Logo churn starts at the RFP

The providers that grow aren't closing the most deals. They're closing the right ones. Plus a $604M wake-up call.

Author

Slotted Admin
July 30, 2026

Logo churn starts at the RFP

The providers that grow aren't closing the most deals. They're closing the right ones. Plus a $604M wake-up call.

While preparing for an upcoming panel on Winning the 3PL RFP Race, I received an email asking for my thoughts on logo churn among 3PLs serving emerging and mid-market brands.

At first, they seemed like completely different topics. One is about winning new business. The other is about keeping the business you already have. But they're really the same conversation.

It starts with fit.

The providers that consistently earn great customer relationships aren't the ones closing the most deals. They're the ones closing the right deals. They know where they create value, qualify opportunities accordingly, and build partnerships around realistic expectations. Price matters, but discounting is usually just delaying the inevitable if the fit isn't there.

Adding five new logos sounds like growth. It isn't if you lose four along the way. The providers that grow consistently are just as focused on retaining the right customers as they are on winning the next one. And you can only retain customers when the Fit equation is working.

WHAT’S TRENDING

📦 A $604M verdict changes the conversation around carrier selection

A Dallas jury ordered freight broker C.H. Robinson to pay $604 million over a 2021 crash involving a carrier it hired, marking the first major broker liability verdict since the Supreme Court cleared the way for negligent-hiring claims earlier this year.

The ruling reaches beyond freight brokers. Any provider arranging transportation on behalf of a customer should take notice. Carrier selection, documentation, and safety reviews are becoming more than operational best practices. They are increasingly part of a company's risk management strategy.

If your team hasn't recently reviewed how carriers are vetted, what records are retained, and where liability sits in customer agreements, now is a good time to revisit those processes.

📦 AI is taking on more work, but not more responsibility

Two announcements this week point to the next phase of AI in logistics.

J.B. Hunt spun its internal freight AI platform into a standalone company that automates many of the coordination tasks traditionally handled by operations teams. At the same time, Altana acquired Cervo AI, whose software prepares customs filings for licensed brokers to review and certify.

In both cases, the software performs more of the work, but accountability still belongs to the operator signing off on the outcome.

Companies getting the most value from AI continue to have one thing in common: clean product, inventory, and operational data that the technology can reliably work from.

📦 Location continues to matter

Amazon announced plans for a $1 billion fulfillment center on Long Island, one of its largest facilities in the Northeast and strategically positioned to serve the New York City market.

The investment reinforces a broader trend. Well-located warehouse space near major population centers remains difficult to replace and increasingly valuable as delivery expectations continue to rise.

For providers already operating in those markets, location remains a competitive advantage that's worth emphasizing during customer conversations.

Also This Week

📦 The latest tariff changes are now in effect. New Section 301 tariffs covering imports from more than 60 countries took effect July 24, replacing the temporary Section 122 surcharge. Two importers filed suit the same day challenging the new rules. Brands importing product may want to revisit landed-cost assumptions established before the changes. NBC News → | Liberty Justice Center →

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT

Partner Highlight: Conduit

Cargo theft does not always look like a break-in anymore. A lot of it now walks up to the dock with paperwork that looks right. A driver shows up for a load, the name roughly matches the tender, the freight leaves, and it turns out the person behind the wheel was never who they claimed to be. For a warehouse or 3PL, that risk lives at one specific moment, driver check-in.

Conduit is dock scheduling and yard management software that puts a real verification step between a driver and your freight, replacing the phone calls, spreadsheets, and clipboard sign-in sheets that make it easy for a bad actor to slip through.

Where operators see the biggest impact:

  • Confirm a driver's physical location before check-in is allowed, so nobody can check in remotely for a load they should not have

  • Capture a driver's license scan and match it to the scheduled appointment, so you know exactly who is taking the product

  • Build custom check-in flows that collect the specific documents a given customer or lane requires

  • Keep every dock action visible and timestamped, so you have a clean record if a load is ever disputed

  • Give the front line one consistent process instead of a different judgment call at every shift

Conduit put together a free resource, the 2026 Cargo Theft Prevention Playbook, that lays out where fraud is showing up at the dock and the check-in steps that cut most of it off. It pairs with the carrier question earlier in this issue: knowing who you tendered the load to only helps if you also confirm who actually shows up to take it.

OPPORTUNITIES IN FULFILLMENT

Regional Sales Manager @ RR Donnelley | New York

Director of Procurement @ Shipbob | Remote

VP Client Experience @ Geodis | Tennessee

Director of Finance @ NFI Industries | New Jersey

VP AI & Workflow Automation @ Crane WW | Texas