Gorgeous Girls In Supply Chain: Martha Brown
Welcome to our series celebrating the incredible women in Supply Chain and Logistics! In a traditionally male-dominated field, it's important to shine a light on the inspiring women who are making a significant impact. Through a mix of insightful and fun questions, we’ll explore their journeys, challenges, and successes. While we acknowledge the contributions of everyone in this industry, this series aims to elevate the voices and stories of women who often get missed. Martha Brown is our next feature.
MARTHA BROWN
Martha Brown is the broker you call when nobody else will touch your load. After 30+ years in the game, she's built her reputation on moving the hard-to-move stuff, the projects that make other brokers sweat. She founded Advantage Brokerage Corporation, a woman-owned business built on knowing your people and picking the right carriers. These days, her team runs so smoothly she jokes about feeling like "chopped liver."
When she's not brokering freight, Martha rides dressage with her horse, tends her gardens, bakes bread, and recently ditched makeup after realizing no one really cares.
Turns out time and experience just make you someone who's done putting up with BS. Something we can all aspire to.
What is your current role and company?
Owner and Operator at Advantage Brokerage Corporation and Intrinsic Transportation Inc.
How did you end up in the world of supply chain?
In the late 1980s I took a job near Miami, FL, as a customer service rep at a freight brokerage.
What is your favourite part of your work day?
Working with my team, my customers, their vendors, or our carriers. Effectively communicating with others is always the highlight of any day.
What is the least favourite part of your work day?
These days, it's the feeling that I'm not "needed". My team takes care of so much, there are days when I'm feeling a little like chopped liver!
What is a systemic issue in your part of the supply chain that concerns you currently?
The perception that freight brokers do little and earn a lot. No two freight brokerages are alike, so they shouldn't have the same compensation structures.
How would you address it if you had the power, money, or influence?
I'd like more reporting on successful brokerages--especially the small ones--who serve niche markets and have long-standing relationships with the customer and carrier networks. I think would help others understand that not all brokerages are created equally nor do they operate equally.
What is one piece of advice you have for young women entering your field?
Oh boy. That's a tough one. I think I would advise them to learn as much as they can about the customers' and carriers' needs before trying to engage with them as far as prospecting goes. Whether we're in a shipper's market or a carrier's market, knowing what they might need based on learning how they operate--and who THEY serve--is paramount to providing the service itself. Many industries have particular ways of doing things--like the steel forges that typically shut down in mid-summer for repairs and maintenance. Know those you serve.
What are your top 3 podcasts? (do not have to be industry related)
I don't listen to podcasts.
Who are your top 5 women in supply chain to follow on LinkedIn?
How do you deal with creeps you encounter in your work day?
Luckily I don't have much face-to-face interaction with folks these days, but over the past 30+ years being self-employed in the industry, I've certainly had my fair share of creeps in my face. I used to try to laugh it off and make light of it. No more. Fortunately, as I age (I'm in my mid-60s), I'm starting to encounter fewer creeps, but they're still there. I had a weird thing happen with a couple of guys a couple of years ago while I was shaking hands with the perpetrator. He made some inappropriate remark to the other guy about my "strengths" during the handshake as if I wasn't even there. I looked at the other guy mid-shake and said, "I'm standing right here. Bet he doesn't want to know how strong I really am!" He let go of my hand and they slinked off. So it's not always being perpetrated only with young, lovely ladies.
What is your favourite way to unwind?
I'm a mid-level dressage rider with my lovely dance partner of 12+ years. We have lessons Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings year 'round (love those heated indoor arenas!). I also have some lovely raised beds back of our house and tend vegetable gardens there. I love to make my husband's and my dinner five nights a week (LOVE FOOD). I bake bread most Sundays. And I spend a little time with my aging Mom and baby Sister.
What have you recently changed your mind about?
Wearing makeup! My sister and I vacationed in Northern California in August. I noticed that few women were we wearing makeup in the airports and even fewer in Petaluma and Mendicino. Then my husband and I vacationed in Maui in September and I noticed the same thing. It's liberating! It makes it easier, I suppose, that I'm "old" and becoming invisible (that's another story in, and of, itself). No one CARES if I'm made up or not!
Must haves to get you thru the day?
Two cups of black coffee in the morning
Lots of water during the day
Healthy leftovers to nosh on at my desk
Getting up from my desk at least every hour and moving about
Having a few hours in the evening to wind down and enjoy the lovely home that my labors provide us
Social media for Martha:
LinkedIn
