CWI Transportation

Tami Peeples is a transportation manager at CWI Transportation with more than 25 years of experience in warehousing and transportation, built on an earlier background in production and manufacturing. She works closely with customers, carriers, and internal teams to maintain service amid the industry's constantly changing demands. Her leadership approach centers on operational continuity, customer service, problem-solving, and developing teams that can make sound decisions in complex situations

Transportation is built around plans. Routes are scheduled, appointments are set, drivers are assigned, and expectations are established. Then the day begins.

Anyone who has spent enough time in transportation knows the original plan is often only the starting point. Equipment becomes unavailable. Capacity changes. Drivers are delayed. Customer priorities shift. What matters most is how the operation responds.

When a day starts going sideways, my first step is to identify what is still going right. Then I isolate what is going wrong and look at the available options. For each situation, I develop two paths: a fast solution and a logical one. I weigh the outcomes of both before moving forward.

Sometimes the best answer is not the quickest fix. The right adjustment may solve two problems at once instead of requiring two separate reactions.

Panic Changes the Problem

One of the biggest challenges I see in transportation is panic. Some people freeze when the situation no longer matches the process they were taught. Others begin asking everyone around them what to do and become so focused on the crisis that they stop hearing the answers. Still others are afraid of making the wrong decision, so they make no decision at all.

In transportation, that can be the most damaging response. Time changes your options. A shipment that could have arrived late today may become a reschedule for another day simply because too much time passed before anyone acted. 

I teach my team there are three possible responses: make the right decision, make the wrong decision, or make no decision.  

The last one is not an option. You either make the right decision or, when circumstances change, you make the decision right.

Procedures Create Boundaries. Judgment Creates Continuity.

There is very little black and white in transportation. There are too many variables.

Procedures teach people what they can and cannot do. Once those boundaries are understood, the next skill is judgment.

You cannot create a procedure for every situation. What you can do is teach people how to evaluate the facts, understand the consequences of their options, and make a decision that promotes continuity.

When someone on my team becomes overwhelmed, I remind them there is always a solution. Then I ask the questions needed to understand the variables. Instead of immediately giving them the answer, I ask, “What do you think we should do, and why?” Then I ask for a second option.

Once they compare the outcomes themselves, they begin to understand there is rarely only one solution. The goal is not simply to solve today’s problem. It is to teach them how to solve the next one.

Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems 

Communication is one of the most important tools we have, but I do not believe in escalating a problem simply to announce that one exists.

Before I contact a customer or leadership, I want to understand the situation and have a path forward. Sometimes that communication is simple: “This happened, and here is the solution.” Other times there are two viable choices. I explain both options and the likely outcome of each so the person who owns the decision can choose what works best.

Urgency also has to be evaluated in context. Who is the customer? What are their expectations? How much time do we have? What options are available? What does each option cost?

Transportation is frequently viewed as a cost to be reduced, but there are times when spending more is the right decision because protecting the customer relationship matters more than optimizing one shipment.

Prepare Before the Crisis Arrives

Strong transportation leadership also means recognizing patterns early. When capacity begins to shift, service becomes less predictable, or an operation shows signs of strain, waiting for a complete failure before building alternatives creates unnecessary risk.

Developing backup options while the primary plan is still functioning gives the operation room to adapt without transferring the disruption to the customer. Ideally, the customer experiences continuity even when significant adjustments are happening behind the scenes. 

Service Is the Differentiator ​

Transportation will always be competitive, and cost will always matter. If price is the only thing separating one provider from another, eventually someone will offer a lower number.

Service changes that equation. 

Responsiveness, flexibility, availability, and the ability to solve problems without creating additional work for the customer are what build long-term value.

In transportation, the goal isn’t to eliminate disruption. It’s to build an operation that knows what to do when disruption happens.

A strong transportation team does more than move freight. It creates confidence that when the plan changes, and eventually it will, someone already knows what to do next.