If there is one word that captures what we are living through right now at BF, it is this: evolution. Not the slow, geological kind — the kind you feel on a Tuesday afternoon when a process you built last quarter suddenly has a better way to run, or when one of the carriers shifts its strategy and your team is already three steps ahead of it. That is the version of evolution we are in, and I want to take a moment in this newsletter to share what that looks like from where I sit.
I also want to address the elephant in the room: yes, I know you are getting articles from me almost daily — industry updates, program launches, carrier news, operational insights. And I genuinely hope you are reading them and not just sending them straight to the digital recycling bin. More on that in a moment.
"Change is not the disruption. Being unprepared for it is."
The Work We Are In the Middle Of
We have a lot in motion right now. Several major initiatives are actively underway across the operations side of the business, and while I know not all of you see the full picture of what is being built, I want to assure you: the work is real, it is purposeful, and it is all pointed in the same direction — making BF more operationally efficient so that you and your businesses, as our Partners, can succeed.
From technology and systems improvements to program development, from process refinement to how we structure and communicate information internally, we are investing in the infrastructure that makes everything run better. These things do not happen overnight. They require patience, iteration, and a willingness to get things wrong before we get them right. That learning process is not a weakness — it is the whole point.
I will be honest: building operational efficiency while the business is still running at full speed is a bit like changing a tire on a moving car. But that is the reality of any organization that is growing and serious about staying ahead. We do not have the luxury of hitting pause. What we do have is a team that is capable, communicative, and committed.
The Value of Getting in the Room Together
One of the things I have been most proud of this quarter are the weekly operational meetings we have implemented with our operational leaders here at BF. These sessions are not status updates for the sake of having a calendar invite. They are working sessions — places where problems get surfaced early, where decisions get made instead of deferred, and where the people closest to the work can shape the direction of what we are building.
If you have ever wondered how the changes you see rolling out actually get built and tested and refined, a lot of it starts in those meetings. The leaders who show up to those conversations consistently are the ones making BF better, and I want to recognize that. This is how we stay aligned as an organization, and it is how we catch issues before they become crises.
"Being comfortable with the unknown does not mean flying blind. It means trusting your team, your process, and your ability to pivot."
The State of the Carriers — and Why It Matters to You
Let us talk about FedEx, UPS, and DHL — because the carrier landscape is shifting, and it is shifting in ways that have direct implications for how we serve you as our Partners and how you serve your clients.
FedEx has continued its network consolidation push, merging its Express and Ground operations in a bid to drive efficiency and reduce redundancy. The impact: service transitions, shifting delivery commitments in certain lanes, and a company still working through the operational growing pains of a massive structural change. For anyone shipping at volume, paying attention to performance data by lane has never been more important.
UPS, meanwhile, is navigating its own strategic pivot — pulling back from some lower-margin volume segments while doubling down on healthcare, SMB, and international. Rate increases have been meaningful, and the surcharge environment remains aggressive. The flip side is that for the right volume profile and service mix, UPS still offers compelling solutions, particularly in international and residential delivery.
DHL continues to be a force in the international and cross-border space, where its global network gives it a genuine structural advantage. For Partners with any meaningful international volume, DHL remains a conversation worth having — and our team is having it.
The point is this: the carrier environment is not static. Rates move. Networks change. Service commitments evolve. What was the right solution eighteen months ago may not be the right solution today. And that is precisely why what our Carrier Relations team is doing matters so much.
The Carrier Relations Team: Staying Ahead of the Curve
I want to take a moment to recognize the Carrier Relations (CR) team for the work we put into our first CR Quarterly Roundtable. This was a significant milestone — bringing the team together not just to share updates, but to collectively think through where the carriers are headed, what it means for our business, and how we need to position ourselves.
We will be doing these in person going forward. The in-person format matters. It creates a different quality of conversation — more candid, more creative, and frankly more useful than anything that happens over a video call. The plan is to use these sessions to share ideas, track progress on ongoing initiatives, and pivot as the carrier landscape continues to shift. If you have not yet experienced the output of what this team produces, pay attention — their work directly affects the value we are able to deliver to you and your clients. I encourage you to schedule time with the CR team and see what they can do for you, your existing clients, and your prospective clients — including BFAM or Gainshare opportunities that may be sitting right in front of you.
The carriers are all navigating significant internal change. The CR team's job — and they do it well — is to make sure BF is never caught flat-footed by those changes. Their relationships, their data, and their market intelligence are a genuine competitive asset for all of us.
Speaking of Articles You May or May Not Be Reading...
I know. I send a lot of them. Industry news, program updates, carrier alerts, operational insights — if your inbox has developed a Pavlovian twitch every time you see my name in the Sipping and Shipping newsletter, I completely understand.
A joke, since you made it this far: They say the only constant in logistics is change. And also surcharges. Mostly surcharges.
All kidding aside — the articles in Sipping and Shipping are part of how I try to keep everyone informed and thinking about the bigger picture. The industry moves fast, and the more context you have, the better decisions you can make and the richer your conversations will be with customers and prospects. I am not expecting you to read every word of every piece. But if one article a week sparks one better conversation, that is worth it.
Let's Talk — Seriously, Schedule Time With Me
Here is something I want to say clearly: I value my interactions with Partners, and I want more of them.
The best ideas I have encountered this year have not come from internal meetings or industry reports. They have come from conversations — direct, honest exchanges with people who are close to the work and see things I do not. Partners who have built their businesses and know exactly where friction exists, where opportunity is being left on the table, and what they wish operations could do differently.
I want those conversations. If you have ideas about how BF can better support you and your business — whether it is around the way current processes are working, program structure, suggestions for BF or anything else — please reach out and schedule time with me. I mean that genuinely. These conversations shape what we build at BF and how we prioritize our work. You are not interrupting anything by reaching out; you are contributing to it.
The goal has always been the same: BF succeeds when our Partners succeed. That alignment does not happen by accident. It happens because we stay in conversation, stay honest about what is working and what is not, and stay committed to building something worth being a part of.
Thank you, as always, for the energy and effort you bring. There is a lot of change in the air — and I genuinely believe we are building something stronger on the other side of it. Stay curious, stay connected, and please — read the articles.
With appreciation,
Carolyn