How to Embrace Sustainability in Trucking and Distribution Management with Erin Van Zeeland

eCom Logistics Podcast

For this episode of the eCom Logistics Podcast, we welcome Erin Van Zeeland, Chief Commercial Officer and Group SVP/GM of Logistics at Schneider. A lot has changed for providers of transportation and logistics services over the pandemic. Erin shares her insights on sustainability in the trucking and distribution management industries and how much the space has been evolving over time.

ABOUT ERIN

Erin Van Zeeland is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Logistics at Schneider, a premier provider of transportation, intermodal, and logistics services. In this position, she is accountable for the strategy, execution, and growth/profitability of Schneider’s fastest-growing segment including brokerage, supply chain and distribution management, and the power-only service offerings. Additionally, Van Zeeland is the company’s Chief Commercial Officer. In this capacity, she is responsible for the commercial strategy and the development of the organization which includes activities relating to marketing, sales, sales force effectiveness, product development, and service that drives business growth and expanded market share.

Van Zeeland started her career at Schneider in 1993 and has subsequently held several leadership roles in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility for customer growth and business expansion throughout operations, tech, business transformation, human resources, enterprise/global customer engagement, and logistics.

Van Zeeland holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wis. She also received a Corporate Governance certificate from the Harvard Business School Van Zeeland was the recipient of Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s first-ever Women in Supply Chain Award. Van Zeeland currently serves on the board of directors for the United Way – Green Bay. She also co-leads the Schneider Women’s Network and various other women in leadership and business programs.

HIGHLIGHTS

03:44 How Erin's journey in Scheider started

13:29 Sustainability in trucking operations

19:54 Production costs of green products versus non-green products

27:42 How the autonomous truck industry is reshaping

33:29 Erin on the importance of relationships in the industry

38:54 Erin's advice for people looking to get into logistics

QUOTES

19:24 We're leaning more and more into enviroment-friendly products - Erin: "They will have laundry detergent on the shelf right next to each, other one that's green one that's not green, it will be priced differentially. And they are seeing more and more of us as consumers going for the green option, the better option for the environment. And so it's good for business, people want to feel good about what they're buying and spending money on and they can prove it down to the details of their operation. So they're investing more there."

33:36 The importance of connection in the industry - Erin: "The kind of work that we do with customers has changed as you have AI automation, kind of API connections with customers, there's a lot less rub or rigor between the way that our systems work together and communicate information, we now have direct lines of communication to many shippers right into their TMS or WMS so that you don't need that much friction."

Find out more about Erin in the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-van-zeeland-a567317/

Website: https://schneider.com