"Together Talks" feature #52: tooktake presented by KLS, freight company
Some Background on tooktake
Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the privilege to interview Leeanna Gantt, Founder, of tooktake. Invented by, Leeanna, a breast cancer survivor, during treatment. Tooktake is a simple dosage reminder system that lets you know if you took, or still need to take your prescription and over-the-counter medication and supplements. Unlike conventional pillboxes or complicated “smart” solutions, tooktake works for tablets, capsules, liquids, creams, and most other types of packaging, and is available in three formats to cover most dosage requirements. Another reason that tooktake is unique is that it was NOT designed for older adults, it was designed with everyone else in mind.
Their goal is to change the way people look at medication. Instead of medication having the stigma of signaling that you are "sick","old" or something to be ashamed of, they want medication to be a symbol that you are taking care of yourself and doing all you can to get and stay well! After all 4.6 billion prescriptions were written in 2020, that's a lot of people who are taking care of themselves or working to get well, they should be celebrated not made to feel bad. Tooktake is a symbol that will let others know that you are working to stay healthy and that they can help you, by knowing at a glance know if you took or still need to take or use your medication or vitamins. Tooktake is also great for pet owners! Tooktake is a woman-owned company. Made in the USA, FSA/HSA approved, and a plastic neutral company.
Self-Created
Leeanna's journey took a turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her battle, part of her treatment process included taking multiple prescriptions. In order to stay organized Leeanna started using sticky notes to create a reminder system. This was the origin of what she ultimately would create. Leeanna began brainstorming better alternatives for her reminder. Ultimately she created tooktake in 2019. She had found a formula and process that took the questioning and guessing out of the equation. You simply had to look at your tooktake label to know if you took or still need to take your meds.
The name was a creative play on the question and thus tooktake was created.
For the busy
The beauty of tooktake is that it supersedes traditional pill containers or apps on the phone. These tabs can be applied to traditional prescriptions and also liquid which traditional pill organizers don't offer. Tooktake provides multiple options for frequency of days and hours to take the prescribed medicine. Leeanna told us, "we designed this for people who are busy. When I was battling cancer that was my only focus. Since beating it I can relate more to the average person who has prescriptions because we get busy with work, family, life. Our products remove the concern for you if you took your medicine yet, that is the benefit of tooktake."
The products are found in over 2,000 stores for both CVS and Walmart. Also tooktake is partnered with Cardinal Health who distributes to independent pharmacies across the country. Leeanna advised that the pharmacies are the easiest sells for getting a chance to place product, but where the bigger challenge comes in is reaching consumers to show them the benefit of tooktake. The one avenue they take is trying to share their story as often as possible to reach as many eyeballs as they can to expand their reach. Leeanna shared with us that 70% of the population take prescriptions which doesn't even include supplements. "Our products are super simple, easy to use and we are attempting to reach an audience that isn't being addressed", Leeanna told us.
Art School not Business!
Challenges are plenty for tooktake and Leeanna as are in owning any business. Our favorite line from our chat with her was, "I went to art school not business school!" But Leeanna said it presents her the opportunity to constantly learn and grow which she feels is very rewarding. The goal is to help as many people as she can with her company's products. Being able to expand her knowledge and improve the company's operations allows for scaling and reaching more users. Leeanna did tell us that one benefit was her and her husband previously owned a graphic design company, which propelled them to create their website and do their own design work. That allowed for monetary savings for a start-up which can be critical.
Continuous learning is how Leeanna stays on course with constantly challenging herself to improve her leadership, operations, and business acumen. One advantage she shared was the ability to remain nimble. Because tooktake is still small, allows her to address different things and take opportunities that present themselves. Always learning, adjusting, continuing her efforts and then ultimately shifting to be better is the mindset Leeanna operates under. Being able to adapt and utilizing feedback across the board, keeps tooktake growing and reaching their ultimate goal, to help as many people as possible.
Partner with KLS
KLS offers LTL and FTL for both dry and reefer transportation.
Our nationwide coverage provides companies a reliable, consistent, and dependable logistics partner to handle your trucking needs.
For more information on how we can help call our office today 708-980-0920 or reach us via our email quote request here!
Helping People...and pets!
Tooktake was created for one goal in mind, to help people. The same way Leeanna helped herself while battling cancer, she created her company to help others as well. She told us they are not in this to make as much money as possible, instead they are geared towards growing to expand their reach year after year. Some examples of future projects she is interested in is providing the tabs in brail, or other languages. Leeanna told us she keeps a list of suggestions from customers and hopes one day to be able to provide for each request off that list.
The company donates to communities within the breast cancer community, whether individuals or organizations by supplying products. They also procced to contribute by donating a percentage of profits to multiple organizations.
Leeanna is hoping that the remainder of the year improves brand awareness for tooktake. As for any recent company, funding is always an issue which is why tooktake relies on organic reach and word-of-mouth advertising. But Leeanna believes in the message of helping people and will continue to share her story whenever possible. But not just people...last month they opened a pet line as well! Leeanna shared with us, "One of our first customers sent us a review saying how much she loved the product for her cat. It saved her from texting back and forth every day with her Husband about if the cat had it's meds". That started the idea for the line and it was finally released last month!
Joke became reality
Leeanna said she joked with her husband during her treatment, "I'm going to make these and sell them to other people." But she shared she NEVER imagined it would be an entire business. She told us how much it means to her to help people and getting messages from customers brings her so much joy and pride. But there are doubts and fears that can impact the tooktake business. Leeanna explained she almost has more to lose because having cancer is such a tremendous expense, so the pressure to make this business work is a huge gamble. She doesn't have the safety net to fall back on, because that was used during her battle with cancer. But she believes in her company and the product and the impact, ultimately she believes the risk will take off and make it worth it in the end.
Leeanna said one of her greatest strengths is learning to not dwell. As she explained, "I feel all the feels, but at the end of the day I know I have to get it done. So when things aren't working or going wrong, I ask myself how can I figure it out? There is no time for pity parties. Instead we pivot to be better and constantly improve, and no failure will bring us down". Leeanna uses every opportunity as a chance to again learn and grow.
It is imperative to Leeanna that people understand she isn't just intending to help "sick" people. Instead she wants her company to be thought of as a wellness company. There are so many people who aren't ill, just have to monitor or maintain to feel better. She provided a great example, "Allergies. You aren't sick. But if you take your medicine for allergies you won't feel your optimal best. Our goal is to help people stay well". Another aspect of helping people is Leeanna never wants her company to prioritize money over helping provide care for people.
Leeanna said her favorite aspect of her company is being the boss (she said she thinks she is a pretty good one too!). She told us her most special moment was the first run of the product. Around that time, she had also received the patent, combining both and realizing she was holding something she created was so surreal. As she shared, "Even if just a handful of people use these to better their lives, knowing I helped them is so incredible".
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In Closing
KLS wants to thank Leanna Gantt, Founder, of tooktake for today's "Together Talks" feature. Keep up to date with tooktake by following their blog on their website, check it out here. Follow along for the tooktake journey with their social handles below!
Also check out where tooktake has been featured in the following publications below!
And the following Podcasts:
Klimson Logistics Solutions - Together Talks with tooktake feature #52
*Klimson Logistics Solutions is an Industry Leading Customer Service 3PL. Our focus and commitment to our clients has us striving to be the BEST customer service 3PL for LTL, FTL, Reefer, and Drayage in the country. KLS, freight company, is a 3PL providing nationwide logistics solutions. KLS shipping services include: LTL freight, FTL freight, Reefer LTL freight, Reefer FTL freight, and Drayage. Klimson Logistics Solutions thanks you for viewing our marketing campaign, "Together Talks". If you have any interest in being featured or questions regarding your freight operations please contact us today!
Why KLS?
Our precise and reliable effort.
We handle every shipment with the exact same process. It does not matter if you move one shipment a year or ten per day, you will receive the same level of customer service from us. When we started this company, we had one goal in mind, treat every shipment like it was our own. With our vast knowledge of the industry, we understood what a customer would want from a communication standpoint. We applied that process to be the standard here at KLS. Our reliability and being able to depend on our consistency is why we have such long-standing relationships with our clients.
Our Process?
Every shipment in our industry starts with a quote. We are firm believers that time is money, thus we strive to have quotes back in a 5-10 minute reply time for LTL and FTL, any FCL quotes are at the mercy of the carriers getting back to us. For LTL we have the flexibility to quote both off of NMFC and also Density depending on the carrier. Utilizing our services, you’re allowing us to use our expertise to class your freight accordingly to ensure we are providing the best rate we possibly can.
Once a quote has been submitted and a client chooses to proceed with KLS handling the arrangement of the shipment our full process begins. We create the BOL that will be used for the shipment. If it is a new location for our system, we will obtain all the important/special details (reference numbers, contact details, shipping hours, closed for lunch, dock/doors, etc.). We meticulously build every detail into our software for all future shipments involving that location. After we have both locations built and necessary reference numbers have been applied we will tender the shipment to the carrier. We use this method because it provides us a real time pickup number from the carrier to obtain updates prior to pickup. Our staff will either email the BOL directly to you or to the shipper (at your request) the minute after the tender has been accepted by the carrier. LTL carriers require a 2 hour window prior to close time in order to schedule it for a same-day pickup attempt.
The following morning you’ll receive an email from us. It will either provide the reason the pickup was missed (driver’s trailer filled up, driver missed the close time, truck broke down, shipper said no freight, etc.) or if the pickup was successful you will receive the PRO (tracking) number from us, along with the eta for delivery. Our staff will track it throughout the duration of transit and advise if anything happens that will alter the estimated delivery date. The day the shipment delivers we will email you with confirmation and the POD (Proof of Delivery), should you require it.
Your shipment has been quoted, scheduled, picked up, and delivered. The next step is waiting for the carrier to invoice us and make sure the rate matches up. If it does, we close out the invoice from the carrier in our system and automatically your invoice is created and sent to the requested party at your company. In the event the carrier has an additional charge on their invoice “Variance”, we will never send you an invoice with an additional charge without first identifying you of the charge.
Let us repeat, NEVER WILL WE JUST BILL OUT AN EXTRA CHARGE WITHOUT YOU BEING NOTIFIED.
You are our customer, we represent you. Should the carrier provide an extra charge on an invoice, “Lift gate, additional weight, reclass, detention, etc.) We notify you of the charge via email first. Second, within that email we identify what is required should you choose to dispute the charge. Again our goal is to honor your request, if you want to dispute, we will dispute. During a dispute we will provide you updates every step along the way. Once a dispute is closed out, whether it is approved or rejected, then we will invoice you as the invoice has been resolved.
For reference, our company only had 6.2% of all shipments go to dispute in 2022 and we successfully won 91% of those disputes on behalf of our customers.
This is our process for every single shipment you move with us. We don’t cut corners, we don’t hide from difficult situations. We believe in being available, honest, and transparent. We don’t ever want to tell you that a shipment is lost, damaged, misrouted, but it is our duty to notify you the second we find out something has gone wrong. We hate to present bad news, but it is part of the job. What you can guarantee is that we will work a shipment all the way through and turn over every stone until we get a resolution for our clients.
Services offered?
Our core business is LTL and FTL. Within these options we have options for both dry and refrigerated/frozen. We also offer FCL/Drayage options. Our company as a 3PL has nationwide options and services clients across the US.
Let’s breakdown our services more in-depth
LTL:
Standard and Guaranteed
CFS (Imports & Exports)
Tradeshows
Hazmat
Anything that is on a pallet can be moved LTL. Typically LTL is up to 10 pallets, but the sweet spot for a carrier is 6-8 pallets at most for an individual shipment. LTL quotes are good between 5-30 days depending on the carrier. LTL can be quoted either via NMFC or density to determine the class (we do this for you).
Volume:
Anything over 10-12’ of space in the truck is the technical rule for a volume shipment. When we run a quote for you we will determine if it qualifies for volume and provide you a rate if available. Volume moves allow you to get a reduced rate for larger shipments. The caveat to volume shipments it the quotes are only valid for 3-7 days and they move on capacity between terminals. If a terminal is backed up they will move their LTL freight first before the volume freight, which can lead to longer transit times for volume moves.
FTL/Dedicated/Expedited: 53’ Dry and Reefer 26’ Box trucks with lift gate Sprinter Van The main difference for FTL vs LTL is space and transit time. For standard pallets you can fit either 26 or 30 pallets in a 53’ dry van. The other main difference is transit time, for FTL each day counts in the transit time, whereas LTL does not count the day of pickup, weekends, or holidays in their transit time.
Reefer/Frozen:
LTL and FTL
We specialize working in the CPG space with food manufacturers. We regularly deliver to
the following locations:
Kehe
UNFI
Core Mark
DPI
Wegmans
Cugini
H.T. Hackney
Netrition
HEB
ALDI
Chambers and Owens
EBY Brown
Nassau Candy
Harris Teeter
Wakefern
NU INC
Long Distribution
What makes KLS different?
There are thousands for freight brokers and 3PL in our industry. Barrier to entry is rather easy and agents or owners will often hire sales people without any intention of properly training them. It results in high turnover for many freight companies and a forgettable experience for the client. We choose to operate differently through our consistency. We truly care about doing right by our clients and prospects too. While we would love to help provide our services to every company we speak with, that just isn’t realistic. We won’t always be the right fit for every company that moves freight and that is ok. Our authenticity as a shipping company sets us apart from the competition and that is backed up by our testimonials. We also run a marketing campaign bi-weekly called “Together Talks”. We interview, highlight, and promote two businesses every week. Our goal is to grow our network, make new connections, and learn something new with each collaboration. Check it out on our website and if you’re interested in being featured reach out.
Our company also runs a year long charity promotion. Book your first shipment through KLS and we donate to the charity of your choice in your name. Our way of thanking you for giving us an opportunity to show you the KLS way and what makes us one of a kind. This entire package is what we offer to every prospect and every client. Our goal is to help provide answers that customers may have when it comes to shipping. We want to always be available as a resource and will always offer a lending hand whenever we can.
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