Tompkins Ventures

06/18/2026

Most companies think the reverse logistics problem is the return itself. It isn't.

The real cost starts the moment that product arrives and sits – losing value every day it waits for a decision. Faster processing alone won't fix it.

What separates high-performing operations is the ability to make the right disposition decision quickly: restock, refurbish, resell or recycle.

Tompkins Ventures breaks down why most reverse logistics processes are built to receive products, not make decisions – and what it takes to turn returns into a margin recovery engine instead of a cost center.

Read and learn:
https://tompkinsventures.com/most-companies-recover-returns-too-slowly/

Reverse logistics is about more than returns-it's about quickly deciding where those returns go. Go from a cost center to a margin recovery engine.

06/16/2026

Tompkins Ventures Chairman Jim Tompkins just published his latest on the Panama Canal – and why the real story isn't the canal itself. It's what the Western Hemisphere and canal leadership can build around it.

With the Red Sea, Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea all under pressure, companies need to understand where the reliable trade corridors are – and how to position around them.

And canal leaders need to understand how to capitalize on ReGlobalizing trade flows:
https://tompkinsventures.com/the-panama-canals-future-is-bigger-than-the-canal/

The Panama Canal's future isn't about water levels. It's about who controls the orchestration of global trade in an era of global disruption.

06/11/2026

Is your digital enablement strategy actually improving the customer experience – or just making disconnected processes move faster?

Most organizations invest heavily in new platforms, automation and AI. Yet the customer experience often gets worse, because technology built around department boundaries creates friction for customers moving across the whole system.

We break down why this happens, what the warning signs look like and what it takes to build operations that actually deliver a consistent customer experience:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tompkins-ventures_poor-digital-enablement-hurts-the-customer-activity-7470863186376896513-Wycd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAE_JMkBIolmafasslgIQoN-lh6r78RG2ks

06/09/2026

Chairman Jim Tompkins has spent 50 years walking into warehouses and finding the same myths. A new retelling of The Odyssey hits theaters next month – and Jim finds the parallel hard to ignore.

Jim details the seven warehouse design misconceptions that keep showing up in operations of every size – where they come from, why they persist and what they actually cost.

Jim takes on the myths:
https://tompkinsventures.com/7-warehouse-design-myths-that-cost-you-money/

Seven warehouse design myths continue to bedevil intralogistics. Jim Tompkins channels his inner Odysseus on where performance is won or lost.

06/02/2026

The April Logistics Managers' Index put transportation capacity at 28.4 – the second lowest reading ever recorded. Transportation prices hit 95.0.

For shippers who got comfortable during the soft market, that combination is a serious problem.

Our CEO Mike Royster explains what those numbers mean in practice: why low contract rates can become paper rates, how to read your routing guide for warning signs, and what a smarter carrier strategy looks like right now.

Find out the details: https://tompkinsventures.com/paper-rates-dont-move-freight/

Paper freight rates look great in a contract. But when capacity tightens, your routing guide and spot market exposure reveal the true cost.

05/28/2026

Most companies chose their offshore call center model for one reason: labor cost. That decision made sense on a spreadsheet. It makes less sense when you factor in time zone friction, high turnover and customers who notice the difference.

Nearshore bilingual call center services offer a better answer – closer to your operations, aligned with your time zone and capable of serving both English- and Spanish-speaking markets without sacrificing quality.

Dive in to see how the model works and what it delivers.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tompkins-ventures_offshore-call-centers-shouldnt-cross-12-activity-7465768732531908608-PPKf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAE_JMkBIolmafasslgIQoN-lh6r78RG2ks

Most companies chose their offshore call center model for one reason: labor cost. That decision made sense on a spreadsheet. It makes less sense when you factor in time zone friction, high turnover and customers who notice the difference. Nearshore bilingual call center services offer a better answe...

05/26/2026

The workforce shortage in warehousing and distribution is as much of a family problem as it is a pay problem.

Jim Tompkins has been making this case for years. He connects 70 years of shifting family economics to the labor crisis hitting distribution and manufacturing today – and explains why on-demand labor is the model built for the workforce as it actually exists.

If you're struggling to staff up and wondering why the usual fixes aren't working, read Jim’s latest here.
https://tompkinsventures.com/on-demand-labor-can-fill-your-workforce-shortage/

Everyone blames the workforce shortage on bad break rooms. They're wrong. On-demand labor solves what better amenities never will.

05/21/2026

Jim Tompkins has been ahead of this conversation for years. His latest makes the case for fractional executive leadership in manufacturing – and backs it up with real numbers and real results.

If your operation is facing a leadership gap, a turnaround or a transition, the answer may not be a six-month search. It may be an experienced operating executive who can step in now.

Read Jim's take. Then let's talk.
https://tompkinsventures.com/manufacturers-turn-to-fractional-executive-leadership/

Your operation is slipping. A six-month search won't fix that. Fractional executive leadership puts experienced operating executives to work in weeks.

05/19/2026

At Tompkins Ventures, we believe the words leaders use shape the strategies they build.

That’s why in his latest thinking, Jim Tompkins makes the case that reindustrialization sets U.S. manufacturing on the wrong path – and that a Manufacturing Renaissance is the right frame for the investments, workforce and operating philosophy America needs to compete.

Read Jim's latest thinking:
https://tompkinsventures.com/reindustrialization-of-u-s-manufacturing-wrong-word/

The words we use shape our strategies. Reindustrialization gets U.S. manufacturing wrong. But a Manufacturing Renaissance changes everything.

05/14/2026

Hidden procurement problems rarely show up in financial reports. They show up later – in shrinking margins, declining cash flow and missed EBITDA targets.

Our latest breaks down how companies and PE firms can find and fix those issues fast. Worth a read if operational performance and enterprise value matter to your organization.
https://tompkinsventures.com/ebitda-leakage-often-hides-in-procurement/

Fragmented suppliers. Inconsistent pricing. Unmanaged contracts. Your EBITDA is paying for procurement problems you can't yet see.