JUSTIN POWERS
Grosse Pointe Woods,MI
Summary
Transportation Operations and Carrier Procurement leader with 15+ years of experience developing carrier networks, securing transportation capacity, managing multimodal freight operations, and executing transportation strategy throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Experience across both the shipper/warehouse and 3PL environments with expertise in carrier procurement, capacity planning, transportation operations, and customer-focused logistics solutions. Recognized for building trusted carrier partnerships, improving service performance, and delivering operational excellence in high-volume, fast-paced supply chains.
Overview
3
3
years of post-secondary education
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Client Relationship Manager
ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Owned refrigerated customer relationships and transportation execution across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, managing the complete business lifecycle from prospecting and solution design through carrier procurement, delivery, billing, and collection.
- Developed and managed a portfolio of refrigerated food and beverage shippers through cold calling, referrals, lead development, and consultative relationship building.
- Secured RFP awards, spot freight, and recurring transportation opportunities while managing pricing, margin, service expectations, and account performance.
- Managed each shipment from customer tender through load posting, carrier selection, rate negotiation, pickup, in-transit execution, delivery, invoicing, and payment.
- Built customized solutions including route guides, dedicated capacity, specialized fleets, freight consolidation, and alternatives beyond traditional transactional brokerage.
- Worked directly with executive leadership, shipping managers, warehouse teams, forklift operators, dispatchers, and drivers to solve issues and keep freight moving.
- Applied prior shipper-side and refrigerated transportation experience to anticipate customer needs and provide practical, operations-driven solutions.
- Earned Rookie of the Year recognition as the top salesperson in the onboarding class after bringing on multiple new customers and generating freight in the first month.
Transportation Operations Specialist
TRAFFIX LOGISTICS
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Coordinated daily freight operations and shipment visibility throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
- Tracked and traced active pickups and deliveries, contacted drivers in transit, and communicated proactively to protect on-time service.
- Matched shipments with qualified carriers responding through load boards and coordinated carrier acceptance and shipment execution.
- Worked directly with shippers, receivers, dispatchers, and drivers to resolve loading, unloading, appointment, detention, and service issues.
- Issued Comchek fuel advances and reimbursements for lumpers and other approved accessorial expenses.
- Maintained accurate shipment updates while managing multiple active loads and escalating risks before they affected customers.
Transportation, Logistics and Deployment Senior Associate
PEPSICO | TROPICANA PRODUCTS
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Managed carrier relationships and national refrigerated transportation supporting production, warehousing, deployment, and customer delivery.
- Managed more than $40M annually in freight contracts with a select group of strategic carrier partners.
- Coordinated full-truckload refrigerated shipments of PepsiCo and Tropicana products throughout the United States.
- Secured capacity and balanced cost, service, and carrier performance to support production schedules and customer demand.
- Maintained more than 95% on-time delivery performance while managing service failures, capacity shortages, weather disruptions, and customer escalations.
- Partnered with warehouse operations, Production Planning, Material Coordination, deployment, and other internal teams to meet service and inventory objectives.
- Received multiple awards and recognitions for outstanding work, service, and operational performance.
Dedicated Fleet Manager
ASPIRATIONS, INC.
01.2012 - 01.2017
- Grew from responsibility for one refrigerated fleet to leadership of five dedicated fleets, including four reefer divisions and one dry-van operation supporting PepsiCo.
- Partnered with dispatchers to manage more than 100 drivers, 150 tractors, and 250 trailers across multiple dedicated operations.
- Built and managed the highest-rated on-time delivery carrier across PepsiCo transportation divisions, achieving 96.2% CCRAD performance.
- Reduced empty miles and driver paid-not-used days by more than $400,000 annually.
- Worked closely with planners, order processors, warehouse contacts, and customer stakeholders to improve fleet utilization and service execution.
- Directed daily routing, dispatch support, driver utilization, equipment planning, and service recovery across multiple dedicated divisions.
Private Yacht Captain
JOE AND RITA RAYL
01.2009 - 01.2012
- Managed all operations, navigation, maintenance, safety, scheduling, and guest service aboard an 80-foot private yacht.
- Computed navigational data, charted courses, monitored weather, and ensured safe embarking and debarking procedures.
Dock Master
LONGBOAT KEY MOORINGS AND RESORT
01.2006 - 01.2009
- Coordinated docking, berthing, and marina operations for vessels ranging from 30 feet to more than 150 feet.
- Managed fuel dock operations, property standards, vessel movements, and high-touch guest service.
Education
High School -
Bradenton Christian High School
09.2000 - 05.2003
Some College (No Degree) -
Tallahassee Community College
09.2004 - 07.2005
Core Competencies
Carrier Procurement • Carrier Network Development • Capacity Planning • Transportation Operations • Transportation Strategy • Carrier Relationship Management • Transportation Spend Management • Contract & Rate Negotiation • Carrier Performance Management • Route Guide Development • RFP & Spot Freight • Dedicated Fleet Operations • Multimodal Transportation • Full Truckload (FTL) • Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) • Intermodal & Rail Transportation • Expedited Freight • Cross-Border Transportation (U.S., Canada & Mexico) • Shipment Visibility • DOT & FMCSA Compliance
Career Note
Family Sabbatical 2022 - Current.
- Took a planned career break to raise my son and daughter full-time while remaining connected to transportation through professional relationships and industry events.
Now returning to full-time work as my son begins school.
Timeline
Client Relationship Manager
ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS
01.2020 - 01.2022
Transportation Operations Specialist
TRAFFIX LOGISTICS
01.2019 - 01.2020
Transportation, Logistics and Deployment Senior Associate
PEPSICO | TROPICANA PRODUCTS
01.2017 - 01.2019
Dedicated Fleet Manager
ASPIRATIONS, INC.
01.2012 - 01.2017
Private Yacht Captain
JOE AND RITA RAYL
01.2009 - 01.2012
Dock Master
LONGBOAT KEY MOORINGS AND RESORT
01.2006 - 01.2009
Some College (No Degree) -
Tallahassee Community College
09.2004 - 07.2005
High School -
Bradenton Christian High School
09.2000 - 05.2003