What a transportation department actually does
When a company grows into its own transportation function, that team ends up owning a predictable list. Choosing carriers and knowing which ones perform at which receivers. Booking the delivery appointment, which is usually what sets the date you can promise. Tendering loads early enough that the transit plan is real. Watching dwell at the shipper, because time lost there comes out of the driver’s hours before the run even starts. Handling the claim when something arrives damaged. Reading the rate and knowing whether it is fair.
That list does not get smaller while you wait to hire. It just gets handled by whoever has time, which is usually a founder.
When fractional is the right call
It fits when your freight is complicated enough to cost you real money, your volume does not yet carry a full salary, you are shipping into receivers with rules you do not set, or you are about to make a decision, such as a new 3PL, a new origin, or a first retail account, where a wrong call is expensive and slow to undo.
It stops fitting when your volume supports a full time hire and the work is steady enough that someone needs to be inside your business every day. At that point the useful thing we do is help you hire and hand over cleanly.
What each stage actually looks like
The first meeting
You talk, we listen, and you leave with an opinion. No charge, and no obligation to continue. Most of the value in the first hour is naming which of your problems is the expensive one.
Strategic planning
This is the work that happens away from day to day shipments. Supply chain strategy. Vetting manufacturing locations for logistics rather than for unit price alone. Qualifying 3PL fulfillment partners before you commit freight to them. Priced once, against the effort the specific question needs.
Managed services
We run the work you hand us, and only the work you hand us. Over the road and rail move on a cost plus fee structure. Bulk commodity is priced per ton by lane and commodity. Ocean, customs and storage carry a flat percentage. Fractional team members are available to handle appointment scheduling, which is the task that most often falls through when a small team gets busy.
Why founders keep this hat on too long
Early capital is the constraint, so the hire gets deferred. Meanwhile freight quietly becomes a line item that nobody owns and everybody touches. We have run companies ourselves, so the advisory side of this is grounded in experience. Most of what growing companies hit, somebody here has already hit.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional transportation department?
Senior transportation expertise bought part time, so a startup or scaling company gets the judgement of a logistics leader without carrying the salary before volume justifies it.
How is this different from just using a freight broker?
A broker moves the load you hand them. A fractional department decides which loads to hand to whom, on what plan, and tells you when the answer is to change something upstream.
What does the first meeting cost?
Nothing. You get consultative feedback on your needs, challenges and goals free of charge.
Can I use only part of this?
Yes. Managed services are entirely a la carte at your discretion.
What happens when we outgrow it?
We help you hire the full time role and hand over what we have been running.
Importing from overseas? The same model applied to international freight is fractional freight forwarding.
