Final Thoughts on My Internship with JB Hunt

Introduction and Personal Objectives

During my summer internship at J.B. Hunt, I am serving as a Customer Experience intern. The Customer Experience department is responsible for being the daily voice to customers and building and maintaining relationships to support strategic account growth. Within this department, there are two divisions: Intermodal and Highway Trucking. I have been placed in the Highway Division, where we utilize third-party carriers to move freight over the road. In my role as a Customer Experience Intern, I am part of a team of eight account managers, managing a variety of national and small customer accounts. CEAMs (Customer Experience Account Managers) serve as the intermediary between customers and J.B. Hunt's internal departments, such as operations, pricing, claims, and network planning services. Cross-training with these departments has been insightful, revealing that each department has different goals and objectives that may not always align. This experience has taught me the importance of cross-departmental collaboration and negotiation within a large organization in order to create alignment and customer satisfaction.

Background Review

The role of Customer Experience at JB Hunt has evolved significantly over the past decade. The department's name change from Customer Service to Customer Experience reflects this shift as CEAMs were primarily responsible for scheduling pick-up and delivery appointments. Now, they own the customer relationship and focus on growing the customer account. With the evolution of the Customer Experience Account Manager role, support positions like Appointment Representatives and Customer Experience Support have been introduced to handle more manual tasks and communications with shippers and receivers, resulting in more focus on relationships with actual customer accounts. Unlike many other transportation companies that have a separate customer support department, JB Hunt assigns customers to account managers who become their main point of contact.

Project/ Assignment/ Duties Details

In my daily role as a Customer Experience Intern, I'm responsible for providing updates to customers on their shipments, ensuring they meet pick-up and delivery appointments by coordinating with our operations team that there is driver coverage. I also book loads for customers, either through EDI Technology or by manually entering load details for those customers who send over shipments. When covering desks, my responsibilities include attending biweekly meetings with customers, addressing their problems, logging customer engagements, attaching rates to loads, and maintaining the accuracy of customers' trailer pools. During my internship, I've also become proficient with various technologies such as JB Hunt Host, JB Hunt 360 Orders, Workday, Power BI tools, and Microsoft Teams.?

Alongside my daily tasks, Julia and I dedicated time to work on our intern capstone project, focusing on making JB Hunt feel smaller and improving process efficiency within Customer Experience. In preparation, we engaged in calls with internal departments, including the team specializing in the JB Hunt 360 platform and the training and development coordinator. After compiling our research, brainstorming, and developing specific initiatives, we presented our findings to upper leadership at JB Hunt, including Directors and Vice Presidents in Customer Experience and the Highway Truckload division.

Analysis/ Implications for the Company

Customer Experience is crucial for JB Hunt's success and business growth. JB Hunt strives to be an industry leader by excelling in customer experience through its people, technology, and capacity which are the three foundational pillars of the company. The JB Hunt 360 platform, a key technological advancement, provides customers with visibility to book loads, view ETAs on shipments, and find rates. However, many CE account managers are not fully utilizing this technology or informing customers about its capabilities during the onboarding process. It's important for customers to use these advancements that JB Hunt has invested in to allow technology to handle more manual tasks. Implementing this approach is particularly important as we navigate the current slowdown in freight volume. By adopting these technologies and strategies now, JB Hunt will be better prepared when the market picks up again, ensuring we remain competitive and continue to grow.

Conclusion and Personal Evaluation

Throughout my internship, I've gained valuable hands-on experience in managing customer relationships, understanding cross-departmental collaboration, and building confidence in my professional abilities within a corporate setting. JB Hunt is a company that truly invests in its people, and I feel both personally and professionally invested in. As an Intern, I have had the opportunity to build a professional network through the program, which offered many chances to connect with other interns, gain insights from JB Hunt executives, and cross-train with different departments to explore various career paths within JB Hunt. Personally, I've expanded my skills in project management, concise communication, and teamwork. My internship experience at JB Hunt has been incredibly rewarding. I am truly grateful to have worked for a company that invests in its interns just as much as it does with new hires as I felt valued and supported throughout my entire journey.