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Our work deserves to be understood.
When a delivery goes well, most people see a package arriving where it needs to be, on time.
They don’t see the dispatcher adjusting the plan when a road closes. The driver following precise handling instructions. The calls, decisions, and coordination behind a delivery that simply cannot wait.
In my own business, I see how much work goes into making a delivery look simple. I know many of you see the same thing every day. That’s why I care about making sure the people shaping policy understand what this work actually takes.
We can’t assume that the people making decisions affecting our industry understand our businesses the way we do.
That is why advocacy is such an important part of CLDA’s work. We have a responsibility to help policymakers understand how final mile delivery operates, who depends on it, and how their decisions affect our ability to serve our customers.
That understanding starts with the experiences each of us can share.
Policymakers can better understand an issue when we explain how it affects our business, a driver, or a customer waiting for a critical delivery. Our daily experiences give us something valuable to contribute.
You don’t have to be a policy expert to take part. Share an issue you’re facing with CLDA. Respond when the association asks for member input. Be willing to explain how a proposed change would affect your operation. Your input helps CLDA speak for our industry with real examples from our daily work.
The work behind a successful delivery may happen out of sight. As an association, part of our job is to make sure its value is understood.
Help CLDA carry that message forward by contributing to the Advocacy Fund. Your support helps give our industry a stronger voice and brings the realities of running a final mile business into the conversations that affect our future.
Donors will be recognized at the upcoming Final Mile Forum in Orlando. I invite you to join me in supporting this work and investing in our industry’s future.
Contribute to the CLDA Advocacy Fund
Thank you for the expertise and perspective you bring to CLDA. Let’s continue making our experience count where decisions are being made. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!
Lorena Camargo
President, CLDA
Learn more and get involved with CLDA today!
Your next major customer could expose every weakness in your operation.
The processes your team has managed informally become harder to follow. Your most experienced employees spend more time troubleshooting. You find yourself pulled back into dispatch just when you need to focus on the bigger picture.
Before pursuing the next opportunity, it helps to ask: Can the business support the growth we want?
For courier companies, that answer depends on more than available drivers or delivery capacity. It also depends on how knowledge is shared, how opportunities are evaluated, and how much of the operation still depends on the owner.
Eddie Pillow, CEO of Indianapolis-based Pillow Logistics Group, has worked through those decisions. In a recent CLDA Final Mile Fridays conversation with host and CLDA President Lorena Camargo, he shared experiences that offer a useful starting point for owners assessing their own readiness to grow.
Before changing how your business operates, identify what customers value most about working with you.
It might be access to someone who understands their account. It might be your response when something goes wrong. Those strengths can be easy to overlook when evaluating efficiency because they do not always appear as a separate line on a financial statement.
At Pillow, reaching a live person has remained a priority as the company has evolved. Eddie initially questioned that approach, but personal service was deeply connected to the company’s customer relationships.
At the same time, the company has adopted technology elsewhere, including an AI recruitment platform to help screen driver candidates.
Together, those choices illustrate how a business can modernize while preserving a service commitment.
When evaluating a change, consider both its operational benefit and its effect on the customer. Will it reduce repetitive work? Help the team respond faster? Make it easier to get an answer when a delivery needs attention?
Understanding those effects gives you a better basis for deciding what to change and what to protect.
Think about a responsibility your business handles well today. Now imagine the person who usually handles it is unavailable for a week.
Could someone else step in? Would they know the customer’s requirements, the system steps, and what to do when something goes wrong?
If the answer depends on calling that person, you have found a vulnerability worth addressing before adding more work.
Eddie experienced the cost of knowledge leaving with employees. Documenting processes became an important part of making responsibilities transferable, including instructions and screenshots for internal and customer systems.
Start with tasks where a knowledge gap would cause the most disruption. Capture enough detail for someone else to perform the work, then have another team member use the instructions. Their questions will help reveal what is missing.
Keep that information current as customer requirements and systems change.
The ability to teach a process gives your business more capacity than simply having one person who knows it well.
It supports training, coverage, delegation, and a more consistent customer experience as the company grows.
A promising account can look very different once it reaches operations.
Additional warehouse space, temporary labor, management attention, and service issues can absorb the margin you expected. The impact can also extend beyond that customer if your team starts diverting resources from established accounts.
Pillow encountered that situation with a large statewide opportunity. The work appeared to offer geographic reach and opportunities to combine freight, but it placed significant demands on the operation during a period of internal transition.
Within roughly 60 days, Eddie approached the customer about ending the relationship. Walking away came with a financial loss, but it helped the company refocus on work that better fit its strengths. Its stronger financial position afterward reinforced that decision.
Before accepting a major account, look beyond the proposed revenue:
Set a plan for reviewing performance after launch, too. Compare actual costs and service demands with your expectations while there is still time to address a problem.
A competitor’s presence in a market tells you little about its profitability. Your own capabilities, costs, and customer commitments provide a more useful basis for deciding where to grow.
A customer’s needs may extend beyond your current service area. Strategic carrier relationships can help you pursue that opportunity without immediately opening another location.
But the relationship needs to support the service you are promising.
Before relying on another carrier, understand its capabilities, communication practices, and approach to resolving problems. Establish clear expectations for the work and how information will move between your teams.
Eddie identified carrier partnerships as an important part of Pillow’s growth strategy. Those relationships create opportunities to combine capabilities and serve customers across a broader footprint.
This is also where industry involvement can have a practical return. Meeting other operators through CLDA, Final Mile Forum, and Connect events gives owners time to learn about each other’s businesses before an urgent coverage request or joint opportunity arises.
The conversation you start today may help you assess an opportunity months later.
Being involved in everything can feel useful. It also makes it harder to see which responsibilities the owner still needs to carry.
If you have capable people overseeing daily operations, repeatedly stepping into their work can consume the time you need for developing relationships, evaluating opportunities, and planning the company’s future.
Eddie described learning to step back as his leadership team grew stronger.
“When you bring on great people, that’s not where they need me.”
That adjustment requires more than removing yourself from an email group. Your team needs clear responsibilities, access to information, and an understanding of when an issue needs your involvement.
Look at how you spent the past week. Which tasks required your judgment or relationships? Which could someone else handle with better training, documentation, or authority?
Then consider the work you did not get to. Perhaps it was reviewing account profitability, developing a future leader, or building a carrier relationship.
Your calendar can reveal whether you are giving the next stage of growth the attention it requires.
You do not need to overhaul the company at once.
Choose one area that would become harder to manage if volume increased tomorrow. Document a critical process. Review the full cost of a demanding account. Clarify a team member’s responsibilities. Make time for a relationship that could expand your capabilities.
Those steps help build a business that can take on opportunity with greater confidence.
For established courier companies, preparing for growth includes being willing to examine familiar habits. Some will remain valuable. Others will need to evolve as customers, employees, and the operation require more from the business.
Watch Eddie Pillow’s full Final Mile Fridays conversation with Lorena Camargo for more on evaluating opportunities, building a capable team, and evolving as a courier business leader.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
CLDA’s Final Mile Fridays brings together industry leaders for practical conversations that help final mile companies build stronger, more successful businesses.
By Christina Rosell Quiroz, Final Mile Solutions & Marketing Manager, Hackbarth Delivery Service
Customers can open an app and rate a delivery in seconds. Transportation providers are quickly realizing that the only acceptable rating is five stars. Everything else fails. The end consumer at the door, phone in hand, has more influence over service-level performance than ever.
Technology has made this the norm. Shippers use near real-time consumer feedback and photo proof of delivery to their advantage. Over a quarter of American households with established internet service use cameras for home surveillance (Parks Associates, 2025), so doorbell cameras are capturing the final steps of final mile transport.
The voice of the customer is the shipper’s measuring stick. Through direct feedback, photo-documented proof of work, and a sharper focus on the end consumer, reliability is being redefined as more than an on-time scan. It now means delivering an experience the customer deems worthy of five stars.
So, what is five-star service? It depends on who you ask.
One thing is certain: you’d better be asking. Scott Louy, Operations Support Manager at Hackbarth Delivery Service, knows this well. He supports a long-standing Hackbarth customer and major appliance retailer whose products require hands-on, high-touch home delivery and installation.
This shipper leverages customer feedback to better gauge performance. Carrier evaluations now include customer surveys as a KPI, and the weight of the customer experience keeps growing.
“A delivery can be on time and completed correctly on paper, but if the customer’s experience falls short, the job cannot be considered a true success,” Scott says.
Proper documentation is now part of the service. Teams must capture photos of the home, product, and services performed on every delivery. Those details help carriers spot issues a delivery status alone may hide. Photos and scans validate the work. Customer feedback determines success.
Scott’s team understands that each survey reflects the customer’s experience with the delivery team on that specific day. “That direct feedback provides an immediate comparison point against the rest of our operational data,” he says. This helps leaders tell whether a low score is a blip or a pattern.
You have to review all the data together. “When a terminal or installer begins trending in the wrong direction, we are not evaluating a single metric,” Scott says. That approach allows for “meaningful conversations focused on root causes rather than simply reacting to a declining score.”
It also streamlines how teams respond, allowing them to take proactive measures. “Missing photos, incomplete documentation, or indicators that installation standards were not met can be identified quickly, allowing us to coach the team and correct behaviors before they become larger operational issues,” he adds.
Data sharing between shippers and carriers benefits both sides. “Operational metrics can tell us what happened, but customer feedback tells us how well we delivered on our promise,” Scott says. The result: more data, more perspectives, and more end consumers tapping five stars on their screens.
For shippers vetting final mile partners, that’s the real test. Technology may track every delivery, but the customer still has the final say.
SOURCE: Parks Associates. (2025, October 28). Parks Associates: 19% of internet households have professionally monitored systems, while 7% pay for non-professional services like alerts and video storage [Press release]. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parks-associates-19-of-internet-households-have-professionally-monitored-systems-while-7-pay-for-non-professional-services-like-alerts-and-video-storage-302596302.html
Learn more at www.hackbarthdelivery.com
CLDA Final Mile Fridays with Todd Oliver, Director of Government Affairs at SCI
“We’ve always done it this way, and we’ve never had a problem.”
It’s a familiar sentiment among business owners. When processes have worked for years, it’s easy to assume they’ll continue to hold up. But what happens when those practices come under scrutiny?
For final-mile carriers, an audit can raise questions about everything from independent contractor agreements to everyday dispatch practices. And sometimes, the things that seem routine can create unexpected compliance challenges.
During a recent episode of CLDA Final Mile Fridays, CLDA President Lorena Camargo welcomed Todd Oliver, Director of Government Affairs at SCI, for a practical conversation about what triggers audits, what examiners look for, and how carriers can prepare before an issue arises.
The biggest takeaway? Audit readiness isn’t just about having the right paperwork. It’s about how your business actually operates and whether you can demonstrate it.
One common misconception is that audits only happen when a company has done something wrong.
As Oliver explained, that’s not necessarily the case.
Government examinations may come from the IRS, Department of Labor, state unemployment insurance agencies, or workers’ compensation authorities. Businesses may also face scrutiny from insurers, lenders, or legal proceedings.
Some audits are random, but many begin with circumstances such as:
The important question isn’t simply what might trigger an audit, but whether your business is prepared when questions arise.
Having a written independent contractor agreement is important, but auditors don’t stop there.
They examine the actual working relationship, including how delivery opportunities are offered, whether contractors can negotiate pricing, and how much control the carrier exercises over the work.
Oliver emphasized that everyday business records can help demonstrate the independence of those relationships.
That includes delivery contracts, emails, text messages, dispatch records, and documentation showing that contractors operate their own businesses.
What’s written in an agreement should reflect what actually happens in daily operations.
One of the most practical points from the conversation centered on dispatchers and operations managers.
While leadership may understand the distinction between employees and independent contractors, those lines can become blurred in everyday interactions.
Oliver encouraged carriers to train their teams on appropriate terminology and practices. A simple one-page guide can be a useful starting point.
But it’s not just about the words people use. It’s about respecting the independence of the contractor relationship and avoiding unnecessary direction and control over how deliveries are performed.
For companies wondering where to begin, Oliver encouraged a practical approach. Rather than waiting for an audit notice, carriers can start by reviewing their current practices.
Here are five areas worth examining:
The goal isn’t to make compliance unnecessarily complicated. It’s to build processes that support your business and allow you to demonstrate how contractor relationships function.
Oliver’s first piece of advice was simple: Don’t panic.
An audit notice doesn’t automatically mean a company has done something wrong. However, how a carrier responds can make a difference.
He emphasized the importance of working with experienced advisors who understand worker classification and the logistics industry.
Having organized documentation, understanding what information is being requested, and obtaining qualified guidance can help businesses navigate the process.
As Oliver explained, a well-prepared company can demonstrate its business practices rather than scrambling to reconstruct records after an audit begins.
Audit readiness becomes even more important as carriers expand into new markets.
Worker classification requirements and enforcement approaches vary by state, creating additional complexity for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.
That’s also why industry advocacy plays such an important role.
During the conversation, Oliver emphasized the importance of having a voice when regulations and enforcement policies affecting final-mile logistics are being developed.
Through its Government Affairs Committee, CLDA works to keep members informed and engaged on issues affecting the industry.
One resource available to CLDA members is the Legislative Tracker, sponsored by SCI, which helps carriers stay informed about proposed legislation and regulatory developments at both the state and federal levels.
For business owners managing daily operations, staying ahead of these changes can make a real difference.
Explore CLDA’s Legislative Tracker →
Staying informed isn’t just about keeping up with legislation. It’s about understanding how potential changes could affect your operations and preparing your business for what’s ahead.
The conversation ended on an encouraging note: strong compliance practices can also support business growth.
Working with established independent businesses, maintaining organized records, and developing consistent operational practices can help strengthen relationships with customers, insurers, and other business partners.
Ultimately, compliance isn’t just about preparing for the possibility of an audit. It’s about building a stronger, more resilient business.
And as Oliver’s insights reinforced, the best time to identify a potential problem isn’t when an auditor is already at your door.
Want to dive deeper? Catch the conversation with Todd Oliver of SCI on CLDA Final Mile Fridays for more insights on audit preparedness, contractor compliance, and protecting your business.
Watch the full episode on YouTube →
To learn more about CLDA and its advocacy resources, visit www.clda.org.
To learn more about SCI, visit www.sciadmin.com.
This article summarizes an educational industry discussion and is not intended as legal advice. Worker classification requirements and audit procedures vary by jurisdiction and circumstances. Carriers should consult qualified advisors regarding their specific obligations.
CLDA Final Mile Fridays with Renee Paul and Alex Dean of SPG Transportation
Growth is usually something to celebrate.
More customers. More drivers. More vehicles. New markets. Bigger opportunities.
But growth has a shadow side that final mile operators don’t always see coming.
Every time your business changes, your risk changes with it.
That was the focus of a recent CLDA Final Mile Fridays conversation featuring Renee Paul, SVP of Last Mile Delivery at Specialty Program Group (SPG Transportation), and Alex Dean. The discussion covered how growth creates new insurance exposures — and why operators who don’t think proactively about coverage can find themselves exposed at exactly the wrong moment.
A company can be growing fast and still be dangerously underinsured. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.
Think about the operator who started with 20 trucks under one primary contract. That’s a well-defined, manageable risk profile. Now fast-forward: the same company is running 60 trucks, serving multiple 3PL clients, adding white-glove home delivery and using a mix of W-2 drivers and independent contractors. The revenue has tripled — but the insurance program may still look like it did on day one.
That gap is what Renee calls the “risk shadow” — the space between the company you are today and the coverage you put in place when you were something smaller and simpler. The goal isn’t to slow down growth. It’s to make sure your risk management is keeping pace with it.
One of the most common — and costly — assumptions in this industry is that a coverage limit equals full protection.
Take cargo. An operator looks at the dollar limit on their cargo policy and figures that as long as what they’re hauling is worth less than that number, they’re fine. But commodity type matters. Pharmaceuticals and fine art are examples of cargo that may carry exclusions or require endorsements that a standard policy doesn’t automatically include. Operators moving into new freight categories need to ask the question explicitly — not assume the answer.
Service type matters too. Delivering a package to a doorstep is a different exposure than crossing the threshold into someone’s home to deliver, assemble or install a product. That’s a liability conversation that white-glove operators need to be having with their insurance partners before they sign new contracts — not after a claim surfaces.
Hired and non-owned auto is another area where operators get tripped up. When you’re using independent contractors or vehicles you don’t own, there’s a gap between where the driver’s personal coverage ends and where your company’s exposure begins. Understanding that line — and making sure it’s covered — is critical.
And then there’s contractor compliance — an area Renee is direct about: collecting a certificate of insurance at onboarding is table stakes. The real question is whether that coverage is still in force six months later. Companies that don’t have a process to monitor ongoing compliance are carrying exposure they may not even know about.
Before you take on unfamiliar freight or a new service type, ask: does our current program actually cover what we’re about to do?
Growth doesn’t follow your renewal calendar. You might land your largest customer in June, add vehicles in August and launch a new service in October. Renewal isn’t until February. That’s a long time to operate with a program that no longer fits.
Any of the following should trigger a conversation with your insurance partner — before you move forward, not after:
And if you’re negotiating a new contract, send the insurance requirements to your broker before you sign. They can identify gaps, flag requirements that need to be addressed and sometimes help you push back on terms that go further than the exposure warrants.
The goal is to make that call before you’re committed — not after.
One of the most valuable reframes in the conversation came from Alex: the operators who build the best long-term insurance outcomes aren’t the ones laser-focused on cutting premium. They’re the ones asking a different question.
Instead of: “How do I lower my insurance cost?”
Ask: “How do I improve my risk profile?”
That question opens a very different conversation — one that might include cameras and telematics, MVR monitoring, driver qualification standards, certificate-of-insurance compliance programs and other operational practices that make a company genuinely less risky to insure. Better risk profiles attract better terms. The premium follows.
Your insurance partner should be doing more than processing renewals. They should understand your operation, know where it’s headed and be at the table when you’re evaluating major changes. Think of them the way you’d think of outside legal counsel — someone you bring in before you sign, not after something goes wrong.
Winning customers, adding capacity, entering new markets — that’s the work. Nobody should slow that down.
But the company you’re running today may look very different from the one that signed your current insurance program. And that gap — that risk shadow — is where exposure lives.
So ask yourself honestly: does the insurance program you have today actually match the company you’ve become?
If the answer isn’t a confident yes, it’s time to have that conversation.
Renee Paul and Alex Dean covered a lot of ground in this Final Mile Fridays episode — hidden cargo exposures, hired and non-owned auto, contractor compliance, risk profiling and more. Watch the full conversation on YouTube and see how these issues might apply to your operation.
Watch the full conversation on YouTube →
Have questions about your program? Connect with Renee, Alex and the SPG Transportation team at spgtransportation.com.
The information shared in this article and the accompanying Final Mile Fridays conversation is intended for general educational purposes and should not be considered legal or insurance advice. Companies should consult with their own insurance, legal and risk-management professionals regarding their specific operations.
By Ruth C Correa, Chief Executive Officer, Cheetah Final Mile LLC
I’ve had the opportunity to experience firsthand how much our industry depends on strong relationships, collaboration, and a willingness to learn from one another. Those same values are a big part of why my involvement with the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA) has been so meaningful to me.
One of the highlights of the past Final Mile Forum was helping bring women across the logistics industry together for our Women in Logistics Brunch. What started as an opportunity to connect became a space for meaningful conversations about leadership, growth, challenges, and the experiences we share as women working in logistics and final mile.
The response was incredible, and I’m excited that we’ll be bringing the experience back for the 2nd Annual Women in Logistics Brunch at the Final Mile Forum in Orlando in February 2027. My hope is that we continue building on what we started—creating an environment where women can connect, learn from one another, develop stronger professional relationships, and encourage the next generation of women leaders in our industry.
My involvement with CLDA has also given me the opportunity to serve our members and contribute to an association that continues to move our industry forward. As I come up for reelection to the CLDA Board of Directors, I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to serve and look forward to the possibility of continuing that service, supporting our members, and helping create initiatives that strengthen our CLDA community.
I’m especially excited about what lies ahead at the 2027 Final Mile Forum and hope to see many familiar—and new—faces at the Women in Logistics Brunch.
Outside of my CLDA involvement, my team at Cheetah Final Mile, LLC continues to support customers through customized logistics solutions, including warehousing, cross-docking, specialized home delivery, medical freight, and final-mile services.
I look forward to continuing to connect, collaborate, and grow alongside my fellow CLDA members.
By Christina Rosell Quiroz, Hackbarth Delivery Services, Final Mile Solutions & Marketing Manager
How do you establish reliable service in a state as big as Texas?
If you’re Kelly Picard, you do it all at once.
In 2017, Hackbarth opened 11 Texas terminals simultaneously. In a state where a route that works in Dallas may make little sense in Amarillo, that mattered. Any shipper who has tried to cover Texas with one or two hubs knows how quickly service can thin out between cities.
As CEO and the second generation of the Hackbarth family to lead the business, Kelly knew what the company could do for customers, especially with critical goods in pharmaceutical and medical distribution. Hackbarth has stepped in when shippers needed dependable service since Rob Hackbarth, her father, founded the company in 1975. Kelly saw an opportunity to bring that same reliable service to Texas on a much larger scale.
So, Hackbarth went bigger.
Kelly spent weeks traveling the state, evaluating locations and preparing for the launch. It was an ambitious and impactful investment that ultimately enhanced what Hackbarth could offer. Rather than serving Texas as a set of isolated cities, the company built out a strategic intrastate footprint, which stands at 13 locations today. That presence also opened the door to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Combined, these moves led to expansion in Hackbarth’s linehaul, B2B and B2C operations across Texas to the Southeast. What was once a string of standalone Southeast markets is now a connected, highly coordinated, multi-state network.
The Texas expansion was a leap, and its timing proved consequential. Home delivery grew. Every delivery is now more visible. Two-day and same-day promises have pushed consumer expectations higher. Shippers are competing for market share based on how quickly they can adapt. This means they now need agile partners that can keep up, all without losing control of service. Hackbarth had already made that investment in 2017.
Now operating 40 locations across 12 states with more than 800,000 square feet, Hackbarth remains privately owned, family-led, and is certified as a woman-owned business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Growth expanded the map, but it has not changed the company’s approach, which comes down to one question: “What does this customer’s network actually need?”
Knowing how many stops one route can absorb before service slips or which markets are ready for a dedicated terminal is crucial. Finding the answer can be overwhelming and make both cost and reliability difficult to predict. For Hackbarth, fifty years of experience turns the answer from a guess into a strategy.
Today, the company is still finding new ways to help shippers reach more customers while keeping service personal.
CLDA Final Mile Fridays with FMF27 Conference Chair, Andrew Brady
Three days away from your business.
Airfare. Hotel. Registration. And an inbox that’s probably still going to follow you to Orlando.
So what makes an industry conference worth it?
It’s a fair question, especially for small and midsize final-mile companies where the person attending the conference may also be the person customers call, employees depend on and operations still need when something goes wrong.
And with registration for the 2027 Final Mile Forum opening Monday, it’s a question worth asking now.
But maybe we’re asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, “What am I going to get from this conference?” ask:
“What am I going to do with the opportunity of having three days outside my business?”
Because simply showing up doesn’t create ROI. What you do while you’re there does.
It’s tempting to measure networking by how many people you meet or business cards you collect.
But one strong relationship can be worth more than 50 introductions.
That’s especially true in final mile. Most carriers can’t be everywhere or do everything. Your customer may need a delivery in a market you don’t serve. A shipment may require capabilities you don’t have. A national opportunity may require reliable partners across multiple regions.
When that happens, who are you going to call?
The strongest networks are filled with people you trust enough to put in front of your customer.
So don’t just look for someone who can give you business today. Talk to the carrier from another market. Introduce yourself to the new attendee. Sit with someone you don’t know at breakfast.
Build the network your business may need tomorrow.
Most of us walk into a conference knowing what we’re looking for: a customer, a partner, a solution to a problem or maybe a new piece of technology.
But some of the most valuable opportunities are the ones you didn’t know to look for.
Maybe you learn about a vertical you’ve avoided because it seemed too complicated. Maybe technology can now solve an operational problem you’ve simply learned to live with. Or maybe a conversation makes you stop and think, “Why aren’t we doing that?”
Walk the exhibit floor even if you’re not planning to buy anything. Ask what’s changed. Attend a session that’s slightly outside your wheelhouse. Talk to people you don’t already know.
You don’t know which conversation will matter yet.
Sometimes the value is discovering the question you hadn’t thought to ask.
For some business owners, three days away may be the hardest part.
Customers are still calling. Deliveries are still moving. Problems don’t conveniently stop because you’re at a conference.
But there’s value in getting far enough outside the day-to-day to think about what’s next.
You get to spend time with other business owners who understand the same pressures you do. You hear what they’re seeing, what they’re worried about and how they’re solving problems that may be sitting on your desk right now.
Growth requires more than getting better at running today’s deliveries. Leaders also need space to think about tomorrow’s business.
Sometimes working on your business requires physically stepping outside of it.
And the value doesn’t end when you get home.
Someone you meet in Orlando may not have an opportunity for you in February, but six months later, their customer may need coverage in your market. A conversation may lead you to explore a new service. An exhibitor you meet may have the solution you need a year from now.
The Final Mile Forum may last three days.
The relationships, ideas and opportunities that start there can last much longer.
So don’t measure the ROI only by how many sessions you attended or business cards you collected.
Ask yourself what you brought home:
One relationship. One idea. One new capability. One solution. One opportunity that changes what your company does next.
Because the goal isn’t simply to spend three days at a conference.
It’s to make those three days matter during the other 362.
What will those three days actually look like in Orlando?
Watch CLDA Final Mile Fridays: “Inside the Final Mile Forum,” featuring CLDA President Lorena Camargo and FMF27 Conference Chair Andrew Brady, for a behind-the-scenes look at what’s being planned for FMF27.
The 2027 Final Mile Forum is heading to Orlando, where CLDA will also celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Register here.
We’ll see you in Orlando.
CLDA Final Mile Fridays brings together industry leaders and experts for practical conversations about the issues affecting final mile businesses. Follow CLDA for upcoming episodes and conversations designed to help move the final mile industry forward.
The information shared in this article and the accompanying Final Mile Fridays conversation is intended for general educational purposes and should not be considered legal or insurance advice. Companies should consult with their own insurance, legal and risk-management professionals regarding their specific operations.
By Walter Cabrales, Chief Operating Officer, Truck Freedom.
Rising costs continue to be one of the biggest challenges facing the final-mile delivery industry today. In fact, industry research indicates that the final mile can account for up to 53% of total delivery costs, making it one of the most expensive segments of the supply chain.
From fuel and insurance to labor, maintenance, and equipment expenses, carriers are under constant pressure to improve efficiency while maintaining high service levels. At the same time, customers continue to expect faster, more reliable deliveries, further increasing operational demands.
Through conversations with carriers, fleet managers, owner-operators, and logistics professionals throughout the year, one theme consistently emerges: companies are looking for practical ways to lower costs without sacrificing performance. Truck Freedom participated in many of these discussions, including at ECA Marketplace 2026, where carriers and shippers shared perspectives on rising costs, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and operational efficiency.
A growing number of fleet operators are taking a closer look at Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) when evaluating their operations. Rather than focusing solely on acquisition costs, carriers are increasingly considering the long-term impact of fuel consumption, maintenance requirements, insurance expenses, downtime, driver productivity, and asset utilization.
Many are also examining operational processes that can influence overall costs, including loading and unloading efficiency, route planning, dispatch optimization, equipment utilization, and the use of technology to improve visibility across their operations.
While every fleet faces unique challenges, the industry’s focus appears to be shifting toward a broader view of efficiency. The goal is no longer simply to move more freight, but to move freight more profitably by maximizing the value of existing assets and resources.
Industry discussions throughout 2026 have highlighted the growing importance of flexibility, productivity, and operational efficiency as carriers navigate an increasingly competitive environment. Companies are exploring a wide range of approaches and innovations aimed at reducing downtime, improving utilization, and lowering the total cost of delivery operations.
There is no single answer to the cost challenges facing final-mile delivery. However, one thing is clear: understanding Total Cost of Ownership and continuously improving operational efficiency will remain critical priorities for carriers looking to stay competitive in the years ahead.
