Podcast with Talking Logistics: Choosing a Career in Supply Chain

Loadsmart’s Danielle Shuey, VP of Service Delivery at Loadsmart, was interviewed by Adrian Gonzalez of Talking Logistics to discuss choosing a career in supply chain and logistics. Like many of us, Adrian and Danielle both accidentally fell into this career field. Neither intentionally studied the supply chain in college or began their careers here. So why do so many people fall in love with this little-known industry? This topic and others were covered during their conversation.

About Danielle Shuey Danielle Shuey has over 13 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics industry, beginning her career in the industry at C.H. Robinson. Here, she discovered her passion for the field and went on to hold various roles. These included acting as a global forwarding representative and account manager before spending two years in Shanghai scaling C.H. Robinson’s Asia Pacific control tower. After nearly a decade, she joined Flexport, where she quickly rose to leadership roles, eventually managing Flexport’s Chicago office and overseeing a team of over 250. Danielle is now the Vice President of Service Delivery at Loadsmart, where she has driven significant growth and led customer expansion efforts.

About Adrian Gonzalez Adrian Gonzalez is a trusted advisor and leading industry analyst with more than 24 years of research experience in transportation management, logistics outsourcing, global trade management, social media, and other supply chain and logistics topics. Talking Logistics, Gonzales’ online video talk show and blog, features interviews with Thought Leaders and Newsmakers in the supply chain and logistics industry.

Below are some highlights from the conversation and key takeaways individuals thinking about a career in logistics or supply chain should consider.

Q: How and why did you get involved in logistics in the transportation industry? Is it something that you always dreamed of doing? Or did you happen to fall into the industry like so many others, including me?

A: I definitely fell into it. Prior to starting my career in the industry, I don't think that I had an appreciation or even an awareness for everything that goes into making goods move around the world.

And I didn't know what I wanted to do. I also didn't really have a lot of options in terms of new career paths because the job availability at that time was pretty limited due to economic uncertainty. I was up against people with 10 years of career experience and double master's degrees. etc. But I spent my time working at a number of different restaurants. And then a brief stint working as a nanny for some adorable twin toddlers. Ultimately, I got connected with a contract work agency where my first assignment was a one-day temp assignment at C.H. Robinson where they needed some help with data entry. 

Fortuitously, I knew someone who worked there, and they got me to apply for a full-time position. And that’s where my time in the industry really started! I’m definitely a perfect example of someone who fell into the industry, and now I’ve been in it going on 14 years!

Q. You have a degree in Sociology and started as a nanny of twins, but now find yourself as VP of Service Delivery at Loadsmart! What does that role entail?

A. It’s been a really wonderful experience at Loadsmart! I joined the company in April 2023 and the Service Delivery role is supporting our Managed Transportation business unit, which is essentially a startup phase business unit within a growth stage organization. Managed Transportation is a newer logistics solution offering at Loadsmart. 

There are really two core components to my role. There’s the internal focus and the external focus. Internally, I’m helping to streamline processes, making sure we’ve got the right infrastructure in place that’s going to allow our fast-growing department to continue to scale, and providing feedback and insights to our product team on where we need to continue to invest in terms of technology.

And then externally speaking, I am deeply involved with all of the customers that are part of our service offerings. So I work with them as an executive sponsor where I ensure that all of the customer facing teams are working well, that we've got the right operating routines in place and are identifying continuous improvement opportunities. We're, of course, facilitating quarterly business reviews and helping to support our customers as much as possible with longer-term strategic planning as well.

Q. You mentioned earlier that you also worked overseas, and I know you worked in China and the Asia-Pacific market, how was that experience and what unique challenges and opportunities did that provide?

A. My time in China was life-changing! I was at C. H. Robinson working for their TMC division at the time, and I had an opportunity to move abroad for a two-year assignment as the senior operations leader. The role was somewhat ambiguous by design, but ultimately the goal was to help a number of customers who were expanding their footprints into the Asia-Pacific region who wanted to expand their transportation management services. I was able to translate some of that experience and product knowledge from the U .S. and acted as the ‘boots on the ground’ for the project, which had a huge impact on our ability to execute quickly and efficiently.

It was a great opportunity career-wise. I would say that I was overwhelmed by the graciousness of my Chinese colleagues, and I learned a lot while I was there.

Q. What's your perspective on where the industry is today? And what can be done to attract more women to supply chain logistics careers?

A. It's a great question and a topic I'm passionate about. I'm very happy to see that there has been better representation, not just of women, but other underrepresented groups, succeeding in this career field.

Making sure that you've got that representation within your own leadership is probably very important first and foremost. And certainly investing in those individuals. And ensuring that you’re mentoring and sponsoring young women and other underrepresented groups so that they are not only given the opportunity, but they're given that additional coaching that's going to help them to continue to optimize their career.

I'm personally not a parent at this time in my life, but there are ways that companies can make choosing a career in logistics a less divisive choice to be made for women. That's through their parental care policies, such as parental leave. I was really appreciative to learn that Loadsmart has four months of paid leave for primary caregivers and four weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers.

Q. What have been the most rewarding parts of your career in transportation and logistics so far?

A. There have been many! I'm very grateful to have landed in this industry because it's just been profoundly transformative end to end from the beginning of my career until now. Certainly my time in China, I can't say it enough, how grateful I am for that opportunity. But also, I would say, getting into people leadership. So as a sociology major and just a person who cares about other people, there is something incredibly rewarding about helping members of your team navigate their career journey. 

The third thing that has been most rewarding I’d have to say, is our customers. This last area of focus has brought me a lot of joy. Approaching customer relationships from a place where it’s a true partnership has been extremely rewarding. It really only makes sense to find win-win solutions when you’re working with your customers directly. One of the most rewarding feelings is navigating a challenging situation where operations feel impossible, like when the Suez Canal was blocked for example, and emerge on the other side and look back to see how far you’ve come!

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