Let's Talk Logistics with the Flexe Growth Team

Featured in this video:

• Adam Kapel - Chief Growth Officer

• Adrian Grigg - SVP, Commercial

• Ryan Morel - VP, Marketing

• Katie Lobkovich - Director, Revenue Operations

• Jordan Lawrence - Head of the Flexe Institute and Director of Logistics Strategy

The following transcript has been revised for brevity and clarity.

Adam Kapel, Flexe Chief Growth Officer

I would say the last 18 to 24 months has been a period of explosive growth around here.

We have grown ourselves a brand new brand in positioning. We have grown an entirely new organization in logistics strategy. We have grown all kinds of revenue operations functions that never existed before.

What do you think makes our group unique? Meaning the way that we interact. The way that we go about our business in the go-to-market team and the growth team?

Ryan Morel, Flexe VP of Marketing

I've got a word: Reinforcing.

Generally speaking, sales and marketing always have deep ties. But I think a lot of what we do, both from a planning and execution standpoint, is intended to reinforce the activities of one another.

Integration is another word.

We could use the word synergy.

Katie Lobkovich, Flexe Director of Revenue Operations

No, we couldn’t.

Adam Kapel

No, let's not.

Ryan Morel

But with everything we do, I think it’s true. What makes our group unique and what makes it all work is that everything reinforces each other.

Katie Lobkovich

As a new person, it's really cool to see that everything was all really intentional.

The things that we were talking about when I first started are the things that we delivered and the reasons that we've grown so much.

Adam Kapel

I've been really lucky to be part of all kinds of different growth companies. But to do it in logistics is really unique because we move real *bleep* around the country.

Yeah, I said it.

Ryan Morel

Especially given how much scrutiny there is in the supply chain right now. It’s always been hard. Moving stuff's always been really difficult. And now, the eyes of the world are locked on it.

Adam Kapel

Everybody's talking about supply chain.

Ryan Morel

Everybody.

Adam Kapel

For you guys that have lived in logistics, you've been sort of happily under the public radar for decades. And all of a sudden, there's this white-hot spotlight on logistics.

And I have not been in a company like this one before.

Adrian Grigg, SVP of Operations

In the contract logistics space, this is net new. We invented it.

And so, when we're talking to contract logistics salespeople, my pitch to them is that I can't even imagine why you would want to work anywhere else.

Adam Kapel

We've ruined you for every other company.

Adrian Grigg

This is the place to be.

Jordan Lawrence, Director of Logistics Strategy and Head of the Flexe Institute

And that's the other Flexe thing for me that's really exciting for me is believing in the product.

Everyone in sales says, “you have to believe in the product.” But the reality is, and especially in logistics, it can be hard to get excited about it.

But what we're doing is really exciting.

Ryan Morel

[Our work] has real-world impacts.

Someone gets something faster. A retailer delivers a fantastic customer experience. You help make a consumer happy. It drives company growth.

We've seen this where some of our customers are able to expand their networks and increase revenue as a result.

That's really meaningful. That's real.

Katie Lobkovich

People always ask me, “why did you join Flexe?” And I always tell them about meeting you [Ryan] and meeting you [Adrian], and how you guys were just so humble and so confident in the work you were doing. And so clear about how you were going about the work and where it was challenging.

There was just so much conviction, and that's what I hadn’t, like, put two and two together. There was something about how everyone talked about the business that was consistent through all of my interviews.

And I was like, here are some folks I could work with.

Adam Kapel

You hadn't met me yet, though!

Katie Lobkovich

I hadn't met you. They said, “Hey, we're going to make you an offer...but you have to talk to this guy Adam first.” And I was like, “well…”

Adam Kapel

It was a close-run thing.

Katie Lobkovich

Luckily, you were delightful, and it worked out.

Adrian Grigg

Adam, so you coming into this business—you've been around for seven years. Would you say you're a “supply chain guy” now?

Are you ready to own that?

Adam Kapel

Am I ready to own that I'm a supply chain guy? Would I say it now? Yes.

Would our colleagues in the rest of the company? I think it's iffy.

But here's what I'll tell you right now. The rest of my career will be spent in supply chain. How about that for being a supply chain guy?

Jordan Lawrence

You know, it is interesting because, in a lot of ways, there's this old-school aspect to supply chain. What we're doing has been done [in other industries] in the sense of aggregating networks of suppliers.

But I think the big difference is that this couldn't be done in the fulfillment and warehousing space prior to cloud computing.

Adam Kapel

When [Jordan] describes logistics as networks, supply, demand, computing… then I say, “got it!” I'm a supply chain guy because that, I actually get.

But here's my question now to the logistics guys. Adrian, are you now a software guy? [Are] you a tech guy?

Adrian Grigg

I would say I'm working on it.

We have this really wide range and diversity of backgrounds. And experience and folks that have come to the team from all different sides of the supply chain industry.

And in many ways, that has been the winning formula for us.

You know, it's actually kind of funny that we're having this conversation because it is very much the intersection of technology and logistics, which those were two very separate things.

And, you have legacy supply chain people like us and legacy technology people like you guys, and we're at the intersection of those things.

Do I get points for that?

Adam Kapel

Somebody should give you points for that!