Episode 11: How a former hotel director uses AI to cut freight costs for clients

Xander Hassan on cutting freight costs for clients with AI

[00:00:01] Xander Hassan: The first six months were pretty rough, but that’s a testing phase to make sure you can get through it. I made 70 calls a day for 60 days straight and didn’t get anything. Then, about a month later, I started getting callbacks from those calls and came across a company out in Peoria, Arizona.

[00:00:22] John Howland: All right, welcome to another episode of Behind the Freight. I’m John Howland.

[00:00:28] Scott Feather: And I’m Scott Feather.

[00:00:29] John Howland: On today’s episode, we’re joined by Xander Hassan, founder and CEO of Hassan Transportation Logistics, a growing 3PL helping businesses simplify their supply chains through customized transportation, warehousing, and fulfillment solutions.

Before launching HTL, Xander built experience across hospitality, sales, renewable energy, and 3PLs, giving him a unique perspective on customer service, business development, and solving complex supply chain challenges.

Since founding the company, he has focused on building long-term partnerships, proving that logistics should be a competitive advantage rather than a headache.

Today, we’ll talk about building a logistics company from the ground up, what it takes to earn trust in a competitive freight market, and how carriers, brokers, and shippers can build resilient supply chains.

Mr. Hassan, welcome, sir! One very interesting thing I came across was that one of your proudest moments at Hassan Transportation Logistics was helping build SoFi Stadium in LA, which is really cool.

How do you land a project like that, and what was that experience like helping build such a beautiful stadium?

[00:01:59] Xander Hassan: That actually happened right before I started my own company, but it was one of the biggest accomplishments I had with Total Quality Logistics.

Like everybody knows, TQL calls your cell phone 30 times a day, which is actually very effective if you catch someone at the right time.

I was just a guy coming in making $40,000 a year, cutting my teeth, and giving it the best of my ability.

The first six months were pretty rough, but that’s a testing phase to make sure you can get through it.

I made 70 calls a day for 60 days straight and didn’t get anything. Then, a month later, I started getting callbacks.

I connected with a guy at a company in Peoria, Arizona, who was having issues with flatbed rates. He told me the dimensions for moving structural steel.

I asked what it was for, and he said, “It’s for SoFi Stadium. We’re building the escalator stairs.” We did that project for two to three months before things dried up as they finished the stadium.

We moved six to seven hotshots a week, sometimes 14. It was just me and an LAET at TQL. They gave us great trial-by-fire training, which taught me to think fast on my feet.

Before all this madness, I worked at Marriott dealing with late-night problems past 11:00 PM, so you had to be quick on your feet.

We also did another project, a solar project, moving about 530 trucks in two months.

When I started that job, they had 15 to 17 different MC numbers booked on those trucks, and it was a tangled mess. Nothing was getting done, and nobody knew where anyone was half the time.

I brought in a partner I knew from TQL who had left the logistics industry. He told me he had a buddy out West running an asset-based brokerage.

He gave me the warehouse address, and I realized they had 15 trucks parked in a yard right down the road.

When you really dig into customer needs, you realize some people just aren’t on the ground. But having those trucks allowed us to move 10 to 12 trucks a day, finishing four weeks ahead of schedule and putting time and money back on their bottom line.

The first big project I ran with HTL was another solar project. It was essentially a warehouse transfer where we moved 50 to 60 trucks over four weeks.

It was just me and a couple of team members, and the biggest factor was carrier relationships with the guys running back and forth. Some stayed on-site in their sleepers like a big camp party.

SoFi Stadium was so cool because I didn’t realize what we were building until I saw it on TV and thought, “Wow, those escalators look awesome!” That’s all I cared about looking at.

[00:05:41] Scott Feather: Are you more of a Rams or a Chargers fan at the end of it, or what?

[00:05:45] Xander Hassan: That’s a hard no, I’m a big Eagles fan! That’s going to be tough to change.

[00:05:50] Scott Feather: I had to ask. What are the two stadiums that host two NFL teams? SoFi and MetLife, right?

[00:05:56] Xander Hassan: Yeah, New York and LA get a competitive advantage no matter what!

[00:06:02] Scott Feather: Most of your work seems to be project-based flatbed work. I love those; I used to do ten years of pipe shipments from Houston to the Permian Basin.

It’s so fun ramping up, getting into the groove, and grinding through the project. It sucks when it ends, but project work breaks up the routine into distinct eras.

How does someone go from working hospitality at Marriott to changing gears, joining TQL, and starting a freight company?

[00:06:58] Xander Hassan: I started down south at my parents’ place when I turned 21, coming down during college summers to work and gain experience.

I started as a pool boy, serving drinks and hanging around the pool. I was a server, housekeeper, valet, security guard, and front desk agent, I went through the whole ringer.

Eventually, I became Director of Front Office in Charlotte. There are logistics behind checking people in: managing lines of guests waiting for rooms while coordinating unloading their luggage for white-glove service.

I spent six years doing that until COVID took out a lot of hotel jobs. During COVID, I played Grand Theft Auto and collected unemployment like everyone else.

Then a good friend who worked at TQL told me I’d be really good at freight. I interviewed with a very intense manager who grilled me on essential questions.

He told me later that he hired me because I had a “get it done” attitude. I maintain that same mentality with my customers today.

Even if I don’t make a margin on a truck, I’ll book it to get it moving because customer retention guarantees future loads.

If I’m stingy and take a cheaper, worse option just to make money, I’m not fulfilling my company’s mission statement.

At Marriott, I learned to anticipate customer needs before they happen. If a glass is three-quarters full, you fill it up. With trucks, if a location lacks a dock, you arrange a liftgate.

After TQL, I worked briefly in credit card processing, but I couldn’t crunch numbers that fast. So I walked home, started my LLC, called a contact from a long time ago who asked where to sign, and that’s how HTL got started.

[00:09:57] Scott Feather: What makes HTL stand out? How has the company grown and succeeded with big project and infrastructure work?

[00:10:25] Xander Hassan: We’re the shipping company people don’t realize they need yet. On our lean scale, it’s just myself and one other person right now.

Our secret sauce is making sure each customer feels like they are our only priority for the day.

I have a customer who moves three or four trucks a week. When he told me he was going to a concert with his grandson, I told him I’d take care of everything so he didn’t have to worry.

If something goes wrong or there’s a delay, he knows immediately. You have to anticipate needs so they never have a reason to call another broker.

Yesterday, another customer came to me unhappy with his current broker. I guessed that his broker had too many accounts pushed on him by management, causing service quality to drop.

With us, you get priority-one service. In big brokerage environments, chaos leads to missed details, and one major mistake can lose a customer forever.

[00:11:57] Scott Feather: That service-first hospitality mindset of anticipating issues before they happen has clearly been a cornerstone of HTL’s success. We need more of that in the industry.

[00:12:22] Xander Hassan: Appreciate it.

[00:12:23] John Howland: When you got your authority and wanted to build your brand, what specifically did you want to do differently from traditional brokerages?

[00:12:45] Xander Hassan: Going into it, I had no idea what I was doing! Once my compliance and UCR were greenlit, I hammered the phones.

Even if people didn’t answer, I made sure my emails were in their inboxes. I committed to daily outreach, mirroring marketing emails I liked and adding my own twist.

At first, I set myself apart on rates. While big companies took 17% margins, I could drop to 10%, offering significant savings to volume shippers.

When posting loads to DAT, I actually had two trucks stolen on separate occasions, though we recovered both. Cargo thieves target small brokers thinking they aren’t paying attention.

While many small brokers walk away, I faced it head-on. I spent two months tracking one truck down in Mexico and found the other in Southern California. Nothing was stolen, which was incredibly lucky!

That experience taught me to respect carrier relationships. Adapting to operational changes requires mutual respect.

Brokers and carriers must be diligent with vetting. If the FMCSA holds brokers liable, I expect a strict vetting process.

When volume projects come up, I turn to my go-to carriers and make sure they stay fed, providing mutual benefits for my partners and customers.

[00:15:54] John Howland: You do a lot more than just transport freight, offering fulfillment and warehousing. Do you think people underestimate the value of warehousing and fulfillment strategies?

[00:16:24] Xander Hassan: Yes, absolutely. Instead of mindlessly cold-calling 75 people a day, I started reaching out to high school and college connections.

I use Claude AI to review my LinkedIn connections and generate profiles of warm introduction candidates. Doing that over the past two weeks generated 12 to 15 meetings and three solid leads.

I’m pushing HTL into e-commerce, parcel, LTL consolidation, and warehousing. With rising fuel surcharges, companies need to consolidate shipments.

I met with a prospect recently and noticed an earbud product packaged in a box that was far too large.

I ran an algorithm analysis showing that shrinking the packaging by just two cubic inches would have saved them $53,000 last month.

We’re restructuring another client’s supply chain by pre-storing inventory in Los Angeles from their Minnesota plant, forecasting shelf depletion over two-week windows.

Instead of paying full line-haul rates, we ship seasonal LTL and forecast rates to save $20,000 over three months just by optimizing dimensions.

[00:19:55] John Howland: You’re so much more than a brokerage, you’re a true supply chain consultant. That’s a real game-changer.

[00:20:12] Scott Feather: You break in as a broker and stay by moving the needle on cost. You mentioned using Claude for prospecting and fulfillment software to analyze cubic inches.

Where is technology genuinely helping, and where is it just dead weight or a buzzword?

[00:21:12] Xander Hassan: It comes down to the user. You have to train AI platforms like a child until they mature.

I use AI for backend operational efficiency. While I prospect, AI runs my QuickBooks, lead tracking, P&Ls, and accounting, delivering reports for my confirmation.

Gaining two hours back every day allows me to prospect new clients or ensure current customer performance is flawless.

I also use Claude to analyze people before calling. Behind every phone call is a person who might be having a tough day.

I look at their background and education to build genuine connections, asking how their career progressed and offering reciprocal connections.

My dad ran a successful life insurance agency and my mom was an auditor, so I learned the value of hard work.

Instead of throwing random quote numbers at people, I offer to re-evaluate their supply chain to implement strategies that help them excel. Claude helps visualize those complex ideas on paper.

[00:24:45] Scott Feather: Asking how you can help or connect them turns business into a genuine, mutually beneficial relationship.

[00:25:19] John Howland: A year ago, people were skeptical about AI in freight. It’s great to see AI used to eliminate friction from tedious tasks so you can focus on customer relationships.

Looking two years ahead, what excites you about the future of trucking and logistics?

[00:26:40] Xander Hassan: E-commerce! It simplifies supply chains when executed correctly.

Logistics will also become more autonomous. When the FMCSA removed 96,000 drivers from the road, it tightened West Coast capacity significantly.

With diesel prices fluctuating wildly, industry players must explore EV or alternative options to keep rates fair.

In two years, entering the market as a new broker without an established book of business will be tough because trust takes time to build.

If I were starting over today, I’d focus heavily on e-commerce, parcel, LTL consolidation, and warehousing.

I track retail ads on Instagram and TikTok to build my pipeline. I reach out transparently as a small business owner with a proven optimization algorithm.

Using Claude to analyze website SKUs and packaging dimensions reveals massive parcel savings.

For example, shrinking a box by two inches saved one client $4 per parcel. Multiplied by 199,000 parcels a month, that’s nearly $800,000 in monthly savings! The math doesn’t lie.

Brokers shouldn’t view each other as enemies. If a client only moves parcel, collaborate with specialists who handle parcel while you handle full truckload.

[00:31:45] Scott Feather: LTL and parcel demand incredible attention to detail regarding dimensions and packaging. That high level of precision clearly drives your success.

[00:32:27] Xander Hassan: Love it!

[00:32:28] John Howland: We’re almost out of time, which brings us to the lightning round! Quick-fire answers in two minutes or less.

First question: if animals could drive trucks, what animal would you be, and who would be the best driver?

[00:33:05] Xander Hassan: An armadillo! He’s already got the perfect slouched posture for the cab!

[00:33:13] John Howland: That’s our first armadillo! Great answer. Scott, hit him with the next one.

[00:33:24] Scott Feather: What is one book, newsletter, or podcast someone starting out in freight needs to check out?

[00:33:36] Xander Hassan: Any workshop or audiobook on how to adapt Claude AI to your business.

[00:33:41] John Howland: Great answer! Finish this sentence: “The freight industry would be meaningfully better when…”

[00:33:55] Xander Hassan: …when the Eagles win the Super Bowl every year for the rest of my life!

[00:33:58] John Howland: I thought you were going to say when the Eagles need you to build their new escalators!

That wraps up today’s episode of Behind the Freight. Xander, it has been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being so open and honest, and thanks for joining us!

[00:34:27] Xander Hassan: John, Scott, thank you so much! It was great meeting you guys.

[00:34:31] Scott Feather: Thank you, Xander.

[00:34:33] John Howland: If today’s episode helped you think differently about your operation, share it with someone in your network who needs to hear it.

If you’re looking for tools to keep your trucks rolling, from finding quality loads to getting paid quicker, truckstop.com is here to help.

Go visit truckstop.com to explore the load board, rate insights, and risk management solutions built specifically for carriers and brokers.

Thanks for listening to us at Behind the Freight. Until next time, keep the wheels turning and the bad loads burning!