Heath moving the (supply) chains

Pro football veteran starts second career as president of Atlanta-based 3PL startup, HeathPro Logistics

By Al Muskewitz
Wright Media Editor-in-Chief
 
T.J. Heath knew even at the height of his playing career football wasn’t going to be forever so early on he began making a plan for his life after the game. He just didn’t know it would lead him into the trucking and supply chain industry.

The nine-year veteran of National and Canadian Football League wars still has some football left in him – he hopes to be playing again later this month – but since the first of the year he has been engaged in a second career that will sustain him long after the echoes of the cheers have faded.
 
Heath is president of HeathPro Logistics (www.heathprologistics.com), a start-up 3PL freight brokerage based in Atlanta moving goods for clients across town and across the country.
 
There are stories about guys who have gone from the trucking industry to the NFL – Michael Lewis went from driving a beer truck to the Pro Bowl and Saints Hall of Fame, Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale hauled brake parts for his family’s trucking company – but Heath is going the other way, and he’s taking the lessons he learned from the locker room to the boardroom.
 
The former mid-major college All-American had a connection to trucking growing up in Alabama as several cousins and uncles drove trucks for a living and are now among the drivers moving loads for some of the half-dozen or so suppliers on HeathPro’s growing roster of clients. The company concentrates largely on dry van, refrigerated and flatbed freight.
 
After about the defensive back’s fourth year in the NFL one of his uncles suggested he look into joining them in the trucking business, not so much behind the wheel but as their freight broker. While he continued to play, he studied the industry, completed his college degree in industrial management and this past January started putting the company together.
 
He counts former NFL players like All-Pro linebacker Takeo Spikes and 10-year pro Crezdon Butler, as well as some of the country’s top brokers, among his mentors.
 
“I kind of put this plan together two years ago, ‘when I get ready to finish ball I’m going to start my own freight brokerage,’” he said. “As I did my studying and talked to some different freight brokers they all said they probably would’ve started their own if they knew then what they know now. I decided to take that route and start my own. It’s been a journey, but I absolutely love it.”
 
Heath, 31, has been learning as he goes but said business “has been great” these last five months. It helps that the country’s economy is good and, he says – pardon the pun – “there is actually a ton of freight to move.” 
 
It is a good time to be in the business. In 2017, a leading supply chain consultant issued a report that said 90 percent of domestic Fortune 500 companies rely on 3PL providers to handle logistics, about twice the percentage reported in 2001. In 2018, the top eight 3PLs in the United States all reported gross logistics revenue of more than $4 billion, with the top three reporting figures of $9.8 billion or more. The top two global 3PLs both reported revenues of more than $25 billion.
 
“The biggest issue is not having enough trucks on the road to support the demand of what’s being moved,” Heath said. “That is why I made sure I built and am still building a strong carrier base to support our clients to move as many loads with no real limitations. Right now, I think it’s a great opportunity to get into the industry simply because it’s only going to continue to grow.”
 
Heath’s transition from football to Freightliners has been relatively easy, he said, with some of the concepts of business leadership the same as he found in football. His background in pro football has helped get the conversation with potential clients started, but it’s when they learn his backstory and work ethic to make an NFL roster things start to resonate.
 
An undrafted free agent after college, Heath worked his way into a variety of roles with eight different NFL teams and was a two-time CFL All-Star defensive back with Toronto and Winnipeg. He played the 2018 season with the Montreal Alouettes, but outplayed another contract and is currently a free agent. Given his status as a veteran he is eligible to return after Week 10 and fully expects to be back on the field later this month.
 
“It was an easy transition for me just because of the simple fact I’ve never needed the game of football, I just always had a passion for the game of football,” he said. “When I had my wreck in 2009, I almost lost the game of football. My mom on that day, when the doctors told me I would still be able to play football, she looked at me in the eye and said son you are more than an athlete, you can do way more than what God has given you with the ability of physicality. He has given you a mind and I want you to use that.
 
“That day I really made up in my mind I care more about what I can do off the field than I did on the field. I was actually happy that I had some time to put this into play, so now that I do have it in place I can go and focus on football if I have to and not worry about anything.”
 
The company currently has eight agents and associates. As it continues to grow Heath plans to bring other former players transitioning out of the league to build the team.
 
“This industry is very teachable,” he said. “And I like working with athletes because they like to learn and they can learn very quickly.”