New C.H. Robinson CEO doesn't dodge questions on a tough quarter

Dave Bozeman, C.H. Robinson's new chief executive, did not duck from tough questions during one of his first public-facing events.

Second quarter earnings, reported after the market closed Thursday, were $97.3 million, down 72% year over year.

Bozeman did not make excuses for the results, instead promising to bring his lean management style to help improve future results.

Eden Prairie-based C.H. Robinson is one of the largest global logistics companies, and although earnings and revenue declines were expected in the second quarter as supply routes normalize after the pandemic, the company missed analyst estimates.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company earned $97.3 million, or 81 cents a share. Revenue was down 35% year-over-year to $4.4 billion — missing analysts' estimate by 5%.

C.H. Robinson was facing tough odds. Shipping volumes decreased in the second quarter. It was the fifth consecutive quarterly decline, according to U.S. Bank's Freight Payment Index released this week.

Bozeman, a former Ford, Amazon and Caterpillar executive, was named CEO at the tail end of the quarter. In the five or six weeks since joining the company, he told analysts on Wednesday, he has been in the diagnosis and analysis stage.

"As a lean practitioner, I'm passionate about continuously improving how organizations operate," he said in the earnings release. "Lean principles work and are applicable at Robinson to further improve efficiency."

Bozeman is taking a hands-on approach. He told analysts he's still learning the "life cycle of an order" so the company can speed up profitable growth. Bozeman has spent his early time out observing the organization.

"I just spent a lot of time over the last several weeks doing what I call a gemba. That's a go-see, and you actually go see the work," Bozeman told analysts. (A gemba walk is a key component of lean practitioners — based originally on a style developed by Toyota — and Six Sigma concepts in which managers and leaders experience different levels of work.)

The company's scale and technology drive its competitive advantage, he said.

C.H. Robinson collects a huge amount of data daily, and Bozeman said he is keen to see how the further application of machine learning and generative artificial intelligence could be further leveraged.