TOC in the Media The seasoned team members at TOC Logistics serve as experts and thought leaders in the logistics and supply chain management industry

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1 The seasoned team members at TOC Logistics serve as experts and thought leaders in the logistics and supply chain management industry. As we constantly stay up to date on new industry trends and market changes, our team has become a trusted and sought-after source for many reputable industry publications. Below are a few of our most recent pieces of earned media that cover important and timely industry topics. Holding shippers accountable in the ELD era Cristina Commendatore Apr 09, 2018 Commercial truck carriers and drivers have been bound by the constraints of the hours of service (HOS) rules for quite some time now. It s not exactly breaking news that these rules have been a challenge for all key players in the industry. But now, in the era of full enforcement of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, where do shippers fit into all of this? And how important is it that they be held accountable for long wait and loading times going forward? Whenever I talk to somebody, especially shippers, some don t understand what s going on and why all of a sudden this is impacting everything and what we ve been doing for them, explained Gary Cardenas, CEO and president of TOC Logistics. Cardenas, who has worked in international freight forwarding and with North American 3PLs for the last 30 years, started TOC Logistics back in 2009 as a logistics management organization. There s a lack of capacity when it comes to drivers, Cardenas said, noting that the driver shortage is only expected to worsen under these regulations. You ve got a lot of baby boomers that have been truck drivers that are retiring or it s gotten too difficult to go ahead and make a buck or to run the miles needed to live their lifestyle. So, if shippers want to remain competitive in this era of electronic logs, there are some challenges they ll need to overcome, particularly for carriers and drivers. Shippers are now obligated to watch the clock because they are cutting into the drivers driving time. And one delay will end up having a ripple effect on everything. These shippers really need to stay a little bit more focused when they re ordering a truck to come in, Cardenas said. They have to make sure they re not taking an hour or two hours to get trucks in and get them out loaded, especially if they re looking for a specific transit time to be made. On top of that, shippers should keep an eye on when they are ordering and releasing cargo because previous

2 pickups will impact the next pickup for drivers. Shippers should also be concerned about the capacity crunch and trucks falling off the road to take higher paying loads, Cardenas explained. You want to be with a provider that has built long, vested relationships with multiple carriers, so when push comes to shove, they re working on your behalf because of the relationship that you ve built throughout the years, he added. Some of these drivers will refuse to pick up a load when they know they ve had challenges with certain shippers. And then there s the detention problem, which has been a major headache and concern for drivers under strict enforcement of the ELD mandate. Many carriers are now beginning to charge shippers directly for detention time and delays of more than an hour or two. Because of this, Cardenas noted, some shippers are dropping their wait and load times, though no particular standards have been etched in stone at this point. Carriers are [charging detention] to compensate the drivers because drivers are taking a hit now because they are not able to drive as many hours as they were before the ELD mandate, Cardenas pointed out. When will all the ELD hype settle down? I don t see it ending anytime soon, Cardenas said. I could see this going into next year I think the capacity crunch is going to be there for a while. Because of the lack of drivers and you have companies scrambling to get driverless trucks. The lack of drivers is key, he added. We re going out there a trying to recruit drivers ourselves with our sister fleet company, and it s a challenge because everybody is paying them [sign-on] bonuses and giving them a higher rateper-mile. When it comes to enforcement, Cardenas expects patrolling will be highest along major roads and state arteries where the largest amount of heavy-truck traffic moves through. This is not going to be over anytime soon, nor are we going to know when this is going to smooth out and going to start determining what the new normal is going to wind up being, Cardenas stressed.

3 With ELD enforcement here, how do supply chains return to 'normal'? Shefali Kapadia Apr 10, 2018 Dive Brief: Enforcement of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate has been in effect for 10 days now, with shippers, carriers and freight forwarders all figuring out how to adjust their operations for the long term. CarrierLists estimates compliance rates are around 97%. Regulators are conducting roadside inspections, and drivers found operating a truck without an ELD are put out of service for 10 hours. Amid fears the mandate is exacerbating truck driver shortages, the trucking industry added 6,700 workers in March, according to a report from the Department of Labor, making last quarter the strongest quarter of job growth for trucking since Dive Insight: Because a strong majority of fleets are in compliance with the mandate, concerns no longer revolve around ELD compliance, but rather the effects of the mandate across industries. With trucks being an integral part of many supply chains, the ELD mandate has a ripple effect across all stems, Gary Cardenas, president of TOC Logistics, told Supply Chain Dive. Supply of both trucks and drivers is low relative to the skyrocketing demand driven by e-commerce, contributing to spot rates going up, creating increased costs for shippers. Carriers costs are going up too, as they ramp up incentives and pay for drivers, hoping to lessen turnover rates. For freight forwarding companies like TOC Logistics, serving as the middle man between shippers and carriers is all about efficiency. Everything s got to work like clockwork, Cardenas said. We have to time it out, because we don t want that driver sitting there, tying up driving time that he or she could have on the road. If a shipper has a specific day and time for a product release, it must ensure its distribution center workers will be ready to load a truck at a particular time, with the carrier scheduling the drive accordingly. This strategy requires the entire supply chain to have a unified plan, with each actor realizing the needs and constraints of the others. More planning could lead to a change in value chain relationships, moving away from transactional and toward partnerships. That process won t be instantaneous. I don t think we re going to see any kind of normality here in 2018, Cardenas said.

4 Where do shippers fit into ELDs and HOS? Holding shippers accountable for detention and delays. Cristina Commendatore Apr 23, 2018 Truckers have been bound by the limitations of the hours of service (HOS) rules for a while now. But now that the industry is fully experiencing full enforcement of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, where do shippers fit into all of this? And how important is it that they are held accountable for long wait and loading times going forward? Whenever I talk to somebody, especially shippers, some don t understand what s going on and why all of a sudden this is impacting everything and what we ve been doing for them, explained Gary Cardenas, CEO and president of TOC Logistics. Cardenas, who has worked in international freight forwarding and with some North American 3PLs for the last 30 years, started TOC Logistics back in 2009 as a logistics management organization. There s a lack of capacity when it comes to drivers, Cardenas said, noting that the driver shortage is only expected to worsen. You ve got a lot of baby boomers that have been truck drivers that are retiring or it s gotten too difficult to go ahead and make a buck or to run the miles needed to live their lifestyle. So, if shippers want to remain competitive in the new era of electronic logs, there are some challenges they need to overcome, particularly for drivers. 1. Watch that HOS clock For one, shippers are now obligated to watch the clock because they are cutting into the drivers driving time. And one delay will end up having a ripple effect on everything. These shippers really need to stay a little bit more focused when they re ordering a truck to come in, Cardenas noted. They have to make sure they re not taking an hour or two hours to get trucks in and get them out loaded, especially if they re looking for a specific transit time to be made. 2. Keep an eye on pickup times On top of watching the clock, shippers should keep an eye on when they are ordering and releasing cargo because previous pickups will impact the next pickup for drivers. Shippers should also be concerned about the capacity crunch and trucks falling off the road to take higher paying loads, Cardenas explained. Some of these drivers will refuse to pick up a load when they know they ve had challenges with certain shippers, he added. 3. Avoid detention, delays And then there s the detention problem, which has been a major headache and concern for drivers under strict

5 enforcement of the ELD mandate. Many carriers are now beginning to charge shippers directly for detention time and delays of more than an hour or two. Because of this, Cardenas noted, some shippers are dropping their wait and load times, though no particular time standards have been etched in stone at this point. Carriers are [charging detention] to compensate the driver because the driver is taking a hit now because they are not able to drive as many hours as they were before the ELD mandate, Cardenas pointed out. When it comes to the detention problem in the era of the ELD mandate, Dan Serewicz and Eric Weidl, co-founders of Dock411, believe they have found the solution. Dock411 is a way for drivers to see details about shippers and their stops before they make them. A free app for drivers allows them to look up their next stop and see any information there is about a shipper so they are better prepared for that stop. The app also allows drivers to comment on their experiences at that facility. Dock411 tracks more than 75 different attributes about each facility things like wait times, pictures of the facility, actual dock/load/unload location on a satellite map, bathrooms available to drivers, lumper fees, hazards in the lot, hours/phone numbers, parking available, and whether or not pets are allowed. One question we get from drivers is, Is it only for docks? noted Serewicz. No, it is for anywhere anything gets picked up or dropped off: flatbed, step decks, dry van, reefer, ag, ports, etc. We are here to make drivers stops faster, easier, safer and less frustrating. So we are doing everything we can to accommodate all those drivers. With the ELD mandate now in full effect, drivers can leverage Dock411 s platform to better help them plan their day. Through the app, drivers have visibility to things like parking and wait times at that stop, they know if they need to park before, after or at that stop. We are hearing from drivers that they will have to check in with the shipper to make sure they can get them in and out of their facility before their clock is up and they have to park, Serewicz explained. We have even heard of drivers pulling out of the dock half way loaded and having to come back for the other half after their 10 hours because they were afraid they wouldn t get to a safe parking spot by the time the load is done. That is not good for either party. The company s founders also announced their plan to officially launch a shipper platform that allows shippers to include all the necessary information about their facility into Dock411 for drivers to find. This will include a facility map so the shipper can show drivers the preferred route into their facility, entrance, check in location, hazards, dock location and exit of yard as well as those 75 facility attributes.

6 How Technology is Changing Supply Chain Management for Better May 30, 2018 The logistics and supply chain management industry is one that is constantly evolving and optimizing, and because of the competitive nature of the industry, innovation is key for success. Modern technologies have not only aided in the streamlining of supply chains and company processes, but have also set the industry on a technologically advanced path that many could not have even imagined fifteen or twenty years ago. From robotics in warehouses and autonomous ships and trucks, to computerized shipping and tracking, technology has changed the industry for the better and has provided new levels of visibility. With the aid of technology, supply chains of the future may be a bit more complex, but will certainly be more efficient and less expensive. A few of the technological advancements that have changed the game for the logistics and supply chain management industry are: Computerized Shipping and Tracking Modern technology has drastically impacted the shipping industry and has made for more efficient and accurate tracking. With a wide array of different supply chain management software programs on the market, logistics and supply chain professionals and their clients are able to keep an eye on their shipments during every step of the supply chain journey. With every second being crucial in the world of supply chain management, the ability to provide complete transparency to clients in terms of where their packages are and when they will arrive is something that is extremely valuable. Computerized shipping and tracking has also largely reduced the amount of time spent shipping, receiving, tracking packages and compiling shipment data, as all necessary data can be stored in one easy-to-access place. And in this case, saving time means saving money. Being able to digitally organize data and monitor shipping and tracking information also reduces the opportunities for human error. With digital records there is no longer a worry that sloppy handwriting or a misplaced piece of paper will throw a wrench in a shipment being delivered on time, or to the right place. Futuristic Autonomous Vehicles A big technological push in the industry right now is the advancement of autonomous vehicles, electrification, use of solar power, and energy storage, all of which will be used across the board to both reduce cost and increase efficiency. Right now, energy and transportation make up more than half of total supply chain costs and labor accounts for a little less than a third of costs. With further technological advancements, the transportation and labor aspects of supply chains will eventually cost very, very little compared to what they do today. The eventual implementation of autonomous electric vehicles, which can be programmed to use the most efficient routes and run throughout the night without a driver, will drive down the cost of labor and increase capacity on the roads. Autonomous vehicles will also address the growing concern of truck driver shortages throughout the industry.

7 Also on the very near horizon is the use of autonomous ships. Autonomous ships would address the issues of piracy, talent shortage in the ocean shipping industry and accidents caused by human error. Big Data Logistics and supply chain management professionals live and die by data. A recent study by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals shows that 98 percent of third-party logistics firms and 93 percent of shippers feel that data-driven decision making is key to supply chain activities. Technological advancements have made it extremely easy to gather and analyze key pieces of data. Data surrounding shipping times, cargo weight, weather patterns, traffic routes, and more can lead to greater transparency, optimized routes, greater reliability and automated supply chains. Having a team that is able to accurately interpret big data is key to success, and will likely save a company both time and money. There is a reason UPS drivers don t make left turns. Someone on the UPS team analyzed large amounts of data, which is now available thanks to technology, and determined that eliminating the majority of left turns would use 10 million less gallons of fuel, emit 20,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide into the air and help deliver 350,000 more packages every year. Technology is something that is hard to predict and often difficult to wrap your head around, but the logistics and supply chain industry is benefiting from every new technological advancement in our field. The supply chains that we are working with today will be drastically different in five or ten years time, and almost unrecognizable in twenty or thirty years. Technology has made supply chain management more efficient, transparent and cost-effective. It is important to have members of your team that are willing to embrace new ways of doing things and that are able to stay up-to-date on new forms of technology. This industry is constantly changing, and in order to be successful you need to be willing to change along with it.