In looking back on the past months during the COVID-19 crisis, Jamie Clark, president, founder, and owner of Clark Logic, has counted his blessings. Leading his company of over 100 employees through this time has been like no other in history.

The 50-year-old third party logistics company puts its primary focus on service for industrial manufacturing and commercial accounts specializes in warehousing logistics, semi-trailer and container rental and leasing, warehousing services and support, and also owns and operates a regional transportation company. During this time, Clark Logic has adapted and found ways to continue to deliver services to its clients while also keeping in mind the safety of all employees, customers, and the community. “It all comes back to service,” says Jamie.

“Even with all of this instability—all of the confusion—in the marketplace, [we had to ask ourselves] what are [we] supposed to be doing? We just kept going forward,” said Jamie. Early in March, Jamie coined the term #ClarkLogicForward to inspire employees and remind himself that moving forward would be one of the most important strategies during this time. Jamie recounted many coincidental situations that helped Clark Logic be prepared for the pandemic, such as ordering eight cases of N95 masks back in January for its janitorial and painting crews during the company’s painting season. And this past winter, he ordered 600 pairs of gloves because of a bulk volume purchase he was able to take advantage of. “When I look back, we were just able to, unknowingly, get a lot of that PPE equipment and protocol in place.”

Although these examples seem to be founded upon luck, the success that Clark Logic has had since the COVID-19 pandemic began hasn’t been by accident or by simple luck. The secret sauce? It’s all about strategic relationships. Jamie remarked, “It goes back to those strategic relationships—they’re [like] your family. You’ve just got to stay strong. And at the end of the day, it really comes down to people.” Being in the service industry, Clark Logic’s work dramatically changed due to the limitations on face-to-face interactions. However, it found other ways to maintain connections. “It has just really given us the ability to keep everybody working when we had 80 percent of our customers shut down,” said Jamie, explaining how the relationships the company had built in the past helped it maintain and even grow the business during the shutdowns. “We’re just trying to find some joy, have some fun and build our business.”

Clark Logic has been able to grow in the past few months thanks to past momentum it has built. Several projects and client relationships came to fruition during this time allowing the company to expand and acquire new business—one example being the acquisition of 611 semi-trailers from a company it does business with to add to the fleet of its existing semi-trailer business. Additionally, Clark Logic was able to open a new Vanguard dealership in Kalamazoo, at the request of Vanguard which saw potential for the company in Southwest Michigan. Jamie noted, “If you reflect back, all of the business for Clark Logic and our entities was really built with strategic relationships and face-to-face meetings. [In the past], we may have gone out of our way [to build something that may] have been inconvenient at the time in a normal business environment, but that really helped us in a remote environment where we’re not able to have those face-to-face meetings.”

Adapting during this time has meant finding new ways to cultivate and sustain relationships with those that Clark Logic serves. Jamie said, “We just try to over-communicate. I try to promote not only myself, but our team, to pick up the phone and have conversations. And, really, I think that could be another foundation of our successes.” In addition to emphasizing the importance of over-communicating, Jamie and his team have focused on engaging with not only those they serve, but each other. “Showing up is important—showing up and keeping engagement. You’ve got to keep that engagement. For us, what I’m finding is working is [saying to my team], ‘Hey, let’s grab some chairs, go outside, sit under the tree or on the patio, and let’s talk.’ That’s kind of how we’re working on keeping people engaged.” To make these meetings easier, Jamie has had one of his employees, a woodworker, build picnic tables to accommodate outdoor meetings.

“You’ve got to find joy in this tumultuous time. There’s more emotion involved in decisions, and shouldn’t take anything for granted—people, customers, business, family. You’ve got to stay engaged and do the best you can.” Doing the best it can with the foundations it has laid in the past, Clark Logic continues to move forward to serve and engage with others—things that the company is best at.