DHL’s Greg Hewitt Shares Insights on Global Logistics and Industry Transformation

Summary

BRAVE COMMERCE Podcast Summary Episode: DHL’s Greg Hewitt Shares Insights on Global Logistics and Industry Transformation Release Date: December 24, 2024

---

Introduction to the Episode

In this enlightening episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, hosts Rachel Tipograph, Founder & CEO of MikMak, and Sarah Hofstetter, President of Profitero, engage in a deep conversation with Greg Hewitt, the CEO of DHL Express in the United States. Recorded amidst the bustling energy of Cyber Monday, Greg offers a wealth of knowledge drawn from his over three-decade-long career in the logistics and shipping industry. The discussion delves into the transformative changes in eCommerce, global logistics, sustainability efforts, and the future trajectory of DHL amidst evolving market dynamics.

Greg Hewitt’s Remarkable Career at DHL

Greg Hewitt's enduring tenure at DHL is both impressive and inspiring. Starting his journey as a salesperson in Canada, Greg's dedication and adaptability saw him traverse continents—from Europe back to North America—culminating in his current role as CEO of DHL Express in the U.S. When asked about his long-standing commitment to DHL, Greg attributes his loyalty to the company's culture of rewarding hard work and embracing opportunities beyond one's comfort zone.

Notable Quote:

"If you work hard, show great loyalty and produce results, opportunities open for you."
— Greg Hewitt [05:59]

Evolution of the Shipping and Logistics Industry

Greg provides a comprehensive overview of the monumental shifts in the shipping and logistics sector over the past 30 years. Reflecting on the pre-digital era, he contrasts the cumbersome processes of the past with today's technologically driven efficiency.

1. Adoption of Technology:

   • Manual to Digital: Initially reliant on manual paper waybills and tedious tracking, the introduction of online shipment generation and data transfer revolutionized operations.
   • Track and Trace Systems: The advent of scanners and real-time tracking empowered both DHL and its customers, enhancing supply chain visibility and reducing manual workloads.

   Notable Quote:

   "The advent of scanners and a lot of track and trace information... allowed people to take control of their supply chain."
   — Greg Hewitt [07:54]

2. Impact of the Internet and E-Commerce:

   • Globalization: The rise of the internet facilitated unprecedented globalization, enabling the seamless movement of goods across borders.
   • COVID-19 Surge: The pandemic accelerated eCommerce growth, compelling even hesitant consumers to embrace online shopping, thereby increasing shipping volumes.

3. Automation and Routing Technologies:

   • Standardized Routing: Tools like Google Maps and Waze optimized courier routes, enhancing efficiency and delivery accuracy.
   • Customer Empowerment: Enhanced tracking allowed customers to better plan for deliveries, reducing wait times and improving satisfaction.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Future Innovations:

   • Greg anticipates AI's transformative potential in areas like billing and customs clearance, envisioning dynamic problem-solving capabilities that could streamline complex logistics processes.

   Notable Quote:

   "In the months to come, an AI response that's capable of kind of the dynamic thought around problem resolution for shipments."
   — Greg Hewitt [01:10]

DHL’s Sustainability Initiatives

Sustainability remains a pivotal focus for DHL, with Greg outlining the company's multifaceted approach to reducing its environmental footprint:

1. Electrification of Fleet:

   • Transitioning to electric vehicles is a cornerstone of DHL's strategy to eliminate carbon emissions, particularly in Europe where significant progress has been made.

2. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF):

   • Recognizing aviation's substantial impact, DHL has committed $7 billion to SAF, aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. This includes participation in a SAF safety pool to advance sustainable flying practices.

   Notable Quote:

   "The single biggest challenge we face is the planes themselves... start to recognize the biggest move we can make around sustainability is to get into sustainable aviation fuel."
   — Greg Hewitt [16:14]

3. Green Packaging:

   • DHL is transitioning to recyclable packaging materials and exploring innovative solutions to minimize packaging waste.

4. Go Green Plus Program:

   • Launched to enable customers to carbon offset their shipments, this cooperative initiative leverages collective purchasing power to invest in sustainability projects, providing transparent, science-based reporting.

   Notable Quote:

   "We've launched a program called Go Green Plus which is an opportunity for our customers to carbon inset their shipments and join us in the pool."
   — Greg Hewitt [16:14]

Greg emphasizes that sustainability is a collaborative effort, engaging both suppliers and customers to achieve meaningful environmental impact.

Future Outlook for DHL and the E-Commerce Landscape

As the industry braces for continued evolution, Greg shares his insights and strategic outlook for DHL:

1. Post-Pandemic Normalcy:

   • While the shipping volumes saw unprecedented spikes during the pandemic, recent trends indicate a return to steady growth reminiscent of pre-pandemic levels.

   Notable Quote:

   "What we normally do is... we usually do... a normalized year-end."
   — Greg Hewitt [24:04]

2. B2B and B2C Dynamics:

   • Strong consumer eCommerce remains a positive indicator, but Greg highlights potential shifts in B2B dynamics as larger companies seek to diversify their supply chains, possibly impacting DHL’s traditional volume streams.

3. Supply Chain Diversification:

   • With increasing procurement power, large enterprises may opt for direct airline purchases or partner with local carriers to enhance profitability, presenting both challenges and opportunities for DHL.

4. Regulatory Environment:

   • The uncertainty surrounding tariffs and trade policies under the new administration poses significant implications for international trade, an area where DHL’s global expertise will be crucial.

5. Supporting Small and Growing Businesses:

   • DHL aims to focus on nurturing small businesses poised to scale, leveraging their needs for reliable shipping solutions without the economies of scale enjoyed by larger corporations.

Personal Insights and Greg’s Bravest Move

Beyond corporate strategies, Greg shares a personal anecdote underscoring his professional courage:

Moving to Europe: Greg recounts his bold decision to relocate to Brussels, Europe, despite language barriers and initial loneliness. This move proved pivotal, leading to greater opportunities and his eventual rise to the CEO position.

Notable Quote:

"Sometimes you've got to pull yourself out of your comfort zone. Sometimes you've got to go places where maybe it's not more money or necessarily... it was just different."
— Greg Hewitt [27:50]

His experience highlights the importance of adaptability and embracing challenges to achieve career growth.

Conclusion

This episode of BRAVE COMMERCE offers invaluable insights into the logistics and shipping industry's past, present, and future through the lens of DHL’s Greg Hewitt. From technological advancements and sustainability initiatives to strategic foresight in a rapidly changing global market, Greg's expertise provides listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the forces shaping eCommerce and global trade. His personal journey further inspires professionals to embrace bold decisions and adaptability in their careers.

For those interested in more stories of seasoned executives, upcoming episodes feature leaders like Matt Graham, CMO of Mars Food, and Natalie Gerstein, President of L'Oreal, both boasting over two decades at their respective companies.

---

Listen to the full episode on Acast and stay tuned for more episodes of BRAVE COMMERCE, where industry leaders share tips worth millions in sales and discuss navigating the latest consumer and retailer dynamics in eCommerce.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ryan Reynolds here for I guess my hundredth mint commercial. No, no, no, no, no. Don't, don't, don't. No. I mean, honestly, when I started this, I thought I'd only have to do like four of these. I mean it's unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month. How are there still people paying two or three times that much? I'm sorry, I shouldn't be victim blaming. Here, give it a [e-mail] switch whenever you're ready.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only. Taxes and fees, extra Speed slower above 40 gigabytes.

[Alo Moves Ad]

See details Shorter days and chillier nights can make it tough to keep up your fall workout routine. Thankfully, there's Alo Moves, the app that brings health and wellness to the comfort of your home. Alo Moves offers yoga, pilates, strength workouts and other fitness classes. Plus wellness offerings like meditations, sound baths and more. Whether you have five minutes or an hour, Allomoves has a class or flow that saves you from a frigid trip to the gym. Get a 30 day free trial and 20% off an annual membership with code [e-mail].

[Greg Hewitt]

Who knows in the months to come an AI response that's capable of kind of the dynamic thought around problem resolution for shipments. So that's the one for me that's we're just on the cusp of and I'm hopeful that with customs clearance, which is often very complex and has maybe been a challenge for some people to move into different markets, I'm hoping strategically we can use technology in a compliant way that will help us continue to make that more efficient and more effective and hopefully easier for customers.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Welcome to today's episode of Brave Commerce.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I'm Rachel Tippograph, the founder and CEO of Mic Mac.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I'm Sarah Hofstadter, president of Profitero and.

[Rachel Tippograph]

This is a show that talks about what's relevant in e commerce for the world's biggest brands. Sarah, how many people do you know have spent 30 years at a company that are currently working there? Not our parents or grandparents.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Era. My dad's still working and he's been working like 50 years. Yeah. Oh my gosh. My dad's been working like 50 years. My dad, stepmom, they're both still working and they've been working at the same company for my dad for 50, my stepmom for at least 30. I'm coming up on a 30 year career, believe it or not. Not there yet. I'M approaching it. And if I had to think of people that I know that are in the job where they first kind of got started or even like the second. Can't think of too many. Not at all. How about you?

[Rachel Tippograph]

You know, I'm thinking about some of my customers right now. There's a few customers that have been like 20 plus years at L'Oreal, 20 plus years at P&G, 20 plus years at SCJ. But it's a handful of them that have essentially been lifers. But it's, it's in the 20s, not the 30s.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Yeah. And you know, if you kind of go back 30 years and you say, okay, well what was happening 30 years ago? Well, there was no, there was no Google. There were fax machines. There were some very bad fax machines.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Really clunky mobile phones.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

And you only got that if you were a fancy pants. You didn't get a mobile. Like you were lucky if you got a pager 30 years ago, you know.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Well, so talk about industries that have seen so much disruption. Obviously, technology, technology, retail. But a part of retail that we rarely talk about is shipping and logistics that's also gone through massive transformation over the last 30 years.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

It is amazing when you think back 30 years ago to the fact that things could get delivered as quickly as they did. Like, velocity is one of those things where, you know, you think about how do you adapt to the different changes that are kind of coming out. They seem to have nailed speed. Whether it's DHL or any of the others, they nailed speed early. How the hell they did it, I don't know. But now it's all about the optimization. So as every new technology comes out there, whether we're moving from, you know, faxes to email, or we're moving from customer service offshore to AI chatbots, whatever those new things are figuring out, okay, how do I take that and adapt that so that I can run my company better, so that I can have a competitive advantage that over a 30 year period you get muscle memory of saying, oh wait, that's a thing. Right. And then figuring out, okay, now how do I operationalize that throughout my company? That's pretty freaking cool. Most industries don't move as fast.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I agree. And to do that within a big company as an individual that doesn't start their career in headquarters, I think it's a pretty, pretty remarkable story. And so we're about to bring Greg onto the show, who's the CEO of DHL in America. He started his career in the Canadian office. He then went to Europe and a few other places. He's done a whole tour of duty over 30 years. And it's, it's a really incredible career story against the backdrop of so much massive change in this industry. So on that note, let's bring Greg onto the show today. We're super excited to have a different side of the coin join us. And that's Greg Hewitt and he's the CEO of DHL Express in the US and we are recording this in the midst of Cyber Monday. So Greg, we are very appreciative that you took a few minutes to do this with us.

[Greg Hewitt]

Thank you. Rachel and Sarah, it's a pleasure to join you today.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Greg, in preparation for this, I was blown away when I started doing research on you that you've been at DHL for over 30 years. I feel like you rarely see that these days. What's kept you at DHL so long?

[Greg Hewitt]

Well, yeah, it shocks me sometimes when I think about over 30 years with the same company. I think I've been very blessed to work for an organization that if you work hard, show great loyalty and produce results, opportunities open for you. And for me, the opportunities at DHL have been many. I started my career as a salesperson back in Canada and it's taken me here to the us, over to Europe, back to Canada. And now I've been down here in the US since 2014. So being part of a large global company, if you're willing to maybe take yourself out of your comfort zone, you're willing to try different things and go on some adventures, DHL has been an amazing company that's offered me that chance to see the world and, and grow with them and I couldn't be happier.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

That's fantastic. I wish we heard more people saying I couldn't be happier in my job. So especially CEOs, I got to tell you, generally they're the least of the happy. Not to be a downer, but there's one of the things that's so fascinating to me about the 30 plus years, the continued opportunity is what has changed in your field over those 30 years. Even if we just look in the last five, just since COVID and the impact that that's had in people's purchase behavior. What are some of the key inflection points that have propelled the shipping industry, power, logistics environment and what do you consider the next set of accelerators? Now as you answer the question, we all have recency bias so we're always going to be thinking about oh yeah, like the pre post Covid but if you look back at a career of 30 years, there's a lot of other things that have evolved. For example, you know, the arrival of the commercial Internet. So feel free to take us as far back memory lane you'd like to.

[Greg Hewitt]

Well, for me sir, I laugh a lot of times when I'm talking to my daughters about when I started I had a roll of quarters that I carried around in the car and I had to stop at the pay phone. And then it was amazing when I finally got a pager. I start pre cell phone. So you can imagine back then technology wasn't the start of things. It started out with manual paper way bills and a very manual process. So early on in my career the big first changes was the idea of going online and generating shipments and transferring data. Particularly the advent of scanners and a lot of track and trace information which put a lot of power in into the consumer and the customer's hands. It gave great amounts of information, it allowed people to take control of their supply chain and it certainly took a little of the burden off of us as a business to have manual tracking and tracing. So I'd say that's one period of growth and where technology started to change the environment. Definitely the second is that I think of is around the Internet. And as the Internet grew and it formed this new E commerce idea, you started to see greater globalization. Products and goods being bought from anywhere to anywhere. This allowed access to customers like they didn't have before and that facilitated trade. And that of course boomed during COVID when everybody kind of had to lock down and shelter down. We saw explosive growth in terms of E commerce as even those that originally were maybe a little afraid to buy things online, had to go online to those who were comfortable before now recognizing you could buy anything and everything up to if you remember, people ordering groceries and food to their, their door. So that's of course a big change that brings about with it this idea around automation. And not as much in my business, but I use the technology behind it, the idea of crowdsourcing and this, this increase of automation that allowed supply chains, driver routing, everything to become known and I guess managed differently. Before I grew up with couriers who worked 15, 20, 30 years and it was their knowledge and their experience that allowed them to do their courier route well. Now you've got technology like we use in, in applications like Google Maps and, and Waze which allows for standardized routing. And that technology not only made us more efficient and effective both at a station level and a route level, it once again, gave information to the customer so people could plan better. They could see exactly when their package was coming so that they didn't have to sit around all day waiting. They they if they wanted to be there and not have it left without a signature, they could be there waiting for the courier. So that's another big change that's occurred that's made us more efficient and more effective. And then of course, the next wave that we're all looking at is AI. And what is AI going to be able to do in areas like billing and maybe areas like customs clearance? Certainly the first foray that we're all going into is around customer service, where you've got these huge databases of information that AI can go through very quickly. And even if like we're doing today, providing that summarized content to an agent to help somebody, obviously as we move forward, you've gone from very simplified answers that a robot might do to summarize content to who knows in the months to come in AI response that's capable of kind of the dynamic thought around problem resolution for shipments. So that's the one for me that's we're just on the cusp of and I'm hopeful that with customs clearance, which is often very complex and has maybe been a challenge for some people to move into different markets, I'm hoping strategically we can use technology in a compliant way that will help us continue to make that more efficient and more effective and hopefully easier for customers.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Omnisend automates all the busy work for you. It can capture customers who abandon their shopping carts, recommend other products based on their purchases, wish them a happy birthday with a personalized offer, or instantly notify them as soon as your best sellers are back in stock. Start free with Omnisend today and keep growing effortlessly, sale after sale.

[Instacart Ad]

The holidays are all about sharing with family meals, couches, stories, Grandma's secret pecan pie recipe, and now you can also share a cart. With Instacart's family carts, everyone can add what they want to one group cart from wherever they are so you don't have to go from room to room to find out who wants cranberry sauce or whether you should get mini marshmallows for the yams or collecting votes for sugar cookies versus shortbread. Just share a cart and then share the meals and the moments. Download the Instacart app and get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Plus enjoy free delivery on your first three orders. Service fees and terms apply.

[Alo Moves Ad]

Shorter days and chillier nights can make it tough to keep up Your fall workout routine. Thankfully, there's Alo Moves, the app that brings health and wellness to the comfort of your home. Alomoves offers yoga, Pilates, strength workouts and other fitness classes plus wellness offerings like meditations, sound baths and more. Whether you have five minutes or an hour, Allomoves has a class or flow that saves you from a frigid trip to the gym. Get a 30 day free trial and 20% off an annual membership with code [e-mail].

[Rachel Tippograph]

There'S so much you said there, but since we got the CEO on the line, I am curious if DHL has been able to put a number on the efficiency of that AI has brought to your customer service team. Like has it made them 40% more efficient? Have you done any type of analysis like that?

[Greg Hewitt]

I would say not AI yet. If you look at robotic process automation, RPAs that take very simplified tasks and eliminate that work, make it a little bit faster, we found that it's probably allowed us to do double the handle, doubled the amount of inquiries over the last five years by fine tuning that because it's allowing people to get the simple answers and the repetitive things very quickly. What it hasn't been able to do is tackle the more complex problems and I think that's where AI is going. We have a database called the Source which if you think of it as every customer service agent, solves a problem, fixes something, uncovers it, they add to this database with what they've learned. The idea behind this is AI can then comb through that very quickly and start to bring those answers forward to them. We're still, I'll say perfecting that and as I said, we haven't unleashed that one into direct consumer contact yet. But that's where we hope to go. That's where we can take the next step. We'd really found we'd with the rpa there's only so many simplified answers you can give. I think we'd, we'd, we'd reached the limit there.

[Rachel Tippograph]

You talked about the advent of E commerce with consumers now buying more in terms of potential volume compared to brick and mortar days. There's also this notion that us shopping online has created a lot of waste. And so how does DHL think about sustainability?

[Greg Hewitt]

That's a good question. I'll be honest. I don't think we necessarily tackle it from the angle of fast fashion. Which is what you hear a lot of is this idea that everybody's buying things and getting rid of them very quickly. And it's creating this Less than desirable location in our case. We're moving a lot and we continue to move it. And we don't necessarily complain about the sustainability piece on it. The angle that we've taken is we also recognize as a business because we fly planes and we drive trucks and we have big facilities, we do have an impact on the environment. And I'm very proud of the fact that Frank Apple, our former chairman, was a very early adopter of sustainability practices and to push us towards climate neutrality by 2050 with very hard targets in 2030 and we had some hard targets for 2019. We started that path really looking at the electrification of fleet as the first kind of biggest piece of trying to eliminate our carbon footprint. I think we have had a lot of success with that in Europe, less of that success in the us. I think we looked at buildings and started to build LEED certified sustainable buildings around the world when new ones came up. But then we started to look and realize a lot of our buildings we stay in a very long time and they're not easy to retrofit when you're in an old building. But at one point I think the penny dropped and people recognized that the single biggest challenge we face is the planes themselves. And that's where we started to recognize the biggest move we can make around sustainability is to get into sustainable aviation fuel. And we made a $7 billion pledge to buy into an safety pool and start to fly segments with with saf. That has gone very well. I think when we put out the original target the way the, the I guess the, the resource was and the price point was it was ultimately a plan that could fulfill our promise to get to to carbon neutrality by 2050. The challenge is scarcity and price have changed that and now the challenge is even with that big investment of 7 billion, it's not enough. And that's where this past year we launched a program called Go Green plus which is an opportunity for our customers to carbon inset their shipments and join us in the pool by either on a per shipment basis, quarterly or annual investments. They join our pool, they benefit from our buying power, we buy that together and they get the science based reporting that shows that they're in setting their shipments now that's slowly gaining momentum. In fairness, a lot of big companies are saying listen, I've got to deal with my type ones before I get to my type threes like you. So it's a work in progress. But for me that's the best path for us to meet our goals whilst still chipping away and making the investments each year in electrified vehicles and in lead certified facilities. And then of course, changing over our packaging so that it's all recyclable. Or maybe there's even a time where we won't need all of those. But people still tend to need some of our boxes and our flyer packs. We're trying to make those as, as conscious as possible, I guess.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

And we all appreciate that because none of us want to be spending half of our, I guess, Cyber Wednesday two days from now trying to figure out what the heck we're doing with all that trash. First of all, just kudos on all that you're doing on the sustainability front and in particular the idea of creating this co op like concept so that the suppliers and your customers can have a hand in it. So that because you see all these companies doing all this ESG work and it's like if they don't do it, if they don't feel like they're the ones that have their hands like dirty in cleaning things up, then it's like they don't feel the accountability. You're finding a way to actually co solve a much broader opportunity, which I think is really awesome. I wanted to go back for a minute on those pivotal changes. I too started out with quarters, sometimes more than quarters because, you know, I'd be cross country and I would need like dimes and nickels to even call back, you know, give updates, jamming fax machines, all that fun stuff. Now that you have this benefit of the 30 years of seeing these pivotal moments that have created seismic changes for your business, where does muscle memory come into play? Like, what are the things that you're looking for that make you say, oh, this is going to be like, seriously changing. I need to get myself schooled in this. I need to figure out from the top, how do I get people to think about this differently versus you're like, all right, that's just a freaking bad. Like, what becomes that? Or maybe this is a gateway to something that's about to be a lot bigger. Like what is the Greg Spidey sense, if you will, on what's a keeper and what's a neeper?

[Greg Hewitt]

Well, I think for the most part I do get the benefit of there being a, a very good global strategy team in Germany who tends to put a lot of information out. So I get a lot of work on topics that I might not see day to day or hear on the radio or, or see in a customer's facility as I'm going through. So I usually look to some of our global trend radars to see what's on that spectrum. What are they putting out as, what did they see as some of the dynamic trends and where they think it's going to come into play. And then I start to battle test it with going and speaking to customers and really getting a feel for. Is this of interest to you? Is this something that you're seeing in your industry? And if I see it and hear it popping up in a few different places, then it starts to be really on my radar that it's there. There's also things that I see that immediately. I think that's amazing, that is going to be a difference maker. But that might not be us that's making that difference because the cost to get into it might be very high. And if we operate in a fairly low margin business overall, I may not be able to make that investment. But I'm watching it and saying that after somebody does, I'm probably going to be able to benefit from it down the line. So often for me it's what's the cost of investment to go and do it myself versus waiting till it is perfected and then adopting it there. So for me an interesting one is I'm doing, we're doing a lot of work in the area of customs because to me that's a real differentiator for dhl. To me, where we are uniquely global in our footprint and our strength. And with that comes a level of knowledge and expertise. This idea of global strength locally or global knowledge locally. And it plays both ways that we need to gather that and I need to be investing in technology, process engineering, looking for ways to do that better because I think that that's a space that we have a unique capability that maybe I don't have in other areas. And that's why I might defer to.

[Rachel Tippograph]

It as DHL is one of the top three players in shipping and especially in global shipping. I feel like you have a front row seat for everything that's probably happening in the global consumer economy. We're talking to you on Cyber Monday. What's your outlook going into 2025?

[Greg Hewitt]

I'll start with finishing 2024. What many of us have been looking for and waiting for is a return to normalcy, a normal peak, a peak that sees 40 to 50% growth over the steady time of summer into fall. Things did not look good as we headed towards us Thanksgiving that things were pretty light still. What I will tell you is that Black Friday and Cyber Monday has volumes booming. There is A lot of volume coming into the US right now. That's a good sign that US consumers were online, they were ordering and we're getting a lot of goods from Europe and a lot of goods from particularly from Asia. And that's flowing in and that's the start to will we see a good peak on the E commerce side? We usually do. I think one of the things I've been tracking and watching is in the traditional segments, automotive, high tech, life sciences, engineering and manufacturing. The last two quarters, finally I've seen a return to some level of normalcy. Pre pandemic you could almost bet that at the end of every quarter you'd see a lift in volume. It was when companies were trying to get orders off the dock to meet quarter end deadlines. During the pandemic it was very big spikes and drops and we hadn't seen normalcy in the last couple of years. The last two quarters we've seen that. So I'm tracking it again to say are we going to see a normalized year end where even not just the consumerism and the buying of around the holidays and E commerce that I'm very comfortable will be strong. But on the B2B side, will we see a lift at end year that had been building this almost plateau to start the next year that we haven't enjoyed with a lot of certainty over the last couple of years. So that's what I'll be watching. So far so good for me. How we finish the year will tell me a lot about 2025 and in particular will we see the B2B business continue to build and gain momentum like we saw in the back half of this year that they started to have a more return to normalcy. And then of course the other question, I mean there are two real questions in there. The other is E commerce. The one thing we are seeing is they're looking for ways to diversify their supply chain. Particularly as they get big. They get the purchasing power to buy direct from the airlines. They look for low cost local carriers or postal outlets to deliver. So that's a bit of one that may shift my volume a little bit. The volume that did come to me before may not come in the future because they're trying to get their price point or their profitability. Usually it comes down to profitability. They start out with high levels of service, high commitment, speed, but if they don't have high value shopping carts pretty soon they have to go back and find different ways to save money and that often is at my expense. The Key for me is I've got to keep finding the small businesses that are going to become those giants to let them all grow, because they don't have the economy of scale at the start to go and buy it. So that'll be an interesting dynamic to start the year. And then, of course, the one that everybody is waiting to see will be what does the new administration do in terms of tariffs and de minimis? And that obviously will have a big impact on international trade and commerce and a big impact on us.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I was waiting for that, but you got to it, so I didn't have to say it. Well, Greg, we could pick your brain all day, but we gotta ask you our famous last question, which is, what's the bravest thing you've ever done?

[Greg Hewitt]

Well, for me, from a career standpoint, I think when I made the move, no friends, no family to pick up and go to Europe to live in, I was moving to Brussels. I have a little bit of French, but not much. No Flemish, no German. And they told me the area you're going to be in charge of is the Nordics. To me, that was a big leap. To me, it's probably the best move that I made because I'd been very successful in Canada. I had gone and done some work helping the US Restructure to show a different skill, but it was all within North America. And so making that move to Europe, going there, and I will tell you, it was lonely. It was very difficult at the start. I was homesick. But I worked hard and I found the people very inviting. I struggled through my language barriers in the countries that I worked. And what happened was those countries started feeding information into the European head office that, hey, you sent us this guy from Canada. He's so valuable, he's so willing to listen. He's really helpful. He ran commercial in a big country. Please keep them coming back. Well, the guy that runs Europe is now our CEO, John Pearson. And I know I got on his radar. And he and the global board had said, there are big things for Greg Hewitt and we'll find him new opportunities. So without that brave move and some of the discomfort, and that's why I always, when I'm talking to people growing up in the business, sometimes you got to pull yourself out of your comfort zone. Sometimes you've got to go places where maybe it's not more money or necessarily, I didn't feel it was a bigger job. It was just different. And without that experience, I don't think I'd be where I am today. So I'll put that one as my bravest moment.

[Rachel Tippograph]

It's pretty awesome. Do you have more French, more German now?

[Greg Hewitt]

No, still very, very limited French. Very limited Spanish. I'm working on it. I'll say. I call it a working knowledge and a work in progress. And they used to say to me that I'm a very dangerous Anglophone. C'est tres dangereus anglophone, because I can understand more than I can speak and I can rule the room. When I used to go to Quebec and they'd speak French and I understood more than I would speak.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Well, Greg, we're so appreciative. We're very curious what's going to happen under the next administration. So maybe we'll have to tap you back six months next year.

[Greg Hewitt]

That sounds like an invite back and it will be interesting for all of us.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Absolutely. Thank you so much.

[Greg Hewitt]

Great. Thank you guys for the opportunity. Happy holidays and we'll talk to you on the other side.

[Rachel Tippograph]

If you like what you heard and you want to hear about other amazing executives who have been at their companies for decades, 20 plus years, go check out Matt Graham, the CMO of Mars Food who we recently had on the show. Or go check out Natalie Gerstein, the president of L'Oreal, who's also spent 20 years at L'Oreal. If you like what you heard, tell a friend, write a review. Share on LinkedIn thanks for listening.

[Alo Moves Ad]

Shorter days and chillier nights can make it tough to keep up your fall workout routine. Thankfully, there's Alo Moves, the app that brings health and wellness to the comfort of your home. Alo Moves offers yoga, Pilates, strength workouts and other fitness classes, plus wellness offerings like meditations, sound baths and more. Whether you have five minutes or an hour, Allomoves has a class or flow that saves you from a frigid trip to the gym. Get a 30 day free trial and 20% off an annual membership with code [e-mail].

[Jackie Cooper]

Hi, I'm Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As a result, I've met some of the most fascinating and inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth, we're coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.