We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » A visionary remembered
big picture

A visionary remembered

February 6, 2012
Peter Bradley
No Comments

The first time I became aware of the respect Don Schneider had in the logistics profession was when I was assigned to cover his session at a Council of Logistics Management annual conference. I was on time for the session but could not get in: The audience filled every chair and spilled out the door. This was in the late 1980s, less than a decade after the trucking industry was deregulated and the company he ran, Schneider National, had rapidly grown into one of the most successful trucking businesses in the nation.

So it was for the remainder of his career. Don Schneider was about the nearest thing the transportation industry had to a superstar, although the ever self-effacing Schneider would have dismissed any such characterization. He was an astute executive and a business visionary. Early on, he saw the potential for deregulation to allow the trucking industry to reinvent itself, for technology to transform the way it did business, and for carriers and customers to work together. For just one instance, his early embrace of satellite-based communications technology, considered by many to be foolhardy at the time, helped launch a revolution in the industry.

And yet he remained a man of great humility. I had the opportunity to interview him many times before his retirement, and he would always rebuff any effort to make the story about him. It was about his drivers, his managers, and those around him. It was about the trucking industry he loved. It was never about Don Schneider.

I once met him at his office in Green Bay, Wis., and was surprised at just how modest that office was. It seemed the trappings of success meant little to him. My sharpest recollection of that visit was sitting in on his remarks to a group of new drivers, welcoming them to the company. There was nothing perfunctory about it: Those drivers were important to him, as were all the other employees he greeted throughout the day.

For Schneider, trucking and logistics were about far more than moving goods from one point to another. I had a number of conversations with him over the years—those of us who wrote about the industry were forever in pursuit of an interview, and he was ever accommodating—and those conversations often veered away from the topic at hand toward his passionately held view that an efficient transportation system was essential to our prosperity. He believed that transportation and logistics formed the links in the economy that allowed businesses to thrive to the benefit of us all. He believed that the trucking industry—and by extension, the entire transportation industry—was doing great good. I always left those conversations persuaded that Don Schneider was not just a talented executive but an extraordinary man.

Transportation Trucking
KEYWORDS Schneider National
  • Related Articles

    DHL partner Bill Robinson remembered as a founder of international air express business

    Supply chain visionary Charles L. "Chuck" Taylor, Jr. dies

    Bar-code visionary Alan Haberman dead at 81

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Biden names dozens of senior leaders to DOT, including FMCSA and FRA

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Sick agv demo thumbnail

Optimize Load Handling Tasks with Industrial Mobile Robots

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Intelligent sensors detect the presence of goods, check for empty shelves, or the correct alignment on the mobile platform towards the freight. The solutions range from simple detection sensors, thorough measuring devices, and 2D LiDAR sensors.

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing