MP_Blog

At King Solutions, we make our customers our priority. Part of that is taking the time to let our customers get to know our team and our company on a more personal level. This is one of those instances.

We asked our founder and CEO, Michael Patterson, to share a bit more about how he came to be in logistics, how King Solutions came to be, and his predictions for the future of the company and the logistics industry as a whole.

Q: Where did you begin your career?
A: I began my transportation career in 1971 in Minneapolis. I was a Teamster for over 5 years loading and unloading trucks, as well as driving. It was after that I became a dock foreman, a sales person, a sales manager, a terminal manager, a district manager, a business unit manager, a director of sales and then in 1989 I started King Solutions as an entrepreneur in transportation.

Q: What inspired you to pick a career in logistics?
A: I originally went to work as a Teamster to support myself while in college. However, as time went on, I realized the transportation business and its services would always be needed in the marketplace. It was after that realization that it could offer me a career and I focused intently on it.

Q: What challenges did you have to overcome while starting King Solutions? What did you take away from those challenges?
A: Where do you begin? I started King from scratch. It started from nothing. We had no investors, just a handful of customers, no IT systems – every element of running the business was a challenge. But what we did not lack was commitment and a focus to overcome all challenges to become successful. There was to be no failure, and there was none.

Q: In what ways has King Solutions changed over the years?
A: We have become an ongoing company with sophisticated systems, financial resources and over 300 customers. We are not simply an entrepreneur effort, but a solid ongoing company with over 100 employees.

Q: What have you done to set King Solutions apart from your competitors?
A: We have diversified our services and we live out “the solutions” in our name. We are seriously committed to customer service and customer relationships. King Solutions takes a collaborative approach with customers to develop solutions for logistics problems. We are not simply order takers, but solution achievers.

Q: How do you think your industry will change over the next five years?
A: I think our industry will shrink in the number of transportation entities that currently exist. I believe technology will significantly dominate the transportation space. However, people still appreciate working with people. We will continue to develop that type of approach in the future.

Q: How does that shape your vision for King Solutions in the next five years?
A: King continues to invest significant resources into IT development. King also continues to develop our customer care department – adding people, tools and resources. It will be important for King to continue to diversify our services and reinvest in all areas of the company.

Q: What keeps you passionate about your industry and the things you do at King Solutions?
A: We are passionate at King about providing solutions to logistics problems. We are not simply order takers. The business marketplace is ever changing; therefore logistics needs are ever changing. It is very satisfying to create solutions for customers in a collaborative way. In that respect, we feel like we make a difference in our world.

Q: If you could pick one word or short phrase that describes King Solutions, what would it be?
A: With God’s help, we exist to improve the lives of those within the King Community. The King Community consists of our customers, our carriers, suppliers, our professional services, our employees and our supported non-profit alliances.