Managing Freight with RIM Logistics | Episode 5

Announcer: 0:07

Welcome to tell Tire Tracks, a Banyan Technology podcast driving the logistics industry. And now your host, Patrick Escolas.

Patrick Escolas: 0:15

Hey, it's Patrick Escolas here at Connect 2022. With day three, we made it this far at our first users conference. Sorry about that -- here with the Banyan Tire Tracks podcast. I'm here with Ronni Valenz and Oscar Carmona. Yep, I didn't butcher it too bad. So they're not nervous at all.

Ronni Valenz: 0:37

No, not at all.

Patrick Escolas: 0:38

Thank you guys for being here. I really appreciate it really appreciate everybody who came and attended this whole event. But as we get started here with RIM logistics, what does RIM do?

Ronni Valenz: 0:48

Rim is a international and domestic freight forwarder. So, we can manage your freight from point A to point B.

Patrick Escolas: 0:56

All right, and what are your roles within that, Ronnie?

Ronni Valenz: 0:59

I run the domestic product for the United States. So anything that moves within the sea to shining sea, if you will, is my responsibility.

Patrick Escolas: 1:09

All right, and Oscar?

Oscar Carmona: 1:10

I'm a data, senior data analyst and integrations. I worked with your team to integrate Banyan into our Cargowise. And, you know, implement that, that functionality.

Patrick Escolas: 1:24

And that works well, right?

Oscar Carmona: 1:25

Yes, it works well!

Patrick Escolas: 1:26

There's our shameless plug. Having Banyan on the back wasn't enough, or all over ourselves. But Ronnie and Oscar, how do you guys work together? You're on the data side, and you're watching the whole just as a whole? What is that relationship between your two roles look like?

Oscar Carmona: 1:41

Personally, it's great. She's, she's a great mentor. And I think she has given me the ability to kind of, you know, grow in this, you know, role and work with you guys to make this a better product for our company.

Patrick Escolas: 1:57

How long have you been working together?

Oscar Carmona: 1:59

Actually, two...

Ronni Valenz: 2:01

Actually, about a year and a half. I took over product in 2020, right before the pandemic. So that was really fun. So we've grown the product tremendously. It's like, quadrupled in size. Yes. With the same headcount. And that's a big part due to Banyan. Because we can, we can do more with the same amount of people, which has been a huge efficiency. Like, we came onto the Banyan team,

Patrick Escolas: 2:37

Okay.

Ronni Valenz: 2:38

I would like to say versus because that's how we feel we feel more like a partner than just a client. It's...

Patrick Escolas: 2:44

Right -- We're not just selling you something.

Ronni Valenz: 2:45

Yeah.

Patrick Escolas: 2:45

Walking away.

Ronni Valenz: 2:46

For sure -- not at all. It's a very all encompassing product. So we're just very excited. We made the decision to switch to Banyan. Pretty much at the end of last year, implementation was pretty much done April 1.

Patrick Escolas: 3:02

Okay.

Ronni Valenz: 3:02

So we're excited just about everything that you guys have given us already. And the roadmap going forward. It's tremendous. So, thank you.

Patrick Escolas: 3:11

So, we love to hear that that was that was awesome. Within that, has data always been something that you've used at RIM Logistics? Or has that been a push? In recent history?

Oscar Carmona: 3:22

We've tried, but think, yes.

Patrick Escolas: 3:26

You've been yelling and screaming and trying to get people to listen?

Oscar Carmona: 3:29

Well, I think, you know, with your guys's platform, it allows more for that. So I think that's a great help as well. What do you guys are actually offering and the data analysis tools, Freight Bill Management, we're able to see a lot more of what actually is happening behind the scenes, right, with our operations, truckers, you know, customers now. I mean, I think your Freight Bill

Patrick Escolas: 4:00

Yeah, it's awesome to hear, because one thing I hear from my marketing team, but we have a bit of a bias on that. So you know, yeah, actual boots on the ground with. So if as you're in the data, and as you're doing logistics, so the past 12 to 18 months were crazy from a supply chain standpoint, what did what did you see in that? What, struck you or how did RIM deal with some of

Ronni Valenz: 4:23

That's a very open ended question!

Patrick Escolas: 4:25

That's right. I can go anyway...

Ronni Valenz: 4:28

Oscar -- quickly hand the mic to me!

Patrick Escolas: 4:30

He's a smart man. He's in the data and it wasn't in the numbers there!

Ronni Valenz: 4:36

Well, honestly before we signed on with Banyan, we had no data.

Patrick Escolas: 4:40

Okay.

Ronni Valenz: 4:41

To be quite honest. So, this has been a huge game changer for RIM. We knew right before the pandemic that we needed to make a change with our provider and this was just the perfect solution for us. You were originally our API connection.

Patrick Escolas: 5:04

Okay, so you were already using it in some way.

Ronni Valenz: 5:05

We already had a relationship with you guys. It's just been a game changer from from every aspect, really, Honestly, especially the data section. We uncovered some, where's some avenues where RIM could do better. Somewhere, we could provide better offerings to our customers. So, it's been an internal and external eye opener. So it's been, you guys have been killing it. Yeah.

Patrick Escolas: 5:37

So, what do you what are you looking to do moving forward? So now you have the data, now you know what you didn't know before. What does that look like moving forward? Is it still kind of on going through it and digging? Or do you have you started to make a plan where, where that can place it and get you guys either. I don't know if that's new revenue, or just better

Ronni Valenz: 5:58

So both, I would say. We are doing a big kick-off, a relaunch, if you will, for our domestic product. A lot of people know RIM as an international forwarder. But, we also do domestic freight. And we're very proud to say that it's, it's a product that RIM is hoping to grow and grow, especially with, you know, near sourcing is a hot topic and all that stuff. So I think it's going to

Patrick Escolas: 6:44

Okay.

Oscar Carmona: 6:44

Yeah, I think some of the options that you guys are offering coming in the future is definitely going to help right, the truckloads, the carnage, those are things that the previous provider or other providers aren't really concerned with, right? So, I think just being able to provide these additional -- the full scope of it, being able to rate those. I mean, from the beginning

Patrick Escolas: 7:29

Yeah. And that's, and that's awesome to hear, you know, from when I started calling on people used to be, are you LTL shipping, and now it's like, are you shipping? What are you moving? How are you moving it? We can play in that space? So with that, so what does five years down the road look like for revenue? If you if you had a guess? Or what does that look like for you?

Ronni Valenz: 7:54

My game plan is product owner! The domestic department.

Patrick Escolas: 7:59

Promotion incoming!

Ronni Valenz: 8:02

That's it! Domestic is as big a player within RIM as an international and that, that the market itself in the freight forwarding world doesn't just think of us as an international that we are a strong domestic player.

Patrick Escolas: 8:16

Gotcha. Just kind of wherever you need it, you can help them.

Ronni Valenz: 8:20

For sure. Because when a salesperson goes into said company, ABC, chances are they don't just do international or they don't just do domestic, they do both.

Patrick Escolas: 8:30

Yeah.

Ronni Valenz: 8:30

And parcel and everything else. So, it's just a huge game-changer that we can really provide a full service solution to any of our clients now. that...y

Patrick Escolas: 8:41

You already have the relationship on one end, why should not go deeper and wider with that?

Oscar Carmona: 8:45

Yeah.

Ronni Valenz: 8:46

And then the more the clients rely on us, you know, that's great for everybody.

Patrick Escolas: 8:51

Yeah.

Ronni Valenz: 8:51

So, we're excited.

Patrick Escolas: 8:52

So happy to hear that. And then I'll kind of give you an opportunity with the kind of a last parting shots if you had to say anything to anyone out in the logistics space, or any one of your clients or what last thoughts, here. If you got a chance to talk to kind at the camera here and put a message out, what would that be? Either from you or from RIM or just...

Oscar Carmona: 9:12

I would love to say, you know, this conference was a game changer. Some of the products that you guys are unveiling unveiling is just amazing. And we look forward to being part, a partner on that. I think that's what Banyan has allowed us, right? You guys are a partner. Bringing ideas and you guys are willing to work with us to make these things happen, right? It's not this.

Patrick Escolas: 10:03

I love that.

Oscar Carmona: 10:03

It's awesome.

Patrick Escolas: 10:04

Yeah, kind of best practices and hearing how one person is using the tool maybe differently than you would have thought. I have that problem. How do you solve it? Yeah,

Ronni Valenz: 10:12

I would say that RIM, at the heart of RIM is a very unique company. We're very people oriented, which you don't find a lot with the big, big companies. And it was very hard. We like to partner with people who are like-minded to RIM.

Patrick Escolas: 10:35

Right.

Ronni Valenz: 10:35

So, we find that Banyan from that aspect, and multiple aspects is the perfect partner for RIM, because you understand the importance of a relationship and we find as your customer, we find that extremely important. And that's how we feel about our customers, too. So it's just, if you find like minded people to work with and partner with, it's just a win win.

Patrick Escolas: 11:03

That's, that's so awesome to hear. And just for the record, we did not pay them to say that! There was no script. I couldn't have said it any better and small tear. No, no. Ronnie and Oscar, thank you...

Ronni Valenz: 11:16

Thank you so much for having us!

Patrick Escolas: 11:18

Really appreciate it, yeah. And that was my last one for the conference -- so I'm really excited. We had some great times. We met some great people, and I actually get to go home. There'll be more Tire Tracks coming soon. I had a great time. We'll do this some more.

Ronni Valenz: 11:32

Thank you.

Patrick Escolas: 11:33

Thanks guys.

Announcer: 11:37

Thank you for listening to Tire Tracks. Watch for new episodes dropping monthly and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast apps. For more information about Banyan Technology, visit banyantechnology.com.