistics from Arkansas State University. About Emerge Transforming the $800 billion freight industry, Emerge empowers meaningful logistics relationships through its award-winning Freight Procurement Platform. Built by freight professionals for freight professionals, Emerge is reinventing the procurement process by offering solutions that enable shippers and carriers to make more empowered, strategic decisions. In addition to the platform, shippers can connect to the Emerge Marketplace which opens access to 35,000 asset based carriers in order to create meaningful freight connections. The world’s largest shippers and capacity providers use the Emerge Freight Procurement Platform daily, showing immediate ROI for procurement and saving valuable time in the process. Founded in 2017, and located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Emerge is one of the fastest-growing technology startups in the U.S. Key Takeaways: The Secret Sauce Mark McEntire is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Emerge, a freight technology firm that is reinventing freight procurement by providing access to benchmarked rates and thousands of trusted partners to maximize cost-savings. In the podcast interview, Mark and Joe discuss the secret sauce that enables shippers, brokers, 3PLs, and carriers to become more effective, efficient, and profitable. The secret sauce is relationships with your supply chain partners. While the focus is on freight tech and supply chain software that is automating the industry, relationships are still the secret sauce that drives the best companies. Mark and his team work to become trusted partners with their shippers, carriers and technology partners – supplier, vendor, etc. is not good enough. Developing relationships is not only a normal human thing, it is also really good for business. Having good relationships leads to higher job satisfaction and better business results (faster, better, cheaper, and smarter). To ensure that the Emerge team develop fruitful relationships, Mark insists upon a communication strategy that includes quarterly business reviews (QBR), reporting key performance indicators, root cause analysis, lead-time analytics, cost-down goals, etc.. Shippers using Emerge’s Freight Procurement Platform are able to spend less time on carrier RFPs and more time developing relationships with current and prospective carriers. The goal is to let the technology automate the process, while humans are building relationships with their fellow humans. Emerge is reinventing freight procurement by providing access to benchmarked rates and thousands of trusted partners to maximize cost-savings. Emerge is custom built for freight RFP events and as a result the process is streamlined, easy, and saves shippers time and money. The Emerge platform provides carriers access to more shippers and more opportunities. Carriers gain access and bid directly on exclusive contract and spot lanes that they may have never had access to before. Emerge’s network connects carriers with shippers of all sizes, providing them more opportunities in the lanes that work for your company. Emerge uses a network model, which becomes increasingly valuable to users (carriers and shippers) as it scales. Emerge is hiring: Emerge Careers Learn More About The Secret Sauce Mark's LinkedIn Emerge's LinkedIn Emerge The Emerge Story with Andrew Leto Building a Freight Juggernaut Again with Michael Leto The Freight RFP Process is Broken – Let’s Fix It with Maggie Petrovic Emerge Levels Up with Michael Leto It’s Not the Market, It’s Your Procurement with Andrew Haverkampf The Freight Marketplace with Dave Maddox Is Your TMS Enough with Derek Doddridge The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube