All stakeholders in a company must work together on a last-mile strategy, not just the transportation department by itself, says Bill Catania, founder and chief executive officer of OneRail.

Conventional wisdom might suggest that a third-party logistics services provider work solely with a shipper’s transportation department, but that would be counterproductive, Catania says. There’s quite a bit of involvement from others, such as chief digital officers, chief customer officers and finance departments. “Transportation is part of that mix,” he says, “but I think for me it was a surprise seeing just how cross-functional a transaction really is.”

Getting an item or product out the door is something that begins at the top of an organization, he says, especially when it comes to last-mile carriage. “It starts at the top a lot of times. You're hearing from boards of directors, CEOs working with heads of strategy to figure out, say, how do we get to a one-day or same-day delivery offering?”

Catania says what begins at a strategic level filters down into various departments where “everybody has to have their finger on it. And that's one of the things that makes last-mile difficult. It's also an opportunity because you're really helping companies with their transformation.”

Catania is a big believer in the chief strategy officer position, though the job may not carry a C-suite position in some companies. Nevertheless, the job is vital. “It becomes the arms and the legs of the board of directors and the executive team. They are the crucial connector between vision and execution.” He says chief strategy officers ultimately are accountable to finance and the board. But what they do telegraphs down in terms of sourcing and execution with the operators of the business. “And we find that bridge to be super important.”