Welcome to the “Material Handling Helpful Tools Series”. This series will blog spotlight many different material handling professionals and provide helpful information for the material handling industry. Our goal is to introduce you to individuals and websites that can improve your success in the industry. Today, we will meet Melinda Ruch from C.H. Robinson, Worldwide, Inc.

Tell us a little about yourself. Interests outside of work, family, pets, hobbies, entertainment, special talents.

I am currently living in St Cloud, MN, married with a 3 year old son. My husband and I are both originally from New Ulm, MN and most of my 100+ family members still live there. I enjoy traveling. I studied abroad in college and traveled to over 14 countries in Europe and recently traveled to the Caribbean. Otherwise I am entertaining my very active son with bike rides, boating and playing Wii Bowling (which he wins every time against me)!

melinda ruchWhat is your role in the organization?

I am an LTL Transportation Consultant.

How did your career path land you in this role?

I was unexpectedly told about C.H. Robinson from an old co-worker and my neighbor. I bounced around with different jobs after I graduated from St. Cloud State University and luckily found C.H. Robinson at the perfect time when they were looking for another transportation consultant. I’m so happy I did, as I have been working for C.H. Robinson for the past 3 years and continue to love it.

What is the most exciting aspect of your job?

I love the unknown and challenges of every day. No one shipment is the same and I enjoy helping my customers find the best way to move their shipments. Our work environment is very fast paced and all about teamwork.

What makes yourself or your company unique and sets you apart from the rest of the industry?

C.H. Robinson has a huge network of offices all around the world and we help our customers with all different types of services. We value our relationships with customers and carriers, and we analyze and share our information to continuously improve our services. Although I am an expert in LTL services, there are other transportation areas where I am not as skilled. I am, however, able to reach out within our network to contact the expert in that area for our customers.

Why is Social Media so important today, more so than it was 10 years ago?

Relationships and your company’s reputation are so important and in today’s world everyone can read reviews and do research about any company online. Social Media is important due to this; one person can have a bad review or experience which can influence your business in seconds.

What are the biggest changes you see with logistics in the future?

I see more technology improvements and changes coming to the logistics industry. Already we are seeing online tracking with truck drivers logs/trucks and having machines weigh and take 3D pictures of LTL shipments to get dimensions and verify classifications.

What is one tip or bit of advice that you can leave with our readers?

Keep looking for efficiencies and improvements. The more time you can save or find ways to improve your daily routine, the more profitable you can be and be able to do more. Be open to change and trying new things. Not everything will work, but you will never know until you try!