Supply Chain Digital and Business Review USA chatted with Kristy Knichel, CEO of Knichel Logistics, about how she stepped up – unexpectedly – to the leadership plate when her father fell ill, and how the implementation of her own agenda has led to the business’s success.

“I just had to take the knowledge I had and get things done,” she explains. “I ran pretty much everything, working seven days a week to make sure everyone was doing their jobs. My role changed quickly – I learned what it meant to run a business.”

Kristy’s passion for diversity in both the workplace and along the supply chain has proven to be a successful strategy, allowing creativity to flourish. Besides financial and business success, which Knichel Logistics is seeing occur at a rapidly increasing rate, one of Kristy’s main focuses is the happiness of her work force and the customers. People value is vital for Knichel, and Kristy likes to shower her loyal staff with rewards, inspiring them to be content and efficient in their jobs for the sake of the customers. Superior customer service is an integral component in this success.

“We have processes in place that our people have been trained on, and they need to follow them as far as informing customers of certain situations in a timely manner, so that the customers are happy,” says Kristy. “It would surprise you how many big companies we’re competing with don’t do simple things like this, because they don’t have the time to personalize customer needs. Giving that extra touch to the customer – as well as treating our carriers well – is key.”

To discover the full story, click here to read the magazine and here for the brochure.