Join along Ruan’s Day in the Life series to learn about team members and job fields throughout our company. Meet Colin Skellenger, a Sr. Managed Transportation Specialist at the Des Moines Campus.
Q: Tell us a little about your career path and background.
I received my bachelor’s degree in enterprise leadership from the University of Iowa in 2020. Upon graduating, I was involved in a startup company in the Des Moines area. I spent a few years assisting with the growth of the company from a food truck to a multi-franchise operation known as Big Acai. Once my efforts weren’t needed on a day-to-day basis in our cafés, I began my search for my long-term career path and eventually ended up taking the position as a Managed Transportation Specialist at Ruan in March 2022. Within a year of working at Ruan, I was promoted to Sr. Managed Transportation Specialist. I have now been with the company for two years and have experience working on multiple customer accounts.
Q: What is Managed Transportation at Ruan?
Our Managed Transportation service provides dedicated third-party logistics for customers across several industries. We manage the workflow of transporting our customer’s products through a custom transportation management system that includes working with a high-performing carrier base while scheduling, tendering, and tracking both truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) freight from shipper to receiver.
Q: What does your role look like day-to-day?
My day-to-day role is based around interacting with our customer and working hand-in-hand with our carrier base to ensure customer product is handled properly and delivered on-time. I frequently face real-time, fast-paced situations that require me to communicate via phone and email for quick response and resolution. Part of my day also includes joining internal and external meetings, like reviewing our key performance indicators (KPIs), which allow my team to stay proactive and efficient in our processes and procedures to continuously provide quality service and cost savings for the customer. All of this is supported by utilizing Ruan’s transportation management system, which allows me to have visibility at all levels of the customer’s shipping process.
Q: What is your team culture like?
An essential component of the Managed Transportation department is building internal relationships as we work together to be aligned with our customer’s logistics needs. We believe in proactive communication and stepping in to support wherever possible. We are also able to connect on a personal level through food potlucks, themed days like wearing Hawaiian shirts in the office on a certain day of the week, and more.
Q: What do you enjoy about working at Ruan’s Des Moines Campus?
One of the things I enjoy most about working at Ruan’s Des Moines Campus is the location. There are many fun things to do in the downtown area, and it is nice to be able to have easy access to those places from Ruan’s office. We are provided with parking in nearby parking garages that have skywalk access, making it convenient to use no matter what the weather is like outside. The skywalk also provides access to other spots like coffee shops, restaurants, workout facilities, and more! One of my favorite parts about our campus is the view. We are located across multiple floors near the top of the 34-floor Ruan Center, with views that you can’t beat.
Q: What career development opportunities have you experienced at Ruan?
One of the current development opportunities I have participated in is Ruan’s Managed Transportation Emerging Leaders (MTEL) program. This six-month pilot program is designed to support team members and career development in the Managed Transportation department. Participants are selected who not only show the passion to be a leader but also retain the merits to be a leader. I learned a variety of leadership skills through online courses, readings, networking with other Ruan leaders, and prepared presentations.
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Check out a day in the life in Managed Transportation below!