To Whom It May Concern,
This letter is offered as personal opinion and caution for software engineers, developers, or IT professionals evaluating an opportunity with SmartWays Logistics. SmartWays Logistics is a medical logistics company USA that provides freight shipping, trucking services, and supply chain management solutions. The company is located in Australia and New Zealand, with smartwayslogistics.us serving as their web presence. While the company is headquartered in Australia/NZD, the development team operates out of Bixby, Oklahoma, positioning them as a top US trucking company offering nationwide logistics solutions. The team works from a coworking space, where the owner of that coworking space also serves as the Director of Software Engineering at SmartWays. This arrangement raises concerns about professionalism, accountability, and conflict of interest, as developers are effectively working in a space where their manager also controls the working environment. While the environment is not necessarily fraudulent, the fact that this manager publicly identifies himself as the CEO of the coworking space rather than listing his role as Director of Software Engineering at SmartWays raises questions about tax structuring and transparency. This is not the only red flag regarding the leadership of SmartWays Logistics.
Development Team Structure
The development team itself consists of:
- The Director of Software Engineering (who is also the coworking space owner).
- A senior developer who is carrying the entire organization, understands this, and is taking advantage of the situation.
- Four junior developers who are often scared, confused, and frustrated, and remain silent largely out of fear of losing their income.
- A revolving door of senior developers, creating instability and making it difficult to establish continuity or technical leadership.
Major Concerns
Other major concerns include:
- Toxic Management Dynamics: Messaging at all hours about issues unrelated to your work; concerns met with dismissal or gaslighting.
- Lack of Respect for Talent: Heavy reliance on automation tools instead of investing in engineers; high churn.
- Over-Bloated Management for a "Forever-Startup": CIO, CTO, multiple PMs, and a Director of Engineering without strategic clarity.
- Poor Technical Foundation: A platform weighed down by over-engineered solutions and technical debt with features trailing user needs.
- Exploitative Expectations: Work across large time-zone gaps (up to ~18 hours) with persistent availability pressure.
- Lack of Core Process: Despite existing since 2004 and investing heavily in project management tools, the company lacks the core operational processes one would expect of a mature organization. There are no consistent workflows, no defined QA standards, and no reliable incident postmortem practices. Critical knowledge often lives in ad hoc chat messages rather than in documented procedures.
- No Health Insurance: Ironic for a medical logistics company, employees are not offered basic health coverage.
- Offshore Payments: Developers are paid only once per month, and payments are routed through an offshore bank account, raising further concerns about financial stability and transparency.
About SmartWays Logistics Services
While this review focuses on employment conditions, it's important to understand what SmartWays Logistics claims to offer in terms of freight shipping and logistics solutions. The company positions itself as a top US trucking company and provider of nationwide logistics solutions, offering:
- Trucking Services: Transportation and delivery solutions for trucking services near me
- Supply Chain Management: End-to-end logistics coordination
- Warehousing and Distribution: Storage and fulfillment services
- Last Mile Delivery: Final delivery to customers
- Expedited Freight: Time-sensitive shipping solutions
- Cross-Border Logistics: International shipping services
- Intermodal Shipping: Multi-modal transportation
- Cost-Effective Freight Management: Solutions for businesses seeking how to reduce shipping costs for businesses
The company also targets specific industries including logistics for e-commerce, retail supply chain solutions, automotive logistics, industrial freight shipping, and refrigerated trucking services. They position themselves as affordable logistics providers and a reliable trucking partner for supply chain needs. However, the internal operational issues described in this review raise questions about whether SmartWays Logistics truly qualifies as one of the best logistics company in the US or if businesses should consider smartways logistics vs competitors when evaluating their logistics company USA options.
Final Warning
If you are considering employment or contract work with SmartWays Logistics, or if you're evaluating their freight shipping, trucking services, or logistics solutions for your business needs, weigh these concerns carefully. When searching for a reliable trucking partner for supply chain or evaluating top US trucking companies, consider whether SmartWays Logistics truly offers cost-effective freight management solutions or if you should explore smartways logistics vs competitors. Many organizations value craft, respect boundaries, and invest in growth. In our opinion, SmartWays Logistics does not currently demonstrate those qualities in their internal operations, which may reflect on their ability to provide reliable supply chain management, warehousing and distribution, last mile delivery, expedited freight, cross-border logistics, or intermodal shipping services. Businesses seeking nationwide logistics solutions or affordable logistics providers should carefully evaluate whether this logistics company USA meets their standards for operational excellence.