Transforming Mid-Market Supply Chain Performance
Sheer Logistics orchestrates leading transportation ecosystems through a highly integrated approach, applying technology, data, and processes in ways that drive measurable outcomes for mid-market shippers. Joel Gard, CEO, outlines how this continues to distinguish the fourthparty logistics organization
Writer: Lucy Pilgrim | Project Manager: Michael Sommerfield
The US freight and logistics industry has experienced meaningful growth over several years, driven by a confluence of structural and macroeconomic forces.
The continued expansion of e-commerce has fundamentally reshaped fulfillment expectations, while nearshoring trends and geopolitical dynamics – particularly evolving trade relationships as the result of a shifting geopolitical order –have prompted companies to rethink where and how they source, produce, and distribute goods.
“Layer on top of that the volatility we’ve seen across transportation markets, and it’s clear supply chains are no longer static systems; they’re dynamic, constantly evolving networks that require far more active
management than in the past,” opens Joel Gard, CEO of Sheer Logistics (Sheer) – a leading technologyenabled fourth-party logistics (4PL) and managed transportation provider.
What makes this such an exciting space to be in is the elevation of the supply chain category from a backoffice function to a true board-level priority.
“For decades, transportation and logistics were largely viewed as cost centers – necessary, but not strategic. That mindset has shifted dramatically; the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed just how critical supply chain performance is to revenue, customer experience, and overall business continuity,” he notes.
Today, the freight and logistics industry has seen significant
investment in technology, data, and network design, along with a growing recognition that the right partners can unlock real competitive advantages – granting the ability to build supply chains that are not just efficient, but also resilient, predictable, and scalable.
However, this growth has simultaneously introduced a new level of complexity as the transportation ecosystem remains highly fragmented across carriers, systems, and service providers, which makes coordination and visibility inherently challenging.
“Ultimately, the industry’s growth is very real, but so is the complexity that comes with it.
“The organizations that will lead in this next phase won’t simply be the ones that move freight efficiently, but
those that can simplify the ecosystem, integrate disparate systems and partners, and orchestrate their supply chains end-to-end,” Gard adds.
PLANNING, EXECUTION, AND ANALYTICS
At the forefront of technologyenabled 4PL, Sheer supports midmarket shippers to build and operate more efficient, resilient, and intelligent supply chains.
“Our vision is to be the logistics integrator of choice for this segment, bringing enterprise-grade capabilities together with an intelligencepowered, human-led experience.
“At our core, we’re on a mission to make transportation radically easier to run and manage so our clients can grow profitably,” states Gard.
“At Sheer, our focus is on practical innovation, applying technology, data, and process in ways that drive measurable outcomes, not just theoretical improvements”
– JOEL GARD, CEO, SHEER LOGISTICS
Sheer is differentiated by its ability to bring together disparate data sources, systems, and operational dynamics into a cohesive model that allows clients to gain clarity, make better decisions, and ultimately facilitate more effective and durable supply chain programs.
“Rather than operating in silos, we integrate planning, execution, and analytics into a single, orchestrated approach,” he highlights.
Sheer’s core offerings reflect this approach, providing managed transportation and 4PL services that oversee the full transportation lifecycle, supported by its Transportation Management System (TMS) platform for execution and visibility.
A noteworthy example is the company’s SheerExchange™ integration software, which enables seamless connectivity across
enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management systems (WMS), and external partner systems, ensuring clean data flows.
Building on this foundation, Sheer also offers logistics consulting and execution, freight auditing and payment, advanced analytics, and continuous optimization, alongside multimodal capacity and value-added logistics services when and where clients need it.
The company primarily serves mid-market manufacturers, consumer product companies, food and beverage organizations, and chemical producers – which all require sophisticated logistics capabilities but often lack the scale or internal resources to build and manage them independently.
Sheer reaches its clients through a vast regional footprint across North America, with offices in Chicago, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Atlanta, Georgia, operating alongside a distributed team and additional resources supporting cross-border operations in Laredo, Texas and Guadalajara, Mexico.
INTEGRATION-FIRST APPROACH
Sheer expertly optimizes the supply chains of mid-market businesses by taking an integration-first approach to managed transportation –something the company believes is fundamentally different from how many providers in the market operate today.
“At its core, our model is built around the idea that you don’t need to rip and replace your existing systems to achieve a step change in performance. Instead, we integrate across them,” Gard emphasizes.
Indeed, Sheer connects clients’ ERP, WMS, TMS, carrier systems,
and other data sources through an integration layer, creating a unified and actionable view of their networks.
From there, the company orchestrates an entire transportation ecosystem where planning, execution, carrier management, visibility, and analytics are all brought together into a cohesive operating model that is continuously monitored and improved.
This orchestration continues to drive meaningful outcomes, improve service performance, and provide end-to-end visibility and governance, allowing mid-market leadership teams to manage their supply chains proactively with reliable data.
In fact, many of these businesses
are underserved by traditional 4PL providers that tend to focus on large global enterprises, while also being overwhelmed by a fragmented landscape of point solutions that don’t work cohesively.
“This is what distinguishes Sheer. We don’t just plug into a supply chain and operate within its existing constraints – we integrate, orchestrate, and continuously optimize it.
“In an increasingly saturated market where many providers are either transactional or narrowly focused, our ability to bring cohesion to complexity is what allows us to deliver sustained, measurable value,” explains Gard.
WHAT CLEAR SET OF VALUES IS SHEER’S CULTURE GROUNDED IN?
“At Sheer, our culture shapes how we show up for our clients and each other every day. In an industry like logistics, where the pace is fast and the stakes are high, we believe culture is a real differentiator in how consistently we deliver results.
“At a foundational level, we emphasize openness and accountability, encouraging our teams to share the truth early and directly, take ownership of outcomes, and see things through.
“We’re deeply focused on making life easier for our clients, carriers, and teammates, whether that’s with better processes, smarter use of technology, or simply being proactive in how we solve problems.
“Technology plays an important role in our model, but our philosophy is that it should empower people, not replace them. We expect our teams to think critically, act decisively, and operate as an extension of our clients’ organizations.
“We move quickly, but with discipline, and bring a level of energy and perspective that helps sustain performance in what can be a demanding environment.
“Recognition at Sheer is closely tied to how our people live our guiding principles day-to-day. It shows up in proactive problem-solving, stepping up to support teammates during highpressure moments, and delivering meaningful, measurable outcomes for our clients.
“Ultimately, we expect a high level of ownership from our teams, but we also provide the transparency, tools, and trust they need to succeed. Logistics can be a challenging space, but we believe that how we support each other and partner with our clients is a true competitive advantage.”
MERGING MODERNITY AND TRADITION
Sheer has built the business around the belief that meaningful supply chain transformation doesn’t come from technology or operations alone, but a deliberate combination of both.
“Our model brings together deep execution expertise, a purpose-built technology layer, and a modern analytics and data foundation to deliver outcomes that neither could achieve independently,” Gard details.
Indeed, the company utilizes its decades of experience in carrier procurement, freight brokerage, and day-to-day transportation operations to ensure strict operational discipline.
Layered on top of that is Sheer’s technology stack, including its TMS for planning and execution and SheerExchange integration platform.
Above this sits the company’s data and analytics services, where it provides real-time dashboards, carrier and lane benchmarking, and increasingly, predictive insights that help clients move from reactive to proactive decision-making.
Underpinning all of this is a modern data program built on scalable data infrastructure, warehousing, and science capabilities that enable Sheer to deploy practical artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions that deliver tangible value.
With the conviction that technology is only as effective as the people and processes behind it, the company ensures its capabilities are both practical and impactful, offering real-time visibility across clients’ entire network, structured exception management workflows, and predictive analytics that inform better planning and execution.
“Ultimately, we’re not a technology company trying to learn logistics, nor are we a traditional broker trying to bolt on technology.
“We’re purpose-built to bring these elements together, combining human expertise with modern
ORCHESTRATION AND EXECUTION
Recognizing the importance of how a network is structured, governed, and integrated across the region, Sheer operates as a 4PL orchestrator – offering a diverse portfolio of logistics solutions, including third-party logistics (3PL) services, depending on the clients’ needs.
The company’s 4PL model sees it act as an orchestrator of the transportation network – designing, sourcing, and managing a portfolio of vetted carriers on behalf of its clients. This includes everything from carrier selection and procurement to performance management and continuous optimization.
Sheer’s role as a 3PL provider complements that orchestration capability by acting as the carrier of record, partnering directly with its network of carriers to execute its clients’ freight operations.
“This gives us the flexibility to provide multimodal capacity and step in where it makes sense, whether that’s filling gaps, supporting surge demand, or delivering specific service requirements,” Gard comments.
Across this integrated operating model, Sheer maintains a robust multimodal carrier network that spans US domestic transportation and the rest of North America, supporting robust network design and execution.
“Ultimately, we’ve built a carrier network that is not only broad, but intelligently managed and fully integrated into our operating model.
“Whether we’re orchestrating on behalf of a client as a 4PL or executing as a 3PL, the goal is the same: to create a seamless, high-performing transportation network that delivers consistency, flexibility, and control across the US, Mexico, and Canada,” says Gard.
platforms and data-driven insights to deliver solutions that help our clients grow profitably while continuously improving their supply chain performance,” notes Gard.
BACKBONE OF SUPPLY CHAIN MOBILITY
With this steadfast mission in mind, Sheer is investing heavily in agentic AI capabilities and the ways in which it can address underlying data and integration challenges often experienced across the industry.
“This isn’t a single, standalone ‘AI project’ – it’s the foundational architecture that makes agentic AI in supply chains actually possible,” Gard elaborates.
A key component of this effort is the development of SheerExchange, which serves as the backbone of how data moves across its clients’ supply chains.
“We see the prospect of AI not as a novel feature, but as the true basis for a fundamentally different orchestration model”
– JOEL GARD, CEO, SHEER LOGISTICS
As such, the company has invested heavily in creating a clean, normalized, and continuously synchronized data environment that connects ERP, WMS, and TMS platforms, along with carrier systems and third-party visibility providers.
“By automating data orchestration and eliminating manual inputs, we’re able to ensure information is accurate, timely, and consistent across the network.”
Therefore, Sheer has developed the foundation for an agentic AI system that not only provides insights but ensures data is connected and can be trusted.
“Our point of view is simple: before AI can act, your data has to be ready. That’s why we’ve spent so much time building what we often refer to as the ‘plumbing’ – the integration and data infrastructure that allows intelligent systems to operate across the supply chain.
“We see the prospect of AI not as a novel feature, but as the true basis for a fundamentally different orchestration model,” Gard sets out.
SUSTAINABILITY OVERSIGHT
Sustainability has become an important priority for Sheer’s clients, and with that, the company has taken
a practical, data-driven approach to helping them measure and reduce their environmental impact, particularly when it comes to Scope 3 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions.
A pioneer in Scope 3 reporting, Sheer continues to support clients with detailed greenhouse gas (GHG)
SHEER’S ACCOLADES
emissions reporting, giving them a clear, defensible view of their carbon impact across their networks.
“That visibility is critical, not just for internal decision-making, but also for meeting growing expectations from customers, regulators, and investors around transparency and accountability,” says Gard.
SheerExchange is a key enabler of this capability, allowing the company to capture the underlying shipment data needed to calculate emissions accurately and consistently.
Therefore, rather than relying on estimates or disconnected datasets, Sheer’s clients benefit from a continuously synchronized, auditready data foundation that supports both reporting and optimization.
From there, the company puts these insights into action, using the data to help clients identify opportunities to reduce emissions intensity through smarter network design, whether that’s shifting modes from truckload to intermodal where appropriate, consolidating loads to
Sheer has achieved multiple awards in recognition of its innovative approach to the logistics industry, with two of the most meaningful being its inclusion in both the Gartner® Market Guide for 4PL and Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for 4PL.
“These recognitions are significant not just in their own right, but also in what they represent about how the market is evolving and where we fit within it,” Gard explains.
Notably, Sheer is one of a small group of providers globally to be recognized in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for 4PL and the only provider with a true, dedicated focus on the mid-market.
This distinction matters because the 4PL space has traditionally been dominated by large, enterprise-focused organizations on one end of the spectrum and a fragmented set of point solutions on the other. For many mid-market companies, that leaves a gap – either solutions that are too complex and costly or too narrow to deliver meaningful, end-to-end impact.
“That’s the gap Sheer was built to solve. We deliver enterprise-grade capabilities, including integrated technology, network orchestration, analytics, and governance in a model that is purpose-built for the realities of mid-market shippers. That means speed, flexibility, and cost efficiency, with enhanced control.”
Your org chart from ‘93 doesn’t run your operation. Your people do.
When your operation depends on a few key individuals, you’re one departure away from a service failure.
That’s why TMS implementations stall, margins leak, and culture erodes under pressure. Rooted Advisory works with mid-market logistics companies and TMS partners to align operating model, process, and execution so the business holds up when it’s tested.
Because in the supply chain industry, transformation doesn’t happen in the boardroom.
It happens on the floor.
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reduce empty miles, or optimizing routing and carrier selection.
“In many cases, these initiatives don’t just lower carbon output; they also reduce cost, reinforcing our belief that sustainability and efficiency are fundamentally aligned.
“What this approach enables is confidence – our clients aren’t just reporting numbers; they understand where these numbers come from, how they’re calculated, and what actions they can take to improve them,” Gard outlines.
FOUNDATIONS FOR GROWTH
Sheer sees a very strong runway for growth in the coming years, driven by a multitude of internal investments and the evolution of the wider market.
One of its top priorities includes laying the right supply chain foundations for the increasing influence of agentic AI.
“There’s a lot of momentum in the industry around AI, but our
perspective is that many organizations are moving hastily to apply it without first addressing the underlying architecture,” Gard observes.
By building on a solid foundation, the company can ensure its AI applications deliver on the promise of accelerating and improving execution.
Over time, this foundation will enable more intelligent exception management, greater automation in decision-making, and coordinated multi-agent orchestration across the supply chain.
Sheer is also continuing to invest in advancing its integration and automation capabilities through SheerExchange – expanding its analytics and control tower functionality while also building AI-enabled workflows on top of a strong, scalable foundation.
Additionally, Sheer is focused on deepening its presence within core verticals like manufacturing, consumer packaged goods (CPG),
food and beverage, and chemicals, while expanding its ability to support increasingly complex, multi-region supply chains.
“Ultimately, we’re entering a period where supply chain complexity, advanced technology adoption, and broader market dynamics are all converging.
“Because of where we’ve invested and how we’re positioned, we believe Sheer is uniquely equipped to help mid-market shippers navigate that complexity, which creates a significant opportunity for continued growth,” Gard closes.
Tel: 866.200.5884 info@sheerlogistics.com