Sue Coffey, Director of Commercial Operations for Pacific Terminal Service Company, began her 35-year career Crowley TMT in Customer Service.  Sue was hooked on the exciting “no day is ever the same” appeal of the supply chain and logistics industry.

 Adding to the appeal was the global aspect of the industry–cargo moving from all over the world meant learning different cultures in order to understand her customers – personally and professionally. It also meant reacting to what was happening geopolitically because events such as wars, droughts and economic conditions impact the flow of goods.

“Early in my career, I was working at Sea Land in a niche Middle East trade when Kuwait was invaded by Iraq.   As a member of the team that coordinated the massive project of supporting the US military with ships being deployed to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Kuwait. Once Kuwait was liberated, we had the task rebuilding the commercial activities and get trading again. I was young and eager and this really opened my eyes about how I could make a difference by working in this industry,” said Ms. Coffey.

Conducting business in a multicultural industry meant building relationships with people from all over the world, many of whom speak different languages, use different currency, and have different views on working with women. While she was aware of the challenge of working in this a male dominated industry, Ms. Coffey’s mentors encouraged her to push through because they saw she had what it took to succeed in the business.  

“This industry provides great opportunities for both men and women and benefits from diverse perspectives. It is a pleasure to see more and more women enter the industry, and especially exciting to see how many females are coming out of college with supply chain management and logistics degrees,” said Ms. Coffey.

Ms. Coffey has spent several years working with the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) scholarship program, which was developed to recognize the best and brightest students pursuing careers in transportation. In recent years, CII has in fact seen more women being identified as rising stars in SCM programs from academic institutions. 

Ms. Coffey has spent most of her career in sales, which requires the ability to understand her customer, to know the market and to have the ability to swiftly change course if necessary.  Today her role includes creating awareness for PTSC’s services to ocean carriers and BCOs and working on future expansion projects for Pacific Terminal Services Company, a division of PCMC.

A strength that most students and recent graduates have is their comfort with technology, which is the most important element to gaining efficiency in an organization.   A “never say never” attitude is critical right now as the industry undergoes major changes and is transforming to a new normal. Being resourceful and responsive to the world around us and having a passion for problem solving is what the industry needs right now.

“We need to be ready to embrace new ideas, new people, new ways of doing business. We welcome the next generation–especially those who come to the table with fearlessness and fresh thinking,” said Ms. Coffey.