An old dog does more than learn new tricks. Those senior canines show the puppies where to find food and shelter, who to trust, and how to navigate change.
When you’re a young pup, everything is new. New things are exciting but also terrifying. It helps to have a senior around who doesn’t blink in the face of the storm; with experience to draw on, they’ve likely seen something like it before.
“Change, or the potential for change, isn't scary or as challenging when your mindset is built on it,” Kenny Lund, Vice President of Operations, tells me.
Allen Lund Company has not just borne witness to the transportation management systems (TMS) shipper evolution, it has paved the roads. Leading fresh computerization in the 1980s, the company was writing its first system when there weren’t even PCs.
“There certainly wasn't anything for a transportation broker, so we wrote the first TMS in the early 80s and have done so ever since,” Kenny remembers. “It was a tone set forth by my dad, Allen Lund: If it's not broke, break it.”
Allen Lund was one you could never tell that old dogs don’t learn new tricks, and his legacy has carried on throughout the evolving landscape of TMS transportation software.
“He loved change. It's natural for us to be involved in this area and to navigate the evolution of the transportation management systems out there. Regardless of size, it has become a necessity for companies to utilize TMS software,” Kenny points out.
As the availability of networks has expanded, making it possible for anyone to connect anywhere, Kenny paints a picture in which accessibility has created a necessity to meet today’s expectations.
“TMS systems have evolved from being written for transportation brokers or 3PLs and then modified for shippers. A lot of good TMS tools are now written for shippers—ours, for example, is written from scratch. But another change is that this is no longer the luxury item it used to be. This isn’t only for those who can invest in a multi-million dollar upgrade. The last decade has seen this sector get dramatically more powerful and dramatically less expensive. Now, you can be doing 200 shipments a month, even less, and TMS will be needed to ensure not just the execution but the transparency expected by customers,” Kenny explains.
And, if done well, Kenny assures it will pay for itself in its efficiency, time-savings, and light maintenance.
“We've not eliminated employees, but we've kept headcount from growing higher for companies, and software is a lot less expensive than expanding your workforce,” Kenny says. “This is a big tool—it is not meant to replace or remove people from our industry. It gives time back to everyone. Giving you the best tools to be able to do the work that you do is built into our TMS systems and our mindset when working with our customers.”
Ours is still an industry of people who rely on experience, knowledge, and advice. The pups still look to the senior dogs, even as the wild world becomes more tame.
“With any system, everyone worries about how much it costs. Instead, it should be seen as a necessary investment. Put in properly and trained properly, the system will absolutely pay for itself and enhance how your department is seen, how your people are seen, and free up so much time,” Kenny says with visible passion. “Especially in produce; the mind's in produce-mode 24-7. You're often taking all that work home, taking calls, doing this even on your nights’ off. The right tools let you control the system, rather than being controlled by the system.”
In short, the next milestone on the road to TMS software is transitioning from “if” to “when” it will be as necessary to modern business as the internet.
“Now, if you're moving over 200 loads a month, you have to have a TMS. Ours scales all the way down to that level, ready to accommodate growth and change in your business. It is the challenge we faced when it became necessary to have cell phones—now we can’t imagine doing business without them,” Kenny laughs, remembering when he stood on the edge of email. “We were one of the first companies in the business to adopt email throughout the company. When Dad called me up to the office to talk about tech, I had to learn all about it and if it could be applied to our business. The first time I saw an attachment via email, I knew that would change everything.”
From there, the internet lost its wires and spread its wings so companies could connect globally. Just ahead of this, Allen Lund Company has followed the lead of its namesake and Founder, ensuring it was the first to connect offices, to write technology, and to support its sector not for what would be fun today—but for what will be necessary tomorrow.
“Change isn’t something to avoid—it’s a signal we should follow,” Kenny tells me as he teases the next key turning point on the horizon. “We're installing a new system that's going to, I think, revolutionize refrigerator transportation. But that's a story for another time.”
When next you say, “An old dog can’t learn new tricks,” remember that it was the old dogs who first taught the younger ones how to navigate what was new. And still do. 
