James Reed became chief executive of USA Truck in January 2017 and applied the same type of financial discipline he had used while working for technology companies like T-Mobile, Intel and Dell.
With a new cadence and governance, the publicly traded carrier reversed a decade-long stretch of subpar financial results. The company’s profitability returned in 2018 under a new name, USAT Capacity Solutions, and a broadened suite of transportation and logistics services.
Reed created an enterprise project management (EPM) forum for management to discuss and dissect ideas with cross-organizational implications. When making decisions for what projects to start, stop or continue, “my default position is ‘what's the ROI?’” Reed told CCJ in his office on July 14.
Renovating the operations department was one of many projects that passed through the EPM forum. Completed in January 2020, the change gave the department floor a modern, industrial, playful vibe.
Load planners, driver managers and other employees had previously been separated by walls and cubicles. Rows of workstations now extend along brick pillars on a sealed concrete floor. Senior managers work behind transparent glass panels and office doors lining one side of the room.
The new layout fostered impromptu meetings. In March 2020, Josh Schader walked over to the desk of Sam McCain with an idea. Both had been encouraged by results from an internal load board the company launched in 2018 for leased and independent owner-operator drivers.
