Brewbound Live Winter 2023: How RXO Is Delivering Tech-Driven Solutions To The Brewing Industry

Speaker 1 [00:12] Hey folks, it's Ray Latif, and right now I'm honored to be sitting down with Alyssa Myers, who is the vice president of Technology for freight brokerage at RXO. Alyssa, great to see you.

Speaker 2 [00:23] Great to see you too, Ray.

Speaker 1 [00:25] Yeah, so for folks who aren't familiar with RXO, can you tell us a bit about the company?

Speaker 2 [00:29] Sure, I'm happy to. Yeah, so, uh here at RXO we're, we really think of ourselves as um a technology-enabled, you know, freight brokerage organization. We have complementary services, um, in managed transportation, in last mile, and in global forwarding. Um, but really what we're here to do is, you know, service. The needs of shippers using our um amazing, you know, experienced operators and we really couple that in with like the power of our technology. So,

Speaker 1 [00:56] as we know, the beverage industry has its share of challenges for companies that are involved in the industry, uh, being immersed in beverages as much as you are. I get a sense that you have a sense of how difficult things can be and some of the biggest challenges that are facing beverage companies, particularly as we get into 2024.

Speaker 2 [01:21] Exactly, yes, um, we work a lot with a lot of, um, different beverage sippers of, of varying sizes and Some of the key challenges, you know, that, that we hear about and we really partner to work with them on, um, the first is really around scale. Uh, there are a lot of new players who are growing rapidly in this space, um, so really working with them to understand how their business is evolving and progressing, um, how it's scaling over time and ensuring that they have the proper options in their supply chain and their network, um, in order to, you know, realize and, and, um, achieve that scale appropriately. Um, the other thing that that we're really focused on as well in this, in this space is, um, working with beverage shippers on things around, you know, things like seasonality, inventory control, um, as it relates to seasonality, you know, some of the things that we have to, um, partner with them on is understanding, like, protection. From heat and protect from freeze when you're moving things in certain, you know, climates and certain times of the year, um, that you can't have sitting on a, on a cold truck and, and freezing and potentially, you know, exploding and things like that. So, um, those are just a few examples of, of the challenges and opportunities as well that we really see as we work with shippers in this industry.

Speaker 1 [02:34] Now, overall, RXO has a, a deep history and connection with the beverage industry, but, you know, from a cultural and and sort of structural standpoint, how does RXO work, you know, within the beverage space?

Speaker 2 [02:48] So, maybe starting with first your question culturally, um, and, and this is a, a great space that I love to delve into, just because in the beverage industry, it's really just taken off over the last 5, 10 years, um, like I mentioned previously, so many new players, rapid growth, and, um, culturally, it's a great fit for us as an organization. Um, we're a very fast-paced entrepreneurial creative organization, um, problem solvers. Um, so, our, our shippers in the beverage industry have just been amazing partners to work with because we can really kind of flex that creative power together, um, and really work, uh, collaboratively to come up with, with new solutions for their transportation needs and their supply chain. Um, maybe moving to the, the structural kind of, uh, fit portion of your question too. Uh, we're, we're well positioned as an organization to really, I, I would say service the, the changing needs of, of rapidly growing, you know, beverage companies in this space. And when I say that, I'm referring to the fact that we have a lot of different service offerings, kind of under the same roof that we're Able to, you know, pull different levers depending on the stage of growth that uh, a beverage shipper is in, um, in this industry. So, whether they need truckload or less than truckload, maybe they need a, a food grade tanker for moving, you know, spring water, things like that. We have all of these, these different service options really under one roof. So, like I mentioned, just a lot of different lever levers that we can pull.

Speaker 1 [04:15] I would guess that some of our viewers would want to know a bit more specifically about the technology. That's enabling you to service the beverage industry.

Speaker 2 [04:25] Yeah, so we have a lot of options in terms of our in our, in terms of our technology, and I guess where I would kind of start is, you know, we have solutions that can help some of the newer players in the space who are really kind of just getting started, maybe need a free platform where they can understand how much it's going to cost for them to ship freight, um, from, you know, point A to point B and actually have a partner that they can, um, work with to move that freight. For them. So, we have a tool card called RXO Connect, um, that provides exactly that. So, once again, somebody who's kind of just getting started, it's a tool where they can get rates, they can, you know, book shipments, they can get visibility into exactly the status of those shipments, all, um, free, like I said. So, it's just a great tool to kind of help bootstrap them up, um, into their, their early stages of growth. But then as organizations evolve, you know, we have technology solutions as well that can scale with them. Um, so, you know, some beverage shippers in this space may get to the point where they're ready to, um, you know, take on their own proprietary systems, for example. So, we have API connectivity that offers all of the things I just mentioned, um, that's available for shippers to integrate directly into their systems. So, long story short, we have technology solutions that are positioned to strategically grow, um, with shippers, um, as they kind of go through their journey, if you will.

Speaker 1 [05:47] And I would think that RXO can help support beverage companies uh that are operating on a small scale, that are emerging and evolving into larger companies as well.

Speaker 2 [06:00] Absolutely. And, and one of the, maybe just a, a story or an example there of um some of the, the beverage shippers that we've worked with who have kind of been going through that cycle, you know, for example, uh, a company may be more of a regional organization when they just kind of start out, so, distributing their product to um a relatively condensed or consolidated geographic area, um, but we've actually partnered with some of our shippers to really understand how they can start to expand out of just that, that. Region where they may have, you know, relationships that they've established with, um, you know, service providers or carriers, but now they need to have those introductions and those relationships kind of, um, fostered outside of the immediate network that they're used to working within. Um, so, that's just another area that we're able to really partner with, um, organizations, especially in this industry, to kind of expand those relationships outside of where they're used to operating, um, so that ultimately they can, they can scale their business as well.

Speaker 1 [06:57] I would think the answer to my next question is going to be, well, work with RXO, but in a general sense, I mean, what advice would you give to beverage companies as it relates to their supply chain and transportation planning?

Speaker 2 [07:10] The advice I would give is, um, really just to make sure that you're picking the right partners, um, partners who have the options that you will need as you grow and expand. You know, M&A is something that occurs a lot in this industry too, so, you know, the, the way your supply chain and your network looks today may not be what it looks like in, you know, 6 to 12 months just because, like I mentioned, this is such a dynamic. Industry. So, ensuring that you have a partner who has a wide breadth of service offerings, um, that you're able to leverage as your organization evolves, I would say is key, but also making sure that they have, you know, the operational expertise, um, and the people who really have the skill sets to get creative and solve those, those evolving challenges and those evolving opportunities in your supply chain, I think that's paramount as well.

Speaker 1 [07:59] Alyssa, this has been such a great conversation. Uh, for viewers watching who want to get in touch with you and your team, what's the best way to do so?

Speaker 2 [08:08] You can always visit our website, RXO.com, um, and, you know, there's an easy, quick and easy way to, to get in touch with us. Um, we Also have folks, you know, attending the conference too. So, um, if you're live at the conference, you'll probably, um, see a, a few of our representatives there as well. So feel free to give them a tap on the shoulder. Um, we'd be more than happy to talk.

Speaker 1 [08:28] And if you can't find them, find someone from Brewbound, we'll connect you there.

Speaker 2 [08:33] That's right.

Speaker 1 [08:34] Alyssa, thank you so much for taking the time to be with me today, and uh let's stay in touch.

Speaker 2 [08:39] Sounds great. Thank you for the time.