Delafield-based
Evans Transportation Services, a third-party provider of logistics solutions, is projecting another year of double-digit growth despite having to navigate continuing supply chain challenges and high interest rates.
The company, which projects revenue growth of 23.8% in 2024, has been able to weather the current economic downturn due to the stability and the value it provides its clients, said
Ryan Keepman, chief executive officer of Evans Transportation.
"We don't lose clients, which is critical to our suppliers," said Keepman. "They can know they can rely on Evans through the ups and downs of the macro issues within the country."
The biggest challenge Evans is dealing with is the normalization of inventory levels following the COVID-19 pandemic. As manufacturers figure out how much product to order, there are too many trucks available for the amount of product being transported, which Keepman said creates pricing pressure in the marketplace. And, of course, higher interest rates continue to have an impact on companies’ bottom lines.
"Being a 40-year-old company, we've been through these cycles," said Keepman. "This is truly our third cycle where we've seen a downward shift in the market. We've weathered this one by far better than any of the other downturns."
Also helping bolster Evans Transportation’s continuous growth is the recent addition of the company’s new parcel solutions division. Launched last August, Evans’ parcel solutions division offers customers an end-to-end solution. The parcel solutions division increases value for customers by providing cost-savings, tactical carrier diversification, and improved operational insight and accountability through contract optimization, audit and recovery, and business intelligence services.
Clients now have access to “endless data points” within their transportation budgets when using the Evans Transportation platform, a benefit not typically available for smaller to mid-sized manufacturers.
Keepman said the addition of this new division has already paid off as the company secured three new clients and grew its employee base to 120 people.
"That (division) was the one piece to what Evans provided to the marketplace that was missing," said Keepman. "Our new way of looking at how we go to market is 'envelopes to excavators.'"
Evans has also been embracing artificial intelligence to support its continuing growth. The company is using AI to automate some processes currently being done by employees. Nearly 30% of the company’s manual orders are currently being read by an optical character reader. That OCR then pulls information from an order and enters it into Evans’ transportation management system, eliminating the need for a physical worker.
"It's made our team much more productive and, candidly, a lot more satisfied with their jobs because they're troubleshooting and they're adding value to our customers' experience every day," said Keepman.
Moving forward, he added Evans will continue to look to add the “best talent in the industry,” both locally and remotely. About 40% of Evan’s workforce is currently remote. Right now, there are five active job listings on the company’s website.
Last year, Evans Transportation was named the
fastest growing privately-held company in southeastern Wisconsin as part of the BizTimes Media Future 50 program.
