With a rapidly evolving economy, a lot of companies are finding it more and more difficult to navigate the details of the supply chain. Now many of these companies are looking to outsource their logistics needs to third-party logistic organizations.
Axle Logistics has spent the last 10 years perfecting its services and expects, in its second decade, to become a billion dollar organization, which it is projected to reach by 2024.
Axle facilitates truckload, LTL and intermodal moves and warehousing for customers throughout the continental U.S., Mexico and Canada. In the company’s early days, leadership learned the intricacies of the logistics industry and fine-tuned Axle’s offerings to utilize technology to deliver specialized customer service.
“It’s a complicated industry to get into, and if you do not have the right tools and technology that serves the business that you bring on in the beginning, you can put yourself in a predicament that’s hard to get out of,” said Shawn McLeod, president of Axle Logistics.
Following the vision of founders Jon Clay and Drew Johnson, Axle has seen countless milestones in the last decade. One major milestone includes being named to the Inc. 5000 List in 2016, putting Axle on a national stage for the first time. In 2019, Axle became a $100 million organization, another milestone that set the trajectory to becoming a half billion dollar organization just three years later. In 2021, Axle was able to complete its newest project, moving into a $13 million headquarters in the heart of Knoxville, Tennessee, a city close to the founders’ hearts and only minutes from some of Axle’s closest partners.
But as the organization has grown, Axle has not strayed from the original vision to deliver safe and reliable logistics services through a valued team of experts.
“We’re beyond grateful that our founders had the vision and that we’ve been able to get such an amazing team to help us build this out. This is really a testament to the approximately 270 employees that we have. They make this happen every single day,” said Ali Fraley, vice president of learning and development at Axle.
While the company vision hasn’t changed, Axle’s technology has evolved to meet customer needs.
“Customers always want new ideas around how to reduce the amount of back and forth between teams,” said McLeod. “Communication is key within the industry and the faster we can get information to our customers and carriers, the more accurate that data is going to be. They need that to run their business.”
From the beginning, Axle leadership has believed that a positive culture produces positive outcomes. By creating an environment that allows employee growth, as well as a healthy balance between work and play, the organization has seen an influx of dedicated and successful workers focused on producing solutions.
“I really feel that the model that we’ve created here internally provides the customer with the best service in the industry. It provides a carrier with the best service and pay in the industry,” McLeod said.
The expectation is for those with an entrepreneurial spirit to have the opportunity to build a business within a business, allowing for scheduling flexibility and financial freedom not easily found in other organizations. Axle’s tagline is “build your empire” for a reason.
The company’s internal mission has been to “give opportunities to the employees that we have never seen in this industry before,” Fraley said.
Axle is ready for the next, even more successful decade. With another office in the making that will provide hundreds more jobs and by continuing to perfect its services in an evolving industry, Axle is determined to make this next decade the best yet.
“An internal little slogan that we say is ‘to the moon’ because it’s really where we’re going,” Fraley said.