The Chef’s Warehouse

Jayson Helms brings over two decades of logistics experience across broadline and specialty food distribution. Known for building high-performing teams and driving freight optimization, he leads with a disciplined, people-first approach grounded in real operational experience.

My path into logistics was not something I planned. I started as an account rep at Michael Foods in the early 2000s, working in customer service. Then an opportunity came up to fill in as a load planner while someone was out on leave. The Director of Transportation asked if I was interested, and I said yes. What was supposed to be a temporary assignment ended up changing the direction of my career. The role paid fifteen percent more than I was making at the time, but more than that, I found that I really enjoyed the work. I took on more responsibility and eventually found myself managing planning for approximately 3,000 loads a week.

From there, I moved to U.S. Foods in Chicago as a load planner, where I was promoted to operations manager within a year. Over time, I was overseeing more than thirty divisions and close to USD 150 million in freight spend, a scope that later expanded into a senior manager role. In 2021, Chef's Warehouse recruited me to build out their inbound logistics program. That work grew into the Director of Logistics role, and I have been developing the team and the function since.

Finding the Balance Between Service and Financial Performance

The heart of what my team does every day comes down to the ongoing challenge of balancing service with financials. Chef's Warehouse is a specialty food distributor. Our customer orders are smaller, shipments are more fragmented and most of our freight moves less-than-truckload. I can pay a carrier USD 5,000 to ship two pallets from New York to Chicago, but I would rather pay USD 800 and ship LTL.

One of our biggest priorities is freight optimization. We look constantly for opportunities to convert vendor-delivered freight to freight we manage ourselves, because in the majority of cases we can manage it for less than what vendors charge, while also generating revenue for the business. But that work has to stay in balance. If our freight rates are too high, sales suffer. If we focus too heavily on the financial side, service suffers. Over the last twelve to eighteen months, with supply chain, fuel and carrier capacity all under pressure, we have found our groove and weathered those pressures better than many others in the industry.

Warehouse capacity has also been a challenge. We work with buyers to better manage order frequency and volume and create a more consistent inbound cadence. Carrier capacity and fuel remain ongoing factors we have to account for.

From Behind the Curve to Real-Time Visibility

Technology is helping us to operate more proactively. Our new TMS with EDI connectivity, implemented at the end of 2025, has improved how we tender loads and how we track them in real time. The visibility allows us to manage exceptions like late pickups and late deliveries before they affect customers. We are also working toward implementing RELEX, a demand planning tool that will allow logistics to contribute to establishing correct transit times and ideal pickup windows. I expect it to be online around 2027, which will strengthen how we plan and optimize inbound freight.

I can pay a carrier five thousand dollars to ship two pallets from New York to Chicago, but I would rather pay eight hundred and ship LTL. That decision, repeated across hundreds of lanes, is where our value lives.

Technology addresses what is inside the operation. The harder challenge is the events and forces the organization cannot control or predict. Tariffs, trade disruption and carrier market shifts require a different discipline: staying current, staying engaged and being willing to pivot when the environment changes.

Leadership, Communication and Building a Team That Executes

I am not a micromanager. I operate by the principle of trust but verify. That means staying close enough to the work to confirm the plan is actually executing, not taking it on faith. My job is to give the team the tools they need to succeed. Every day we push out an unplanned report looking five days ahead. Planners are expected to be executing three to five days ahead of pickup, depending on what replenishment requires. Weekly one-on-ones and bi-weekly team meetings keep everyone aligned on results, so there are no surprises. If margins are going down or service levels dip, we take action immediately because operational excellence is built in the daily foundations, not recovered in the crisis.

Operational excellence, to me, comes down to getting the basics right. Lead times have to be right. Transit times have to be accurate. Pickup windows need to reflect what the carrier can actually deliver. Communication helps keep all of those pieces aligned. And when things go sideways, it is not enough to simply report the problem. I expect the team to come forward with a solution, or at least a clear path to one.

The same mindset applies beyond the logistics team. There is always going to be some natural tension between replenishment and logistics. Purchasing wants to keep inventory tight, while we want to move freight as efficiently as possible. The goal is not to win the argument, but to help each side understand the impact of those decisions. Sometimes, it is as simple as shipment size. If a vendor normally ships 40,000 pounds at a ten-cent freight rate and purchasing cuts that order to 20,000, I have to raise the freight rate to cover the cost. The increase flows directly into the cost of goods. Once everyone understands that connection, the conversation becomes less of a standoff and more about finding the right solution together.

For anyone building a career in this field, my advice is to find a mentor early. I was fortunate to have mentors like Milo Luppen’s and Pat Johnson, who taught me a lot about negotiating with carriers and knowing when to slow down before making a decision. One lesson has stayed with me: measure twice, cut once. Logistics moves fast, and it is easy to react quickly, but every rate adjustment, carrier decision and outbound communication deserves a second look.