Send us a Text Message.

In this episode, Blythe and Yikun Shao, Head of North America Supply Chain at Alibaba.com, discuss how the platform helps small and medium businesses with global sourcing and logistics. Shao highlights Alibaba's AI tools like language translation, image generation for product design, and logistics marketplace. He also details educational resources on trade compliance, managing cross-border shipping challenges, and navigating customs regulations.

LINKS:

• Yikun's LinkedIn
• Alibaba.com

QUOTES:

• "Nearly two thirds of businesses they plan on increasing their reliance on online sourcing, and including those bigger and more established businesses." - Yikun Shao
• "Using AI capability can also handle real time inquiries from multiple areas and provide even in some instances provide some industry insights, so that our business buyers and sellers can make more informed decisions." - Yikun Shao
• "We recently launched a smart assistant tool to help facilitate RFQ transaction and communication aspects on our platform. One of the functions is real-time language translation when buyers and sellers are communicating through a video chat, it helps provide translation services in real-time to at least 17 different languages. Since this new RFQ feature has been introduced, it has driven a 29% increase in quotes from suppliers for small businesses." - Yikun Shao

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!


Are you experienced in freight sales or already an independent freight agent? Listen to our Freight Agent Trenches interview series powered by SPI Logistics to hear directly from the company's agents on how they took the leap and found a home with SPI freight agent program.


Tai TMS is designed to streamline your brokerage operations and propel growth for both FTL and LTL shipment cycles. Book a demo with the Tai team today and tell them Everything is Logistics sent you.

Maximize your website’s performance as a sales tool with Digital Dispatch’s website management.

Send us a Text Message.

In this episode, Blythe and Jennifer Karpus-Romain, the Executive Director of the Transportation Marketing & Sales Association (TMSA), discuss the organization's 100-year history, digital transformation, and the upcoming ELEVATE 2024 conference in New Orleans from June 9-11, 2024. Jennifer also shares insights into TMSA's marketing strategies, award programs, and educational content designed to help logistics professionals enhance their marketing and sales skills.

LINKS:

• Jennifer's LinkedIn
• TMSA Timeline
• TMSA ELEVATE Conference
  (Use code Blythe24 so we score bonus points with the crew)

QUOTES:

"We have a benchmarking study. That's a sales and marketing survey that we do to our members and people in the industry. It tells you what is going on and sales marketing today what people are spending their budgets on. How many sales and marketing people do they have at their companies? That's always a question I get all the time. What are people outsourcing like? What are people keeping in house? What software's are they? What types of software are they using? Are they integrating their software's all that kind of stuff lives in that benchmarking study, and that's accessible only to members so it all lives inside the member portal." - Jennifer Karpus-Romain

"Like when people are always like when you're starting new things like what what's your advice? And I'm like, well, like anytime you're starting new things you need to evaluate its actual purpose. And like half the people, especially as the marketing person, like you get thrown so many things and you're like what is the what is the point of this? Like, what how does this serve our business purpose?" - Jennifer Karpus-Romain

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE

---------------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!


Are you experienced in freight sales or already an independent freight agent? Listen to our Freight Agent Trenches interview series powered by SPI Logistics to hear directly from the company's agents on how they took the leap and found a home with SPI freight agent program.


Tai TMS is designed to streamline your brokerage operations and propel growth for both FTL and LTL shipment cycles. Book a demo with the Tai team today and tell them Everything is Logistics sent you.

Maximize your website’s performance as a sales tool with Digital Dispatch’s website management.

Send us a Text Message.

In this episode, Mike Mikulik, VP of Marketing and Sales at SPI Logistics, offers an insider's perspective on the freight agent model. He and Blythe discuss topics like commission structures, technology tools, carrier vetting, and effective sales strategies. Whether you're considering becoming a freight agent or want to improve your current operations, this episode provides the information needed to navigate and thrive in the competitive logistics industry.

LINKS:

• Mike's LinkedIn
• Email Mike
• SPI Freight Agent Program
• From Intern to Freight Agent: Tynan Guthrie's Journey to Building His Book of Business

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE

---------------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!


Are you experienced in freight sales or already an independent freight agent? Listen to our Freight Agent Trenches interview series powered by SPI Logistics to hear directly from the company's agents on how they took the leap and found a home with SPI freight agent program.


Tai TMS is designed to streamline your brokerage operations and propel growth for both FTL and LTL shipment cycles. Book a demo with the Tai team today and tell them Everything is Logistics sent you.

Maximize your website’s performance as a sales tool with Digital Dispatch’s website management.