• BREAKBULK & PROJECT CARGO
  • April 23-25, 2025 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside, Louisiana

Rick Tellez

KlearNow

Founder

Rick Tellez is Founder of KlearNow, a technology start-up positioned as the go-to digital supply chain solution for businesses that trade across borders. His business acumen was built from a 20-year successful track record of managing operations, engineering, and sales positions at DHL.

Prior to starting KlearNow, Rick was on an executive career development track at DHL where he experienced multiple aspects of the business, including operations, process improvement, hub and gateway management, labor negotiations, special project management, and sales.

Rick saw the frustrations faced by today’s supply chain operators, and those observations sparked his desire to start KlearNow. Now, Rick uses his first-hand experience to inform the strategy behind KlearNow’s logistics technology and services.

Rick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Sessions With Rick Tellez

Friday, 26 April

  • 11:30am - 12:15pm (CST) / 26/apr/2024 04:30 pm - 26/apr/2024 05:15 pm

    Overcoming the Project Logistics Technology Lag

    Project cargo and breakbulk shippers have been told for years that they should digitize, invest in software, and double down on technology. But what does that mean in real life? Unlike other shipping sectors, the project/breakbulk segment typically relies on project forwarders to provide their logistics technology, most notably related to transit visibility, as part of their services. Because of this, potential logistics tech providers see little demand from breakbulk shippers. Unsurprisingly, then, there has been little progress made in the development of tech solutions aimed directly at breakbulk and project cargo shippers. There is no “holy grail” solution that can cover the complexities of the project logistics cycle from building a project proposal and costing to buying services, tracking cargo transportation, and handing off at final delivery. In fact, the industry can't even standardize and efficiently share packing lists — there’s no shared standard for this most basic building block of project logistics. Perhaps tech solutions for the project industry should start with the basics rather than trying to encompass the entire cycle. Useful, simpler tech solutions could arise from addressing shared pain points — like packing lists that don’t match up easily. This session is designed to get back to basics, to provide a forum for shippers to discuss the real-life needs vendors could address, as well as allowing forwarders to better understand their role in the technology investment quandary.

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