Aug 3, 2020
Why you have to check out today’s podcast:
- Learn why the Less-Than-Truckload industry is different from other logistics services
- Discover the pricing complexity in the Less-Than-Truckload industry
- Find out the different struggles within the Less-Than-Truckload industry when it comes to pricing their services
Curtis Garrett is the VP of Pricing at Recon Logistics, a world class LTL Freight Management Company. Curtis is on a mission to simplify LTL Freight. His career-long goal is to bring transparency, automation, and the tools needed to do this into the LTL industry.
In this episode, Curtis talks about the pricing design in a Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) industry, sharing the complex variables that go into the LTL price mix. He also shares some personal backstory of how he was able to advance and uplevel his pricing career, proving that you don’t need a college degree to have a great career. Take inspiration from Curtis’ success journey in pricing.
“As long as you are well aware of what your costs are, that gives you the freedom to build your actual profit and your margin in different ways. And make it a little more flexible for who you're trying to engage with.”
- Curtis Garrett
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Topics Covered:
01:27 - What started Curtis’ journey into Pricing
02:14 - The pricing complexity of a less-than-truckload freight business
05:44 - How Curtis’ mentors influenced his pricing career
08:16 - Does Curtis work with a team?
09:40 - Characteristics that are prerequisites for promotion in the kind of workplace that he has
13:00 - Making sure that what you’re doing in the day-to-day basis net out to the overall strategy of the company
19:03 - How hard it is to be pushing more than one wall at one time
19:37 - How not having a degree affected his career
23:02 - How he landed a VP position without having to be asked which school he graduated from
25:28 - It’s not the degree, it’s your skills that matter
Key Takeaways:
“Industry-wise, LTL is somewhat comparable to airline and hotel pricing. But it's even more complex, in my opinion, because a seat on an airplane or room in a hotel, you pretty much know there's no space variable there. But with LTL freight, you really don't know the size of the freight you're going to get and how much room it's going to take up in your trailer.” - Curtis Garrett
“The balance of keeping that larger macro strategy in your mind, but in the day in, day out, or even minute by minute, making sure that what you're doing is the best possible work at that time.” - Curtis Garrett
“I don't think any wall that can be pushed over is the right wall you should be pushing against anyways. If it is something of value and the right problem to be solved, I think by default, it's gonna take a while and it's gonna be hard.” - Curtis Garrett
“I think anybody can be successful and if there are large companies out there that hold back candidates just because of that one disqualifier, then, I think they're probably missing out on a lot of good people.” - Curtis Garrett
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Curtis Garrett:
Connect with Mark Stiving:
- Email: mark@impactpricing.com