Speaking to Peggy Guse in March 2019 during International Women’s Month we were struck by how closely her discussion of her team’s accomplishments and ambitions dovetailed with the theme of the worldwide celebration of “Women’s Day on March 6: “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change.”

Happy Return

     FlyingTypers first profiled Peggy, United Airlines’ Managing Director of Cargo Marketing, Customer Service and Alliances, in 2013.
     She then had 26 years’ experience in the travel industry with leadership roles in the car rental, hotel, and travel agency segments, with six years at United in management slots in their Sales Strategy and Customer Experience groups.
     But she was just two years into applying all this experience to the world of air cargo, stating back then:
     “This is truly a fascinating business and I’ve only scratched the surface of what there is to learn.”

The Latest

     Six years later, Peggy has the mentoring of many of the next generation of air cargo leaders and the deployment of innumerable successful cargo innovations to her credit.
     She is recognized in our industry as a major contributor to United Cargo’s momentum toward, what her boss United Cargo President Jan Krems declares, “is the best cargo team in the business, which has delivered the number one belly cargo carrier in the U.S.”
     “Quality quality quality” is another familiar Krems catchphrase, and Peggy has certainly delivered that to United Cargo.
     But the quantity and importance of what she’s responsible for, is remarkable: United’s global Cargo Customer Contact Centers, cargo joint ventures with ANA and Lufthansa, the Cargo Business Transformation team’s key technology initiatives, Marketing and eCommerce’s development and deployment of Cargo’s “e” and digital transformation strategies, and too many more, to list.

Today

     Peggy spoke forthrightly to us about what her team accomplished in 2018 and their even more ambitious plans for 2019.
     “2018 was a transformational year for our team, but particularly for the Customer Contact Centers,” Peggy begins. “Contact volumes in our Houston, Manila, and Tokyo Centers continued to rise, but the crucial result was our key performance indicators, and customer satisfaction remained strong.

Contact Before Takeoff

     “We also launched dedicated Contact Center teams to support our team and customers in EMEIA and Guam.
     “In 2019, we plan to extend the regional support to Latin America, expand our thriving Business Partner Program for U.S.-based customers into international markets and continue to upgrade our Interactive Voice Response system to provide customers quicker access to the information they need.”

The Joint Is Jumping

     “It was also a year of great expectations, realized in our joint venture initiative.
     A highlight came in May when we launched the first phase of the UA-Lufthansa Cargo JV cooperation.
     “The size and scope favored a phased implementation, so we deployed the JV in stages throughout 2018. The UA/LH JV now provides our customers greater flexibility and speed on more than 1,500 route options.
     “We also celebrated the two-year anniversary of our cargo JV with ANA in 2018.
     “We began in July 2016 with eastbound service from Japan to the U.S. and Canada, then added westbound routes in February 2018.
     “With eastbound routes from Japan to Mexico added in May, the UA-ANA cargo JV network now includes 377 nonstop flights a week to 16 destinations, plus further flight and truck connections.


Next Up For UA/LH JV

     “There are exciting plans to sustain our JV progress in 2019. Next up for the UA/LH JV is the launch of Phase 5, adding more cities in Eastern Europe to the geographic scope.
     “We expect to complete the rollout of all phases of the original plan this year.
     “Next, for the UA/ANA JV, is gaining approval for the addition of locations in Southeast Asia to our JV network.      
     “Along with network expansions, both JVs are working toward adding more products – expanding beyond the current General and Express products into specialty offerings.”

Proud Cargo Business Transformation

     “I’m really proud of what our Cargo Business Transformation team accomplished in 2018 in collaboration with our partners in United IT.
     “We pursued a parallel track of enhancing our system’s functionality while improving its stability, and the team achieved success in both areas.
     “As we continue down these tracks in 2019, our CBT team will also continue their progress with an ongoing commercial initiative – a project that addresses the vital question:
     ‘What’s the best way to use all our available Cargo Sales resources to elevate the quality of service we deliver to all our customers?’

eCommerce & The Big Challenge

     “Our eCommerce team has perhaps the most challenging set of goals for 2019 – certainly the objectives that have the greatest potential for reshaping the way we’ll do business in the future.
     “We’ve grouped these customer and co-worker benefits together in our “digital transformation strategy” – elements designed to enhance our digital channels and our customers’ experience with them.

Game Changing Benefits

     “These benefits include online, self-service booking capability for our specialty products, enhancing our customer and partner messaging to promote the transition to e-AWB and paperless processes, fully digitizing pre-acceptance requirements for PetSafe customers and countless other upgrades.
     “With all the milestones along our technology roadmap, the ultimate goal is to “differentiate with digital” – to deploy technology innovations to generate levels of quality that will keep us competitive far into the future.”

The Constant Driver

     Listening to Peggy articulate her vision for the evolution of United Cargo, you can’t help but wonder where all this drive, perseverance, imagination, and excitement for the job took wing.
Peggy seems pleased to give us a clue to the source.

Oh My Dad


     “While many people are lucky enough to have a mentor who impacted their career development, I’m more fortunate than most. My mentor is a very unique individual who has influenced every stage of my development: my Dad.
     “He’s not an airline guy or even a travel industry veteran – he’s spent his life building an employee-owned and family-run retail business. But I’ve learned that the values and attitudes Dad instilled in me apply to any position in any industry.
     “One of the first doctrines I remember him expressing was, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get.’ My experience and observations have proven how true that is.
     “Another of his key principles is ‘Nothing’s more important than integrity.’
     “Again, experience has taught me there will be competing priorities and contingencies that seem more important in the moment.
     “But ‘inconsistent integrity’ is a contradiction, so I strive to always remember and apply Dad’s lesson.”
     Peggy Guse’s last statement provokes the idea that one of the most impressive takeaways in speaking to her again, refreshing a story we did six years ago, is her consistent sincerity and humility.

Goes Around Comes Around

     In 2013, near the start of her career in air cargo, Peggy deflected attention away from herself and onto what her team planned to accomplish.
     In 2019, with hard-won insight into our industry and a multitude of successes to her credit, that generosity of spirit hasn’t changed.
     While she won’t call attention to herself, we are pleased to celebrate her as a pioneer woman in air cargo, a leader in what is an ever-growing sisterhood that is lifting our business to new heights.
Geoffrey

You may have thought the one place in transportation, where there would be a noticeable drop off in activity by women, would be in the USA over the road trucking industry.
     Well, think again.
     In 2019, not only are women behind the wheel, but also in many cases top of the heap in the USA trucking business, as you read this.
     On April 12, five leading women in the trucking business will gather in Orlando at a conference as part of “Women In Trucking Association” (WIT) where one lady will be feted as winner of the “Distinguished Woman In Logistics Award.”(DWLA).
     Finalists for the 5th Annual DWLA are Lindsey Graves, Sunset Transportation; Michelle Halkerston, Hassett Express; Judy McReynolds, ArcBest; Sarah Ruffcorn, Trinity Logistics; and Erin Van Zeeland, Schneider.

Gender Diversity

     “We are about bringing gender diversity to transportation,” says Ellen Voie, President & CEO and founder of the Women In Trucking Association.
     “More women in trucking could go far toward eliminating the shortage of drivers now plaguing the industry “she insists.
     That is no idle claim.
     American Trucking Associations said that the industry requires tens of thousands of new drivers just to meet current and future demand.
     ATA warns that driver shortage in 2018 will only get worse.
     For the record women currently are 47 % of all U.S. workers but only account for about 6% of the trucking industry total, ATA said.

Non Profit But Highly Activist

     “We are a non-profit organization with the mission to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the industry.”
     “For nearly a decade, we've been focused on this clear mission.
     “It's supported by a passionate leadership team, highly engaged members, and committed sponsors and partners.
     "We continue to build a strong community among our members (primarily business professionals and professional drivers) who believe in and support our mission.”
     “Membership,”Ellen points out,” is not limited to women, as 17 percent of our members are men who support the mission.”

Distinguished Women In Logistics

     Finalists for the 2019 DWLA award are a pretty amazing bunch and to our view every singe lady is a winner.

Lindsey Graves is a second-generation owner and Chief Operating Officer at Sunset Transportation, a St. Louis 3PL.      Today she oversees operational and personnel growth, strategy, marketing and implementation at Sunset's corporate headquarters in south St. Louis and five national branch offices.

Michelle Halkerston is President, CEO & Owner of Hassett Express, a full-service transportation and logistics provider specializing in time-definite services.      She joined Hassett Air Express in 2001 as Vice President of Strategic Planning, was named President in September 2003, and then she purchased the company in October 2013.

Judy R. McReynolds is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ArcBest providing end-to-end supply chain services, surpassing $3 billion in revenue last year.      In 2016, McReynolds was elected as Chairman of the Board of ArcBest.

Sarah Ruffcorn is the Chief Operations Officer of Trinity Logistics, a 2018 "Top 50 Companies for Women to Work for in Transportation" Company.      Sarah leads Trinity's Regional Service Center brokerage offices throughout the country, the Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) division.

Erin Van Zeeland is Group Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Logistics Services at Schneider, a $5B (2018 annual revenue) company founded in 1935.      In her position, Erin is responsible for all aspects of the company's Logistics Service offering; this includes Transportation Management (Brokerage), Supply Chain Management, Warehousing, and Port Dray.

     The winner of the 2019 Women In Trucking Award will be announced on stage during the opening session of the TIA Capital Ideas Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, FL on Friday, April 12.
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