Dedicated Logistics with Matt Ehlinger of NCH Corporation

Hey, Matt. Welcome to the show. Morning, Joe. Hope you're doing well. You know, before we get in get into the discussion about dedicated transportation, I was hoping you could tell me a little bit about the history of NCH and yourself. Yep. Sure be glad to. So first of all NCH is a global industrial maintenance products company manufacturer. We operate probably in about sixty different countries around where it wasn't privately held company at all and about one hundred and five years old so been around for a while myself. I've been here a few decades somewhere in the thirty seven year time frame so I have enjoyed my time here with the company and enjoyed being part of the logistics community for a number of years. Well, being around NCH for close to thirty seven years, making the decision to outsource dedicated fleet operations doesn't really just come out of nowhere. So what kind of challenges or goals did you come across in your discussions internally that led you to the decision to outsource? Yeah, that's a great question, Gav. We did, know, just like a lot of bike fleets, back after COVID, we had a number of challenges that we saw. First of all, recruiting was just tough. You know, it's tough for everybody but it was particularly tough for us and that we didn't have a we don't have a large private fleet and so driver recruiting is something that you give up on each side. That was number one. Number two, equipment sourcing, just the massive and quick rides and inflation for tractors, trailers, just the availability of it was ton up. And then obviously a rapid increase in cost of insurance, an aging fleet and a general kind of the liability exposure that we were at, operating a private fleet all those kind of things were kind of what drove us down the path of hey we really need to get back to kind of the core competencies that we got. We're a chemical manufacturer right? And we're a service company and trucking was part of the way that we did business. It's not what we did for business. So that's what drove this decision. Well, that's certainly, I think those are the probably the most common pain points that we see with companies that are approaching us to, outsource their dedicated fleet operations or to, onboard, completely new dedicated operations. When you're going through the evaluation and decision making process with Averyt, what really stood out for you during that? Another great question. Couple things that we looked at was, First of all the flexibility in the way that they agreed that was structured though, the ability to scale up, be asleep as needed and redundant since we started. Simplicity and agreement. It is amazing that you can make an agreement with a partner that's several pages long not forty or fifty. Now again also the reputation that Uber has in the industry. They have a nice approach business and partnership and lastly kind of the whole revenue sharing structure that you're under and there any back haul opportunities that we got to complete. So those were some of the things that we considered when we looked at when we were talking about what made A3CRET separated from the other option that you looked at. That's great. Well now that you're about two years into, using a VerDedicated, what have been some of the biggest differences or benefits that your team has seen? Well with the one consistent service. That's one of the wonderful things that we saw out of it. Flexibility, like I talked about, the quality and predictable columns that we were looking for in operating the price of food. So that we've seen that much so far since we've taken the sleep today with a team. Well, I know that change, can sometimes be challenging. So dedicated fleets, whether you're outsourcing or just bringing a dedicated fleet in for the first time, that can be a big transition. So how has this experience been for your team and Drobert? Well you know we I don't need to tell anybody on this call or on this webcast that it changes tough person right and it was there was part of it that was tough for us and the thing is that you know two years into this we now see that consistent service, that quality and flexibility of what the outsourcing effort has provided to us. That really was the right decision for us, for the company, for our customers And then so, yeah, it's, there's some challenges with change. It doesn't matter who it is or with what partner you pick, but, so far it's been a good long term decision for us. That is great to hear. And finally, for other companies that are looking or don't even know about potentially outsourcing their fleet operations, what advice would you give to them? Well, when we saw this opportunity, there's a couple of things that we did. Number one, kind of looked across the dedicated fleet provider industry. You know, there's some very large fleet operators out there. There's kind of the middle market and then a smaller market. So we actually looked at all three segments of the business, talked to a number of providers in those segments and each of those have their protein types, right? And so when we looked at it, put that all together, what stood out was Avery's kind of established a network to expert safety and the way that they treat their drivers. Those are kind of the three things that really stood out. That's what was important to us. Also the long term financial stability definitely like we saw in the neighborhood team. So those were some of the qualities that helped that why that decision made you go out. We would finalize you know the options that you looked at. That's great. And I think we always consider our drivers to be your drivers in the end and that's what it's all about, being a great representative of your business. Absolutely. Well, Matt, I really appreciate your time on the show today. Thank you very much. Hey, Joe. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.