in this issue Keynote Address: James Welch Day One Sessions Dinner Speaker: Ken Hoexter, Merrill Lynch Day Two Sessions Thank You Sponsors Save the Date Calendar of Events

Keynote Address: James Welch

The program started off strong as James Welch, former president and CEO of Yellow Transportation, delivered the keynote address. James spoke extemporaneously for 45 minutes, sharing his insight, wisdom and perceptions about both the transportation industry and how to successfully run a company. Clearly his remarks sparked ideas among attendees, as his session was followed by more than a half hour of Q&A.

According to James, "The marketplace will always win - there is someone out there right now thinking about how to do what you do smarter, faster or cheaper." He noted that there has been more change in the industry in the last five years than had occurred in the previous 20. He stressed the importance of investing in good employees and noted that, "Technology is a critical path to the future of transportation." Good information and great insight - his remarks made for a fantastic start to the program.

	Day One Sessions
How to Manage Increased Costs Joe Guimond, vice president and general manager for Purolator Freight, joined Ken Manning, president of the Transportation Costing Group, to discuss how companies can control ever-increasing costs. Noting that "you can't manage what you don't measure," Joe and Ken emphasized the importance of tracking costs. Joe shared some strategies that Purolator Freight employs to manage costs, including holding "weekly activity reviews" where key members of the management team gather to review customer accounts, activity, utilization, capacity strategies and technology enablers. Joe feels strongly that to truly manage costs you have to stay on top of these key factors. Finally, Ken explained the concept of competing on analytics, where one must measure both profitability and productivity against each other. New Ideas in LTL Pricing "Pricing is an ongoing, integrated effort," said Steve Fox, a principal at the consulting firm of Norbridge, Inc. Steve led a session on pricing, reviewing why pricing is important, what the regulatory legacy is, the pricing opportunities that are available, and the processes and tools that one can use. Steve challenged the group by asking if their rate structure was supportive of their business goals and reflective of their operating costs, using real-life examples of differences in actual tariffs. He then left the group with some homework, stating that developing proper pricing structures should be part of continuous process improvement to support operational goals, because every day delayed in deploying supportive pricing structures is a delay in achieving those goals. Think Before You Leap: Determining True ROI Jeff Keller, principal of Keller Services, LLC, discussed why 40 percent of all new IT projects fail and how carriers can determine true ROI in advance. He noted that good management yields success. He then revealed his "Top Ten List to Maximize Return on Investment," which included both actions and tools. Jeff's session was a must-attend for anyone embarking on a new project. His list detailed crucial components and considerations that must be made during the implementation process. Attendees learned that successful projects start out with a clear and detailed agreement, have a carefully controlled scope, include provisions for training, and have a committed and capable team. Innovative Ways to Boost Revenue "You are leaving thousands of dollars on the table by not utilizing accessorial charges to their fullest," insisted Satish Jindel, principal of SJ Consulting Group, at his session. He was joined by Sarah C. Copp, vice president, corporate transportation and logistics for Time Warner. Among other things, Satish suggested that the LTL and courier companies in attendance could boost revenue through geographic expansion, faster transit times and offering new services. Sarah offered a view from the other side, telling the group what she looks for in a carrier. "First of all, I see a lot of ill-prepared salespeople," Sarah exclaimed. "If you are trying to win my business, do a little research first about my company, my shipping needs, etc." Other things that are important to Time Warner when looking for a carrier are that they have some knowledge, if not experience, in international shipping. Sarah also noted that when there is a problem, it's key that she can access the problem shipment online without having to search through all of her current shipments. Just having the technology isn't the answer she stressed; it's having the right technology. Results from LTL Industry-Wide Customer Value Survey A just-completed U.S./Canadian study identified how customers choose a carrier. Presenter Bart Thedinger, president, Mastio & Company, released the results from the 3rd Edition LTL Industry-Wide Customer Value Benchmarking Report exclusively at the summit. The report, entitled "Which Carriers are Providing the Best Value in the Eyes of the Customer," measured 20 attributes most important to customer satisfaction, loyalty and other value factors. One of the highest ranking regional carriers was in attendance at the meeting - Stan Vander Pol of Peninsula Truck Lines. Congratulations on the outstanding ratings his company achieved. Joe Dohrn of Dohrn Transfer, a longtime CLI customer in attendance as well, also received very high ratings.

	Dinner Speaker: Ken Hoexter, Merrill Lynch
A private dinner in the elegantly appointed Garden room at the Biddle House Mansion provided a splendid setting for a speech by Merrill Lynch's senior Airfreight and Surface Transportation analyst, Ken Hoexter. Ken shared his views of the transportation industry, including the current state of economic affairs. This is the fourth year that either Ken or his associate from Merrill Lynch has spoken at the dinner. In fact, he referenced some of his predictions and thoughts from past events. Ken also discussed the effects of economic trends on the LTL trucking industry - for example, the increasing use of holiday gift cards instead of merchandise gifts has reduced the usual seasonal peak for freight transportation. After a lengthy Q&A with the group, the program wrapped for the evening. As usual, this was a conference highlight.

	Day Two Sessions
Developing a Sustainable Supply Chain This year, we were honored to have Patrick C. Penfield, assistant professor and director, Supply Chain Executive Management Programs, Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, join us as a speaker. Pat kicked off Friday morning with an energetic presentation on the topic of sustainability. Noting that being environmentally friendly is not only good for the earth but good for business too, Pat gave examples of how forward-thinking companies are using the environment to their advantage. Smart companies are using the concept of sustainability as a strategic weapon. Pat took the group through a four-step process to implement a sustainable supply chain, handing out Syracuse basketballs to audience members as they contributed to the discussion. The View from the Other Side After a series of interactive roundtables on the topics of employee retention, Canadian/International issues and outsourcing, the group reconvened to hear "The View from the Other Side: How to Really Sell Value to Increase Sales" by Joe Conoscenti, director of North American transportation operations, Nice-Pak Products. With over 30 years experience as a shipper, Joe's frank and honest remarks to the attendees were particularly credible. He told the group to "stop beating each other on the heads -- there is more to a shipper/carrier relationship than price alone." He asked attendees to really consider the difference between value and cost. Joe also said, "If you can't compete with the big guys technologically, you really can't compete." This closing session offered a unique opportunity to take a peek inside the mind of the shipper, and the audience took full advantage by peppering Joe with questions on topics ranging from how to maximize a sales call to what he looks for in a carrier. This was a great closing session, capping two days of almost non-stop information.

	Thank You Sponsors
CLI would like to thank and recognize this year's Leadership Summit sponsors. We appreciate Progress Software for sponsoring James Welch's travel and expenses, TCG for sponsoring the opening reception hors d'oeuvres, SMC3 for sponsoring the opening dinner wine, EBE Technologies for sponsoring the second night's reception and finally KonaWare for sponsoring the roundtables. CLI is proud to partner with these "best of breed" organizations and invites you to visit their websites, which are listed below.

	Save the Date
CLI is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a Webinar based on the very well received "Measuring ROI" session at the Leadership Summit. Jeff Keller will lead the webinar entitled, "Think Before You Leap: Determining True ROI" on Wednesday, December 12th at 2:00 pm EST. Please mark the date on your calendar and look for your invitation with details in a future e-mail.

	Calendar of Events
Date Program Location Oct 20 - 23 2007 ATA Management Conference Orlando, FL Nov 10 - 13 2007 Intermodal Expo Atlanta, GA Jan 22 - 23 SMC3 Winter Conference Atlanta, GA Feb 17 - 19 Distribution & LTL Carriers Assn. Annual Conference San Diego, CA Apr 6 - 9 TSMA Annual Conference Phoenix, AZ

Quick Links

Carrier Logistics Website Transportation Costing Group EBE Technologies

Progress Software Corporation SMC3 KonaWare