Becki Cloyed, one of the owners of JJT Transportation & Logistics since 2012 (her partners are Joel Euler and James Quimby), recently read in an industry publication that only 30% of executives in transportation today are female. It’s a greater percentage than in the past, Cloyed said, but she’d nevertheless like to see that number increase further.
“We are still behind 50%,” she said. “But there are getting to be more and more women in our field. We not only have women in management here, but we also have women drivers. And we’d welcome even more of them.”
JJT originated in 2008 as a three-truck operation in Wathena, Kansas. Its primary operations are now located in Omaha—on J Street, fittingly—and today’s JJT serves as a total transportation solutions company. The company has grown more than tenfold since Cloyed arrived, and the industry is growing, too. Transportation and logistics are both key components to the supply chain, and it’s a sector the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows having a steady demand for workers now and projected into at least the next decade.
“We’re excited to be supporting that,” Cloyed said.
The company has long been known for its willingness and ability to find solutions to special circumstances and nonstandard freight. However, the last year and a half has presented new and unique challenges, Cloyed said. When transportation was deemed an essential industry at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, JJT operations never wavered.
“The pandemic has affected the supply chain. JJT has taken a very creative approach to help our customers solve those issues in the supply chain. We’ve increased staff, we’ve increased availability,” she explained. “We have taken our commitment to our customers and our carriers seriously.”
That’s required some sacrifices, including a certain amount of employee turnover. “As a lot of people have found ways to work from home, we didn’t have that option,” Cloyed said, adding that her team found ways to get the job done with respect to the company’s mission of “keeping the stores supplied and the vendors supplied with what they need to keep them in business.”
That resourcefulness has kept JJT going strong, too.
“We have experienced growth and we have gained market share, and I think that’s because of the diversity in our business,” Cloyed said. “We not only can provide assets to our clients, we also do a great job of networking and finding other carriers to partner with to move our customers’ freight.”
The company’s devotion to providing the best service possible to its customers also involves an ongoing investment in quality vehicles, equipment and technology. JJT also continues to uphold a reputation for innovation, Cloyed said, like providing real-time tracking that allows JJT to stand behind its commitment to delivery with shipment guarantees. “Not everybody has that.”
“We look at all aspects of the business,” Cloyed said. “We’re on the cutting edge. We’re always looking for process improvement.”
JJT Transportation & Logistics
7006 J St.
Omaha, NE 68117
402.614.4777
jjttrans.com
This article originally appeared in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of B2B Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
This article originally appeared in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of B2B Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
