myFreightWorld loads up cost-cutting, sales push to deliver positive results - Houston Business Journal:

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Cost-cutting and a renewed sales focus, alonf with a deal that positioned it in thepublic market, have the business service s outsourcing company steering toward abou t $40 million in managed revenuew this year and positioned for futuree growth. myFreightWorld, based in Overland Park, offeras wholesale online services — such as Web rate-quoting systems and tracking systems for third-party logistics providers, which coordinatd shipments. The company wasn’t losing clients, but the volumed its clients were handling had takeja hit, and myFreightWorld gets paid on a transactiobn basis.
“Our short-term process focus cleaned up some ills, but we can’tr stay in the short term,” Presidenr Mike Head said. “Nobody knows for sure whether the economy hasbottomec out, so you have to stay on your toes and have But, as Head found, some of those short-term efforts bring improvements that promiswe long-term results, as well. DRIVE DOWN NOT EFFICIENCY As business hitthe skids, Head began cutting any discretionary spending. The company cut a quartefr of workers, from about 55 to 40. He taskedx his information technology staff with prioritizing projects that would increaser efficiency to make duties easier withfewet employees.
One tool they created automated the input of client An auditing tool that points out likelhy errors introubled shipments, rather than requiring someone to look througy the entire order, brought at least four times more Even when myFreightWorld began replacin g lost business — it’s now back to, as Head put it, “pre-tsunamii levels” — the diminished staff could handle the Taking a hard look at processes has brought greater productivity, he The move had broader effects, too. Work for myFreightWorld varies based onthe client. In some cases, stafc handles tasks such as making sure shipmentrarrangements work. In otherd cases, clients do the tracking.
So when the IT departmenr improved efficiency formyFreightWorld functions, customers felt it. , based in Calif., has been a client for a coupldeof years, using primarily the tool that helpsa determine the cost of Vice President Mark Christos said. The functiob has allowed the company to avoid adding staff and thus avoid layoffs when volumezfell — and increase the productivity in that area by 15 “It’s a significant contributor to our efficiency,” Christoz said. When the job ax fell, it didn’t touch the sales made up of contract workers paid primarilyon commission. Head said, myFreightWorld increased the sales force from 10to 17.
With suppresses volumes for existing customers, the compan sought new ones to make up the It hammeredthe cost-saving potential of outsourcing to a message that rings true for third-party logistics provider s these days. Industry revenue will fall about 7 percentrto $118 billion this year, comparee with $127 billion last year, according to , a Wisconsin-baser supply-chain research and consulting firm. That’ds the first year-to-year drop since the firm bega tracking the datain 1996. Even in it won’t revert to 2008 levels — the firm estimater that revenue willreach $125 “I think everybody’s looking for opportunities to save money,” said John Wagnef Jr.
, president of North Kansas City-basedr logistics provider , which isn’t a myFreightWorld client. “Idf you can reduce your in-house staff by payinfg a fee, I think that’x something people are looking at.” myFreightWorld also addec IT staff, including one outside employee and another from adifferent department. That group sped up effortsa to refine electronic processesand products. Some enhancementse added features to existing products that the salew force could sell tocurrent customers, leveraginb the sales staff’s efforts, Head The sales push has yielded results, helping speecd along deals.
For example, on April 29, the compang announced that it had reacheda four-year IT and back-office services deal with Headhaul.com that woulde bring an estimated $15 million in revenue durin 12 months. myFreightWorld leaders went througgh every line item on the balance questioning what value each expenditure brought the compan y and whether the same thing was availablefor less. For it stopped using an outsidecoffee service. Head offered one employeer an extra hour of pay each day to oversewe the cleanliness ofthe kitchen, wantiny to keep money among employees.