When it comes to winning business, Zachary Dolphin doesn’t just stop there. In fact, his competitive differentiator is his ability to translate front-end commercial work into back-end execution discipline for time- and temperature-sensitive freight.
That’s why, as senior business development representative for Redwood Logistics, Dolphin oversees business development and account expansion for Team MOVE, where he serves as the primary interface between clients and internal delivery teams, translating business objectives into clear execution plans. Dolphin manages the full commercial lifecycle from prospecting and qualification to proposal development and handoff to operations, and partners closely with operations, marketing, finance, and product to scope solutions, align pricing, and maintain strong governance.
He also operationalizes customer promises for perishables by aligning sales commitments with carrier selection, capacity planning, and exception management tailored to food and beverage requirements. He builds confidence with shippers by instituting steady communication cadences, codifying risk playbooks for peak and produce seasons, and turning voice-of-customer feedback into updated SOPs that delivery teams actually use. His habit of pairing relationship stewardship with measurable reliability is what sets him apart in cold chain and food logistics environments.
In 2022, Hormel Foods tapped Redwood to fix persistent Mexico service line problems that were hurting performance. Dolphin traced the workflow end to end, reassigned carriers on weak lanes, clarified who owned each handoff, and set short, regular check-ins. He added domestic lanes in phases, only after confirming fit, capacity, and pricing, and kept proposals plain and specific. This resulted in more than 4,500 annualized loads across Mexico and domestic.
Dolphin completed his move into a full managerial role, effective Nov. 1, 2025, and over the next 12 months, will use his new position to push two clear targets: exceed prior-year hub net revenue by more than $1 million and sustain an average of $1 million in monthly net revenue.
Dolphin sits down with Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive and co-founder of the Women in Supply Chain Forum, to talk building strong relationships and focusing on scalability and long-term sustainability.
Food Logistics: Let’s first talk about you. Tell me a little bit about yourself and your journey to get to this current stage in your career?
Zachary Dolphin: Got into logistics my first job out of college with a small Chicago broker known as Strive Logistics; through acquisition, I joined the Redwood team. With new resources behind me, I joined their customer-facing sales team and ended up closing on nearly all the logos I represent today at Redwood. Once that healthy base of customers grew large, I shifted focus to growth over acquisition, today that same book has grown to over 36 million in revenue for 2025 alone.
Food Logistics: One of the things outlined in your nomination form is how you oversee business development and account expansion for Team MOVE. What is Team MOVE?
Dolphin: Team MOVE is Redwood’s multimodal operations team focused on optimizing freight execution. We work hand in hand with our carrier performance team to meet our client’s transportation goals and initiatives. Team MOVE is responsible for about 55% of Redwood’s annual revenue.
Food Logistics: Over the past year, you’ve guided steady growth with Hormel Foods by placing ads across Mexico and domestic. Explain what this entails.
Dolphin: When we first started to interact with Hormel Foods, it wasn’t immediately clear where we could find mutual solutions. Their northbound Mexico operational need coincided with Redwood Mexico’s footprint. Once given the opportunity to alleviate their MX issues, we were keyed in opportunities across their network. Since then, we’ve been able to then overlap our data and find the strongest fits from our domestic capacity and drive high OTIF performance.
Food Logistics: Since the time of your submission, you’ve transitioned into a managerial role, effective November 2025. What is the role/title and what are your responsibilities?
Dolphin: Transitioning from more of a solo performer into a true manager of business development. Will oversee Redwood’s central hub brokerage and focus more on expanding our hub’s current customer relationships to build up opportunities for sustainable growth. Will coach/train business development and operations reps along the way on how to find similar success.
Food Logistics: The Rising Stars category recognizes young or newer professionals (39 and under) whose achievements, hard work and vision have shaped the supply chain network. As someone who’s exhibited growth within the company, what advice do you have for other young leaders in the supply chain space?
Dolphin: I would say two things really mattered in growth.
First, engage in the nitty gritty of everything you will encounter in the supply chain. The more you understand about sourcing, operations, and the relationships behind the scenes lead to more informed decisions and will drive the value you deliver to your client.
Secondarily, build strong relationships. Knowing who you’re working with, and what is most important to them, whether that’s a new OTIF Walmart goal being implemented, or how their family party last weekend was. Those relationships are the key to driving your own luck and give you a leg up on your competition at your most strained moments.
Food Logistics: What are some things not addressed above that would be pertinent to include in the article detailing your strengths, achievements, overall goals, etc.?
Dolphin: I would highlight my focus on scalability, long-term sustainability, and not just short-term wins. Remaining consistent on your promises to your clients had allowed for consistent mutual growth amongst my book of business.
CLICK HERE to view the full list of winners.
