It’s an exciting time at DCL Logistics, and over the past 20-plus years VP of Sales, Victoria Maddux, has seen a shifting tide in third party logistics. The future of 3PL appears to be e-commerce, which Victoria says is projected to grow by $4-trillion by 2020.
In the early days of her career, companies in the tech space produced 2 Million units of the same software, managed the assembly and kitting, and then sold it to distributors and retailers. By contrast, the majority of clients DCL partners with today are focused on consumer electronics and more recently the Internet of Things. While funding in tech has recently cooled, over the last few years there has been a strong uptick in investment money in the space, as well as a new means to gain access to money through crowd funding. These trends have given young visionaries and entrepreneurs opportunities to bring their vision and products to life.
“For us at DCL, it translates to a very exciting, amplified time for us, because that means we have unlimited opportunities to share our 34 years of knowledge, service and quality,” Victoria said.
Customer Collaboration
For the past 12, she has worked at DCL Logistics, training and leading the sales and account management teams, which mentor and manage the accounts daily. They have collaborative meetings with clients, educating them about backend logistics, and helping them to grow their businesses.
“You go from looking at each other as business partners to collaborating as an extension of their company,” she said. “The only way we can benefit future customers is to continue to train, enhance and elevate our internal team. Many team members are DCL veterans and have been with me every step of the way, so I know that they have the same passion and interest for their clients’ products as their clients do. When clients have a new opportunity, whether it’s opening up a new .com channel or launching a new product, there is a seamless flow of information sharing between the Account Management and Sales teams that allows us to successfully execute.”
One such example is an innovative customer that Victoria and her team helped to transition out of small-scale fulfillment company and while also launching an entirely new product to market.
“Within three months DCL aligned with the client and supported that release — the client hit their growth targets this year with the upside of generating positive cash flow for the first time,” she said. “It was a successful launch and now we have really become their strategic partner.”
Decades of Distinction
It’s that quality of service, plus having had more than three decades of success in the market, that sets DCL Logistics apart from other 3PLs.
“We have great customers — repeat customers — who have transitioned from one company to another … and they continue to seek our solution and return,” Victoria said. “There’s something to say for that in this industry. Most important is the knowledge that we’ve gleaned over the past 34 years, which allows us to consult solutions that are current, and apply them to new businesses we’ve seen transitioning.”
Playing to Win
When she’s not training and leading teams at DCL, Victoria finds other conquests to sink her teeth into: namely poker.
“I’m pretty competitive,” she said. “I like to read people and I love the game.”
In 2009 she was invited to participate in a No-Limit Hold‘Em poker event, which afforded her an all expenses paid trip to the City of Lights. To date Victoria makes three annual trips to Las Vegas to play poker.
Tags: Employee Spotlight, Fulfillment Articles
