Team Behind the Tech: Ryan Callahan

Welcome to Team Behind the Tech, where we chat with the team members who work closely with customers to help them be successful with Descartes’ routing, mobile, and telematics solutions. From their professional journey at Descartes to the dynamic collaboration within our company and with customers, discover what makes our team tick and get a glimpse into their lives beyond the workplace.  

Let’s kick things off with Ryan Callahan, a long-time member of the sales team.

It’s a combination of a couple of things. I act as a voice for existing Descartes customers, helping educate them on new features and new functionality so they can get more value out of our routing, mobile, and telematics solutions. The other half is helping educate other organizations about how our solutions can help improve the performance of their final mile distribution network. 

I have 16 years’ experience in the logistics software industry. I arrived through Descartes’ acquisition of Airclic, a company that focused on mobile applications. One area of focus for me is mobile proof of delivery, specifically for the food service industry. Because of the complexity of orders and returns, mobile apps really improve driver productivity and streamline the billing process.  

It’s been exciting to see how our expanded footprint helps customer throughout the entire delivery process, from strategic and operational planning to dispatch and tracking combined with mobile apps for full delivery visibility and automation of the commercial process. 

I engage with cross-functional teams such as professional services during the project kickoff and customer implementation and collaborate with product management to identify enhancements benefiting customers. I maintain involvement post-go-live to ensure ongoing customer satisfaction, facilitating interactions with our support organization whenever necessary to address their needs effectively. 

General issues surrounding driver shortages. We can help companies leverage our route planning solutions to ensure they’re doing more deliveries with the same or even less drivers. Not only do we improve driver productivity, but we help ease driver stress and improve retention through more feasible routes, navigation, safety training, and automation.

It truly does feel like I’m part of a cohesive family unit. Folks in other departments all have the end customer in mind. Everyone’s always willing to help out, whether that’s support personnel on calls up to our executive team. 

I always keep the end customer’s goal in mind, and I think part of the approach I take in my role is to listen and ask questions instead of telling. It’s important to develop an understanding of their business, determine how we can help them, and build trust along the way. 

It’s got to be helping educate current or potential customers about how Descartes can help them unlock value and achieve their goals. At the end of the day, it’s very fulfilling when customers are happy and continue to see the value we deliver through our solutions and people.  

I like to spend time with my wife and kids. 

Philadelphia sports and true crime documentaries 

Connect with Ryan: Interested in reaching out to Ryan about your logistical challenges or just want to get to know him better? Connect with him on LinkedIn.