John Luciani
Tell us more about your background – what led you to get started in the transportation industry?
My introduction to the transportation business is similar to that of many of my co-workers. I was supporting my way through college when I went to work for my first trucking company. During that time, I fell in love with the people and pace of the business. No two days are exactly alike and that has kept the business challenging and fun for more than 30 years.
What about Pyle attracted you to work for this company? Company culture, family-run business, etc.
Pyle has a great business strategy that is built around the engagement and discretionary effort of the team. The dedication and loyalty of the Pyle team starts with the Latta family and their commitment to developing and maintaining the culture. During 95 years of ownership, the Pyle and Latta families have always taken a long term approach to business and, in doing so, have earned and continued to build the trust of the team. The owners’ “stewardship” business philosophy, coupled with their commitment to the future, has been the foundation of our company culture, making it a very attractive place to start or continue a career.
Describe your role at Pyle.
As the COO of LTL Solutions at Pyle, I get to wear many hats to help the organization be successful. However, I feel my most significant contributions to our future are achieved by engaging with our customers and Pyle team. After speaking with our customers, I’m able to plan strategically for our future. By engaging and working with our Pyle leaders, many that are just starting their careers, I can help motivate them to see the opportunities available at Pyle and help them be the best leaders they can be. Mentoring the team to navigate through the inevitable challenges and then celebrating their successes is extremely rewarding.
Anything unique about your approach to LTL and Integrated Logistics operations?
I’m not sure my personal approach is unique, but I believe by leading our LTL business unit and feeling strongly about our integrated business strategy is the best approach for the long-term growth of Pyle. Having four disparate business units – Dedicated, W&D, Brokerage, and LTL – that can successfully work together for the benefit of our customers is unique within the industry. As a result, there is a requirement to balance resources, be creative and have more flexibility than any other point earlier in my career.
With decades of experience under your belt, what are some of the major ways truckload and logistics operations have changed over the years?
During my 30-plus years in the transportation industry, the advancements in technology have had the greatest impact on efficiency and driver safety. It has been interesting to be engaged in route optimization, the AOBRD and ELD migration to manage driver hours of service, on-board cameras and, more recently, having the ability to leverage document scanning as we strive to become completely paperless. As soon as we implement something new, it seems the next thing is being launched.
What are some market predictions that you believe will be shaping the future of the trucking and logistics industry?
As our customers look for creative and reliable solutions to eliminate delays in their supply chain, I believe Pyle is ideally positioned for the future with our comprehensive supply chain offerings. I believe that a combination of our culture and unique infrastructure can provide a superior cost and value proposition to our customers while providing growth opportunities to the Pyle team.