How SMC³ and LTC Are Revolutionizing LTL Freight Training

Sometimes it takes a commercial business — with an up-close view of its industry in action — to step back and identify a need for educational resources. That’s exactly what happened with data and solutions provider SMC³, which specializes in the less-than-truckload (LTL) freight market. Its executives noticed that, for those beginning a career in freight management, there exist a dozen or more respected logistics or supply chain management educational courses in the US and beyond. However, for the LTL side of the business, there has been a notable gap in educational resources to bring newcomers up to a competitive level of excellence or enable industry veterans to expand their knowledge base.

This is not a small concern. LTL represents a small part of overall for-hire trucking volume and revenue, but the sector is expanding as LTL carriers take on a bigger role in moving e-commerce freight. The lack of educational resources in this significant segment of the industry called for a concerted response, said Karl Manrodt, professor of logistics in the department of management at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Karl Manrodt - executive/instructor at the professional instruction organization, Logistics Training Center (LTC)

“There are universities that do a great job teaching about supply chains, but those individuals who teach transportation are getting fewer and fewer. They teach an extremely broad field, and it’s not very specific. When it comes to transportation, the details matter, and it’s come to the point where we’re not really teaching those entering the industry about the details.”

To fill this void, SMC³ has partnered with LTC and developed an online less-than-truckload curriculum, as well as the industry’s only online LTL certification program. Download the whitepaper to learn more about the five online courses and see how SMC³ can help you with its LTL expertise.