Expedite All’s DNA: Building the Future of STL Freight

Every logistics company has a service model. Fewer have a clear operating philosophy behind it. 

Alex Winston, Chief Strategy Officer, sat down with Mike Ernst, President, and Ted McClain, Senior VP of Sales, for a candid conversation about the values that shape Expedite All from the inside: ownership, long-term partnership, simplicity, pioneering, technology, and faith. Their discussion shows how these principles influence daily decisions, customer relationships, and the way Expedite All is helping define Small Truckload as a smarter way to serve urgent freight. 

Ownership mentality in urgent freight

In expedited logistics, ownership is not a soft value. It is an operating requirement. When freight is time-sensitive, problems cannot wait for someone else to take responsibility.

For Ted McClain, ownership means treating the company, the customer, and the outcome as if they personally belong to you.

As Ted explains:

“You work in a way that you would if you owned the company.”

Mike Ernst describes the same value through company-wide accountability. At Expedite All, solving problems is not reserved for a title or department. Sales, operations, customer service, dispatch, and leadership all have to move in the same direction.

As Mike puts it:

“You have to act like an owner of the business.”

That matters because urgent freight requires fast decisions, clear communication, and immediate action. In expedited transportation, ownership is how freight keeps moving when timing is critical.

Partnership over transaction

Another defining value is the marathon mentality. Freight relationships may begin with one shipment, but real partnerships are built through consistency, trust, and repeated execution.

Ted connects this mindset directly to how Expedite All works with brokers, 3PLs, freight forwarders, and long-term logistics partners.

As Ted says:

“We’re not transactional. We want to be partners with all of our partners and just be an asset to them for the long term.”

This is especially important in Small Truckload. STL is still a newer mode for many companies, so customers often need more than capacity. They need education around where STL fits, when it works better than LTL, and when it is more efficient than Full Truckload.

That kind of relationship cannot be built around quick wins only. It takes time, operational trust, and a willingness to help customers think differently about freight.

Simplicity and the STL value proposition

For Expedite All, simplicity means making the promise clear and then executing on it.

Mike explains it directly:

“So I think if we talk about the simplicity side, it’s doing what we say we’re going to do.”

In expedited freight, that sentence carries real weight. Customers need accurate capacity, reliable timing, clear communication, and confidence that the shipment will move as promised.

Small Truckload supports that simplicity by giving customers a cleaner option for freight that does not fit traditional modes well. Some shipments are too important, fragile, urgent, or controlled for LTL. Others are too small to justify a full 53-foot trailer.

That is where STL creates value: dedicated, right-sized capacity between LTL and Full Truckload.

Mike describes Expedite All’s pioneering role in that space:

“The pioneering side for me is, again, going back to finding that space between full truckload and LTL that we can solve those solutions, right-sizing the shipment size for a more economical solution.”

As shipment sizes change and customer expectations for speed increase, that space becomes more important. STL gives brokers and shippers more control than a shared network and more efficiency than oversized equipment.

Technology built around customer needs

Technology is another major part of Expedite All’s DNA. It’s not a buzzword, but a practical way to make freight easier to quote, book, track, and manage.

Ted points to the customer portal as one example:

“One is our portal that we have that all of our customers can use that you can quote, book, track everything right from there.”

For brokers and logistics teams, speed matters. When an urgent load comes in, slow quoting, manual follow-ups, and disconnected systems can cost time and opportunity.

Mike summarizes the direction plainly:

“At the end of the day, the future is technology.”

Expedite All continues building its proprietary TMS, customer portal, GPS track and trace, API connectivity, and integrations based on customer feedback. The goal is simple: reduce friction, improve visibility, and make the company easier to do business with.

Culture, faith, and integrity

The conversation also touches on faith as part of Expedite All’s culture. Alex notes that the company is not a faith-based organization in a restrictive sense, but faith is a shared value for many on the team.

Mike explains the balance clearly:

“We don’t force it upon everybody, but we’re unapologetic that that’s part of our organization.”

In a business context, this connects most directly to integrity. Expedite All wants its values to show up in how people treat customers, partners, and each other. In urgent freight, where customers often trust providers with high-value or time-critical shipments, culture becomes part of the service experience.

Building for what comes next

The conversation naturally leads to a look at Expedite All’s next phase: growing vehicle count, expanding temperature-controlled capacity, and increasing TSA-qualified driver capability for freight forwarding and airport-related needs.

These priorities follow the same pattern: listen to customers, identify where the market needs more support, and build capacity around that demand.

Expedite All’s DNA is built around ownership, long-term partnership, simplicity, pioneering, technology, and integrity. These values explain how the company serves urgent freight today and how it is helping shape the future of Small Truckload.

Need a Small Truckload partner built for speed, control, and long-term support? Contact Expedite All to find the right capacity for your next shipment.