The Evans Experience: Bringing Heart to the Hustle of Logistics

Jess Johnson

31 July 2019

We deliver custom strategic solutions, grow and evolve unparalleled technologies — and we love what we do.

Evans Transportation Services got its start 30+ years ago in a small office above a carpet shop in Hartland, Wisconsin. With only two employees, its founders, Marty Johnson and Charlie Keepman, Evans’ beginnings were humble, but the pair’s vision and drive were unparalleled.

Today, Evans is known for its from-scratch transportation solutions fueled by customizable technology, creativity, and genuine customer service. But that identity was first established all the way back in 1990 when Marty and Charlie’s willingness to go to the end of the earth for their customers inspired their largest brokerage customer to become a managed customer that they maintained for over 25 years.

Prior to landing their first managed customer, pencils, paper, and fax machines did the trick. But for this customer, it was clear they needed to evolve. So, they created one of the industry’s first transportation management systems (TMS). The rest — quite literally — was history.

Exceptional customer service and a hunger for new technologies continue to set Evans apart in today’s highly saturated logistics market. In an era defined by rate shops and robots, Evans treats no two customers the same, providing personal, strategic logistics solutions tailor-made for shippers’ businesses. While the 3PL has long moved on from their first TMS and grown from two employees to 60+, they’ll never deviate from their founders’ dedication to exceptional customer experiences grounded in insightful innovation.

Here are four ways the Evans Experience brings heart to the hustle of logistics.

1. “We know our customers’ freight better than they do.”


Too often, when one tries to do it all, they end up dropping a ball. Let us manage your transportation so you can stay focused on what you do best.

To start, we learn your business, freight, and current outbound and inbound transportation processes inside and out, even spending time on-site at your facilities. We get to know your goals and challenges by asking you questions and listening to your answers. From saving money to improving your customers’ experience, we dig deep into your transportation program to find the best ways to meet your goals and exceed your expectations.

After you’ve approved our understanding of your transportation needs, the magic begins to happen. Aligning your needs with our specialists, we build your from-scratch solutions from customizable technology to carefully selected carrier stack.

What if something else comes up that we didn’t discuss during onboarding? No problem. That’s why shippers choose Evans; we’re incredibly nimble, able to adjust our full-service transportation solutions quickly to meet your changing needs.

As your transportation partner, our goal is to help your entire organization grow, so it’s not uncommon that our clients’ teams and needs evolve throughout our partnership.

2. Enjoyable technology training, otherwise known as “achieving the impossible.”

 

Typically, technology training doesn’t have the best reputation. One-size-fits-all solutions, ineffective trainer-to-trainee ratios, unreachable experts. We’ve experienced it ourselves, and that’s why we’ve done everything possible to flip the script and provide technology training that does the trick.

Our customers and their suppliers receive free, one-on-one training and ongoing support, maximizing their opportunity to succeed. Our training team is extremely knowledgeable and congenial. It’s not uncommon we walk by a training session and see smiles and laughter. Truly, much of the report we build with our clients’ transportation teams begins during the training phase, a unique achievement for any technology-backed business.

After initial training is complete, the same training team members remain available to you and your team, addressing any questions or concerns you may have along the way. As your transportation partner, our goal is to help your entire organization grow, so it’s not uncommon that our clients’ teams and needs evolve throughout our partnership. Need new team members trained? No problem — we’re on it. Require different technology solutions or changes made to what you leverage currently? We have you covered.

3. “There is no one here who is not hugely impactful.”


Everyone at Evans has the opportunity to see their work manifest into something greater than themselves. Each of our team members drives progress directly, no matter their role. We invest in them, their growth, and their quality of life, making new opportunities known company (and country) wide.

Our team is coached yet trusted, allowing them to take the initiative to grow beyond their role, advancing but bringing their knowledge and skills with them. They are welcomed to “dig in bigger” than they are tasked in their job description. And that is always rewarded. Our team loves being a part of Evans because they are making change and growth happen, and they can see their impact.

Our team member retention rate of six-plus years speaks for itself, allowing our clients to see results faster with little turnover in their dedicated team, unlike typical burn and churn transportation management and brokerage companies.

Operating on an unshakable bedrock of guiding principles, integrity, positivity, passion, communication, and trust, creative, fearless growth happens here.

4. “We feel like part of your team.”


Trust is in short supply in a market crowded with rate shops and robots. There’s a lot of elbowing around to get the lowest priced carrier while quoting for the highest margin — and customers often lose out. When leveraging brokerages, shippers must call multiple options to ensure they’re getting the best value. But this takes time and often leads to disorganized, incomplete transportation data and missed opportunities.

Where things get interesting, though, is when customers are ready to get strategic. When you partner with a strategic, trusted 3PL like Evans, we become your transportation team, auditing your options but letting you make the final calls and leveraging the end-to-end transportation data that we collect to unearth new opportunities for you. Now, you’re not just shipping freight, you’re improving your business.

With control tower visibility, open book pricing, and transparent communication, our customers trust us. We know their business and transportation needs, and we bring our deep carrier relationships to the table. We’d go to the ends of the earth for our customers, and giving them a look into our business model is just one example.

Hustle and Heart define the Evans Experience

We like to say that Hustle and Heart are what set us apart. This may sound soft in a tough logistics world, but we are serious about caring. We’re going to get you the absolute best solution for your needs. Large rate shops simply can’t do that. They don’t invest the time and effort into learning their customers’ businesses, for a start.

At Evans, we strategize for each one of our customers like we own that business ourselves. And with the industry-leading retention rate of over nine years, we have the customers to prove it.

Jess Johnson

Jess is the Director of Marketing & Communications at Evans Transportation.

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