any longer . Many smaller companies have thrived because they are nimble and very customer-centric . They ’ ve often built up next to a distribution center or a large shipper . They ’ ve got this great little model . But once you start cutting those family ties and implementing more generic or universal processes , you ’ ve lost that customer service component . This kind of interplay causes the KPIs to start dropping . Investors aren ’ t getting the value they expected because the integration of talent isn ’ t going well . If you can ’ t infuse the right leaders and allow these facilities to speak for themselves for a while after the acquisition , it won ’ t work . Ultimately , the company ends up being divested again , or its customer base shifts away .
CLDA Mag : Where will things go in the next two or three years ?
Hadhazy : These activities are cyclical . Companies get bigger . They over-standardize . They lose the customer connection . And this creates a new customer need , which is then met by a smaller company again . Companies continue to iterate and develop as the bigger entities do not fully meet customer needs .
What we ’ re seeing from a shipper standpoint is that they ’ re also consolidating . We saw a lot of purchasing of shippers , and then we saw shippers saying , “ Now I need to be more agile , so I ’ m going to go back to a regional model .” Even the big household name brands that have operated with large , centralized supply chain groups are now saying , “ I need a regional business model again because I can ’ t make decisions quickly enough to meet my final users ’ needs .” As these companies start to regionalize again , they will become more unique , and smaller companies will be able to compete with them . So , if you were a small provider that was purchased and you ’ re feeling like you ’ re out of a job , you ’ re not . If you still love this business , there will be a place for you to start a small company again . There will be customer needs that the bigger companies simply can ’ t meet . There will still be a need for smaller , more innovative , more customer-centric , and more flexible providers . I expect this will spawn another wave of small regional providers . CLDA