“In today’s market, rising customer expectations, digital transparency, and the demand for faster, more personalized service are pushing supply chain leaders to rethink their approach. CX is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive differentiator,” says Sanjee Vethanayagam, president of 123Loadboard, which counts carriers as well as shippers and brokers as their customers. Here are four ways to boost CX in your supply chain. 1 EMBED CX IN YOUR CORE MISSION. “Customer experience must be at the heart of any strategy,” says Vethanayagam. “Steve Jobs famously built the iPhone and its ecosystem with the customer experience as the guiding principle. When we begin by solving real customer problems and build ecosystems that deliver genuine value, revenue follows.” In short, start with the customer as your why . For example, Cardinal Health OptiFreight Logistics, which provides healthcare shipping and logistics management strategies, “operates in a customer-first mindset,” says Emily Gallo, senior vice president/general manager with the provider whose clients include labs, pharmacies, and hospitals. “Our customers are at the center of our strategy from the beginning,” she says. “We invest the time to listen to our customers and uncover new challenges they’re facing, whether that be through research, our annual
Averitt’s Centralized Customer Service at its Cookeville, Tennessee, call center, provides around-the-clock service to shippers, responding to calls in an average of four seconds.
customer survey, or gathering real-time feedback as part of our agile product development approach.” 2 EMULATE AMAZON. In addition to aiming for Apple’s CX design mindset, set your sights on Amazon-like visibility into shipments. For example, in rail transportation, different carriers, schedules, and unexpected delays have historically hampered visibility. But “the rail industry has long aimed to deliver an ‘Amazon- like’ experience, giving customers full visibility of shipments from origin to destination with accurate arrival times,” says Leah Windell, customer service manager at the Louisville & Indiana Railroad, which is improving visibility with its new transportation platform. “The solution brings us closer than ever to that goal,” she says. “While still evolving, it has already improved shipment visibility and enhanced the customer experience.” Like transportation providers, manufacturers must deliver “Amazon- and Uber-like experiences—easy, transparent, and predictable” for industrial buyers, says Klaus Andersen, CEO of buyer-engagement platform provider Tacton.
“Adopting a buyer-centric model is a full-scale transformation. It requires cross-functional collaboration, connected systems, and a mindset that places the buyer experience at the center of every decision,” says Andersen. He recommends integrating systems and data across sales, engineering, production, and logistics so decisions align with the buyer’s priorities (reliability, speed, and transparency); using AI and analytics to move from reactive operations to proactive, data-driven planning; and collaborating with suppliers and logistics partners across the value chain. 3 ADJUST OFFERINGS IN RESPONSE TO INPUT. Refining your products based on customer feedback and market trends is another surefire way to boost CX. And one thing customers want is convenience. “Shippers make it clear they want self- service payment options that allow them to pay by credit card or ACH without needing to contact customer service,” says Ben Wiesen, president of Carrier Logistics Inc. In response, the provider of freight management software launched FACTSPay , an online payment tool integrated within the FACTS TMS ,
Proactively focus on customer relationships. We are in a massive industry pivot. If you aren’t in lockstep with your customers—understanding their pressures and strategic goals— you lose sight of where the market is heading. Technology is the enabler, but the relationship is the strategy. – LOU AMO President, Truck Brokerage, RXO
32 Inbound Logistics • December 2025
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