The pandemic has caused enormous disruption to the already stretched international and local supply chain industry. It not only impacted big fish in the industry but also posed some complex challenges to the leaders in its wake. Moreover, in the tough times, modern leaders faced a tough grind to balance the whole supply chain industry. With creative business ideas and strategies, Sheree Smiltnieks (Founder, Freight Save) surpassed all the odds and successfully propelled her business forward.
Inspiring Career
Sheree describes her professional journey as collaborative, evolving, and rewarding. She was interested in business from a very young age and always had various new business ideas and strategies. Sheree started her career as a nurse and worked in the broad service industry for more than two decades. Later, she served in numerous health management roles and often took on different responsibilities where she had the opportunity to develop her business skills.
Sheree completed an MBA in 2016 to further her health management career with the vision of owning and operating her own company one day. She started in the transport industry with limited operational knowledge. However, a keen interest in systems and process re-engineering, leadership, and service led her to evaluate her own individual skill set and research industries that aligned with her skills, eventually landing on freight and transport.
Well-adapted Foundation
Freight Save was launched in 2020, right when the supply chain had everybody’s attention. The company quickly became a brand recognized by customers for a transparent and tailored freight management service at a very affordable price. Like any new business, Freight Save’s priority was to generate initial customers and establish a cash flow. Moreover, balancing short-term goals with a long-term strategic vision was a great challenge for the company. Setting short-term goals within the company’s long-term goals helped to overcome initial challenges and measure overall progress.
“As they say, timing is everything and we were fortunate during the very early days to be able to leverage growing a new brand with providing a streamlined service for B2C providers wanting to capitalize on the sudden rise in demand of online shopping,” adds Sheree. The business launched during one of the most important and well-publicized periods confronting the global supply chain which is set to reach over $500 billion this year.
Prominent Services
Freight Save offers free Member Accounts for Australian businesses. There are no contracts, no setup fees, no monthly account fees, and no minimum spends. New members start saving on their freight costs immediately, accessing group buying power through Freight Save’s high-volume accounts with over 25 national and international transport providers. Service teams at Freight Save work hard monitoring and actioning movements in real-time. The company is all about helping Aussie businesses streamline shipping and propels with the vision—“Streamlining Australia’s shipping – one Member at a time”.
A Strategic Leader
Sheree shoulders various responsibilities such as overseeing the core business functions including finance, service, sales, and marketing. She handles strategic leadership of the business, collaborates with industry partners, and seeks strategic alliances. She is an active investor and provides business consultancy services in the health sector.
The company was bestowed with many achievements and milestones after its establishment. The greatest accomplishment was launching during the early impacts of COVID. Due to the detrimental effects of the pandemic, Freight Save was able to quickly establish systems to meet the sudden increase in industry demands and the service expectations of its members faster than competitors who had well-established systems and processes in place. Improved transparency and a higher standard of service distinguished Freight Save from the competition in its early days and still does today.
Adaptability: Important Skillset
There are many definitive leadership styles and according to Sheree, the most important skill of leaders in any industry is adaptability. She believes that leadership has become much more of a fluid practice and if an individual is to be in touch with their team and the organization as a whole, they must have the ability to adapt their leadership style to suit the changes happening within the company and trends in the industry. “I really enjoy my role. I’m naturally hands-on and interactive and every day I am actively & practically engaged with all functions of the business and I take accountability for that,” says Sheree.
Adding Value to Customers
Freight Save has a quite varied customer base and welcomes members from any industry transporting physical goods. Industries utilizing Freight Save’s Member Accounts include some of Australia’s leading construction, automotive, and after-market parts and accessories providers to national food manufacturers and distributors of industrial and sports equipment and pet supplies. The company offers some very competitive rates in the pallet space as well as for businesses sending large and bulkier parcel items. “Our typical member profile would be SMEs without their own internal logistics division, outsourcing this almost entirely to us”, she describes.
Establishing Strategic Partnerships
Sheree believes that Freight Save is all about understanding its members’ needs and providing a service that not just meets them but exceeds them. At the strategic level, Freight Save aims to collaborate with like-minded business partners to offer a solution that adds value to not only its members but their end customers also.
In the first couple of years, Freight Save has established some successful and evolving partnerships, more recently with direct competitors. The company has planned some exciting service improvements that will launch later in 2022. Currently, it is working on an industry first-of-its-kind member rewards program and continues to create and enhance more API-enabled workflows.
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Also Read: “The 10 Renowned Supply Chain Leaders, 2022”
