In this podcast episode, Brad Forester, Founder and Managing Partner at JBF Consulting chats with Nate "The Logistics Twit" Shutes, VP Global Fulfillment & Logistics at BluDot. They have a lively discussion on the finer points of running a supply chain consulting agency. Brad shares his golden nuggets on how to evaluate risk, build scalable solutions, and work ON the business rather than IN the business.
Take a listen here to the full episode:
TL/DR Highlights:
Advice from a mentor LUBR:
The 3 core aspects of running a professional services business are: Finding, Minding and Grinding
This is how professional service firms can grow through a simple leveraged model:
Key Takeaways:
1) You don't have to have the answers all the time, but you need to know how to get the answers and solve the problem
2) You must focus on the client and bring unique value
3) you need to know yourself and how that drives decisions
"To be a good consultant you have to know how to find the answers. To questions that your clients have, really before they ask you don't have to know all of the answers right out of the gate, have to know how to figure them out." - Brad Forester
About the Author
Brad Forester, CEO of JBF, is a highly recognized senior supply chain leader with over 23 years managing, designing, and implementing freight transport technology, Brad has a unique mix of carrier, shipper, software, and consulting experiences that benefit clients. With functional expertise in Global TMS Programs, Change Management, Organizational Design, and Systems Integration, he has been leveraging these skills to benefit clients since he founded JBF in 2003. Brad has a BA in logistics management from Michigan State University.
About JBF Consulting
Since 2003, we’ve been helping shippers of all sizes and across many industries select, implement and squeeze as much value as possible out of their logistics systems. We speak your language — not consultant-speak – and we get to know you. Our leadership team has over 100 years of logistics and TMS implementation experience. Because we operate in a niche — we’re not all things to all people — our team members have a very specialized skill set: logistics operations experience + transportation technology + communication and problem-solving skills + a bunch of other cool stuff.
