Rosie Youngstrom on Mobile Storage in Phoenix and Tucson

In this episode, host Mark Mann sits down with Rosie Youngstrom, General Manager of Arizona Trailer Rentals, Warehouse on Wheels’ brand in Phoenix and Tucson, to talk about the Phoenix trailer market, the space headaches local companies bring to her team, and how storage trailers compare with a warehouse lease. Rosie describes a semiconductor business that had trailers at its docks within 24 hours and then extended its six-month rental, a 3PL that rented about 15 trailers to organize a newly built warehouse, and her regular trips down the I-10 to the team in Tucson.

Key Takeaways

1. Central Phoenix is still pretty tight, with little room to expand. Rosie says businesses are moving out to the west and east sides of town. The three space headaches she sees are predicting seasonal spikes with e-commerce and the economy so uncertain, the several months or years businesses wait for new warehouses to be built while inventory keeps coming in, and organization, where one pallet stuck in the back of a warehouse holds things up.
2. A warehouse is a fixed cost and a trailer a variable asset. For just-in-time manufacturers, Rosie sees no sense in paying for 100,000 square feet when that much space is only needed for three to six months of the year. She puts WOW at about a quarter of the cost of traditional warehousing, with no five- to seven-year lease terms and no lock-in. Mark puts Phoenix warehouse space at $12 to $15 a square foot, which Rosie agrees is something like that.
3. A semiconductor business had trailers at its docks within 24 hours. The business needed extra space for raw materials and called essentially needing the trailers yesterday, which Rosie says WOW sees quite often. The initial need was for six months, and the customer recently extended for another six months. Because WOW is month-to-month, customers keep the extra space for however long they need it.
4. Customers who bounce back treat trailers as an extension of their warehouse. Rosie says the customers that recover from a crisis run trailers as part of their inventory system, with stock labeled, tracked and accessible. A 3PL with a newly built warehouse rented about 15 trailers from WOW and tagged each one, so it knew exactly what was inside. The myth she wants to retire is that trailers can’t be thought of that way.
5. Rosie’s first step is to do the math and clear the floor. She tells a warehouse manager out of space and budget to compare the cost of the warehouse with the trailer, then decide where the savings could go. Customers with a lot of trailers can keep equipment they won’t need for three or four months in WOW’s trailer yard, which gives them more wiggle room on site. Her one thing to do this week is to check how long inventory, scrap and obsolete parts have been sitting on the floor, and whether teams can operate safely around them.

Episode Chapters

Click any timestamp to jump to that section on YouTube.

• 00:00 — Introducing Rosie Youngstrom
• 01:14 — The Arizona Way Of Doing Business
• 01:54 — Finding Her Way Into Southwest Logistics
• 02:26 — Being A Chief’s Fan
• 02:49 — A Normal Day For A Southwest GM
• 04:06 — Three Biggest Space Headaches
• 05:51 — Long Term Strategy vs Short Term Thinking
• 06:51 — Warehouse Costs
• 07:28 — Panic Time
• 08:50 — The “Bounce Back” Difference
• 09:21 — The Best Team In The Business
• 10:16 — The Math Behind Mobile Storage
• 11:26 — First Steps For Clients
• 12:20 — Simple Yard or Dock Change
• 13:14 — Unusual Use Cases
• 14:14 — Best Problem-Solving Story
• 15:26 — Knowing Where You’re Supposed To Be
• 16:08 — Philosophy Of Leadership
• 16:51 — Reset Strategies
• 17:28 — Retiring Myths
• 18:11 — What To Do When Feeling The Squeeze

Transcript

[00:00] Introducing Rosie Youngstrom

Mark Mann: Welcome back to The Wow Factor. I’m your host, Dr. Mark Mann. And on today’s episode, we are traveling to the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix has rapidly transformed from a desert outpost into one of the most critical technology and advanced manufacturing hubs in the world. If you look at the West Valley of Phoenix today, you’re seeing the future of American manufacturing with the massive semiconductor plants, and I think there’s a proposed, like, $3 billion Phoenix logistics park. The market is just exploding.

So joining me today is a veteran of the industry who leads our operations in both Phoenix and Tucson. She’s a firm believer in the small-town feel of local customer service backed by the national scale of Warehouse on Wheels, the WOW network, right? She knows how to navigate in the heat in this growing market. She’s the general manager for Arizona Trailer Rentals, Rosie Youngstrom. Rosie, welcome to the show.

Rosie Youngstrom: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Excited to be here.

[01:14] The Arizona Way Of Doing Business

Mark Mann: Great. So, Rosie, you said that your favorite part of this job is having the autonomy to make decisions that are best for your specific market. In one sentence, what is the Arizona way of doing business?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, honestly, I would say the Arizona way means showing up when it’s 115 degrees outside to get the job done with no excuses.

Mark Mann: Absolutely. You know, it’s funny. We went from interviewing Dan Leslie up in Toronto, and he talked a lot about ice, and now we’re interviewing you and there’s going to be a lot of talk about the heat, right? So, let’s really get into the warm-up here.

[01:54] Finding Her Way Into Southwest Logistics

Mark Mann: How did a leader like you first find your way into this world of warehouses and yards and logistics of the Southwest?

Rosie Youngstrom: To be honest with you, I kind of stumbled into it. Gosh, I guess it’s been kind of about 10 years now since I’ve been in this general industry. But it’s something that I really enjoy. You know, every day is different. Get the opportunity to help people and learn about so many different businesses and industries. So it’s been a lot of fun.

Mark Mann: Absolutely. Now, you’re originally from the Kansas City area, right?

[02:26] Being A Chief’s Fan

Rosie Youngstrom: Yep. KC.

Mark Mann: Okay. So, yeah. So Chiefs fan, the whole thing.

Rosie Youngstrom: Unfortunately this year, which is the first time I’ve had to say unfortunately for a while, I am a Chiefs fan, but have been since I was little. So it’s been a fun ride the last seven, eight years or so. And looking for a bounce back next year.

Mark Mann: Next year. Yeah.

[02:49] A Normal Day For A Southwest GM

Mark Mann: So now you’re in the Southwest. You manage both Phoenix and Tucson, right? So with the I-10 corridor being such a vital artery between those two cities, what’s a normal day look like for you? Are you moving between those two hubs once a week, or how’s that work?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah, typically once a week, every other week. A couple days down in Tucson. I’m based out of Phoenix. With Phoenix as a whole, there’s just a ton of real estate. So I’ve been in Arizona now since 2019, 2018, and I was doing some sales when I first moved out here. So I really had to learn kind of early on in my career out here how to plan out my days and weeks to make sure that, you know, I’m not just spending the entire time just driving. So, you know, I try to avoid the traffic rushes, and, you know, trying to make sure that I’m spending my time as wisely as possible.

So it’s a combination of, you know, visiting with current customers and prospecting businesses while still staying in contact with my team in Phoenix and Tucson. Yeah, I would say pretty consistently about once a week going down to Tucson to visit with the team down there and seeing some customers.

[04:06] Three Biggest Space Headaches

Mark Mann: Excellent. So you mentioned growth in that I-10 corridor, that whole area. Phoenix has really seen a historic construction wave. I think I saw an article where they added 12% to their total industrial inventory just in the last three years. But even with all those new buildings and space, space is still at a premium for a lot of companies. So when you look at the West Valley or the Mesa corridors today, what would you say are the three biggest space headaches that local companies are bringing to you and your team?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah, I mean, in Phoenix specifically, you know, the central part of Phoenix is still pretty tight. Not a ton of room to expand. So we are seeing a lot of businesses move out to the west side of town or the east side of town. But even with that, kind of the three things that we see: first one would be, to a certain degree, the ability, especially now, to predict the seasonal spikes. Just the way, with, you know, e-commerce operates and the state of the economy recently, there just seems to be a lot of uncertainty. And that still causes bottlenecks, you know, on a daily basis for people.

The second one would be the lead time for new warehouses to get built. You know, businesses are waiting several months or years for them to get completed. So, you know, they don’t have the current space that they need, but in the meantime they’re still having inventory coming in that they just don’t have the space for.

And then the last one would be organization. When there is enough space to have what you need, you know, where to need it, it causes delays. You know, if you can’t find but one pallet that you need stuck in the back of a warehouse, that certainly doesn’t make things any easier.

[05:51] Long Term Strategy vs Short Term Thinking

Mark Mann: Yeah. So you talked about the uncertainty, and sometimes when we talk about trailer rental or container rental, there’s this short-term band-aid type thinking, right, as opposed to long-term strategy. You know, a lot of folks see a trailer as a short-term fix. How do you coach a Phoenix ops manager or warehouse manager to see mobile storage as a long-term strategy, you know, for their just-in-time manufacturing needs, rather than just that seasonal band-aid?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah. I mean, the simple way is a warehouse is a fixed cost, which, you know, you kind of know what you’re paying for for several years at a time, and the trailer is a variable asset. With that just-in-time environment, though, you don’t want to pay for 100,000 square feet if you only need that much space for, you know, three to six months out of the year. So our storage trailers can help to affordably bridge that gap and give you just what you need when you need it.

[06:51] Warehouse Costs

Mark Mann: And what are warehouse costs like out there? Is it like $12 to $15, something like that?

Rosie Youngstrom: Something like that. Yeah.

Mark Mann: Per square foot. Yeah. And so for a trailer, you’re talking, you know, 450 square foot, 53-foot trailer, right?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yep.

Mark Mann: And so, I mean, you could almost do it for a dollar a square foot.

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah. I mean, when you really break down the cost difference, and again, you’re not locked into anything, I think you can really see the difference that our trailers can make. And you can see that difference, you know, in the bottom line of the business.

[07:28] Panic Time

Mark Mann: Yeah. So tell me about that hair-on-fire moment when a Phoenix panic call comes in. Maybe a company supporting, you know, a technology company or manufacturing company suddenly realizes that they have zero room for inbound materials.

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah. So we recently helped a business in the semiconductor industry. They kind of processed the entire life cycle of them. They needed some extra space for their raw materials. They called in essentially needing these trailers yesterday, which is something that we see quite often. And we were able to get them, you know, set up and delivered a few trailers at their docks within 24 hours. So I think the initial need was for six months, but they just recently reached out and they extended that for another six months. And that’s kind of another benefit of what we offer, since we’re month-to-month. You can keep that extra space for however long you need it.

Mark Mann: Yeah. And so what changed for that customer’s blood pressure in that first 24 hours after they knew they had, like, the cavalry was going to be on their way to save the day, right?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah. I mean, I think just the alleviation of having that extra space that they didn’t have. They didn’t have to worry about, you know, where they were going to put this stuff. They already had the solution there and on site, and were able to kind of get that process or issue taken care of quickly.

[08:50] The “Bounce Back” Difference

Mark Mann: Yeah. What separates the companies that bounce back from a crisis like that from the ones that stay stuck in that cycle of, you know, fighting the yard every day?

Rosie Youngstrom: Well, I mean, I think kind of the biggest thing that we’ve seen are the customers that kind of treat it like an extension of their inventory system, or an extension, you know, of their warehouse directly. Specifically with the inventory type of stuff, you know, it can be labeled, tracked, and it’s accessible. So I think that’s kind of the biggest difference that we see.

[09:21] The Best Team In The Business

Mark Mann: Excellent. So you have said that your team is the best in the business when it comes to customer service. Tell us a little bit about your team there in Phoenix.

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah, I mean, I could be biased in that, but I do truly believe that the people that we have here in Phoenix and Tucson are just great people. They genuinely enjoy what they do every day and they want to do a great job at it. You know, in this business, we’re really just trying to help people. The team here is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure the customers have what they need when they need it.

Mark Mann: You know, I have to admit that I know some of those folks there in Phoenix. I think you’re exactly right. I mean, these guys are servant leaders. They help internal and external customers. Whenever somebody here needs training, I can always rely on somebody from Phoenix to step up and help teach somebody else. And I really appreciate what you guys do there.

[10:16] The Math Behind Mobile Storage

Mark Mann: Let’s jump over into economics. All right. So let’s talk a little bit about the bottom line in the basin, I guess. If a VP of supply chain asked you for a simple way to compare a Phoenix warehouse lease, like we said, probably $12 to $15 a square foot, to a mobile storage plan, how would you walk them through that math?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, the simplest way to do it is really just, you know, we’re about a quarter, probably, the cost of traditional warehousing, with no, you know, five- to seven-year lease terms. So just a quick math on that: you know, you’re only paying for exactly the amount of space that you need when you need it, and you’re not locked into a long-term deal. So when you plug that into your P&L and see how that affects your overall business, as well as the other benefits of the flexibility with our trailers, I think that number sticks out significantly.

Mark Mann: Yeah, the math really works. I mean, it’s a no-brainer, right? I mean, you got, you know, $15 a square foot or a dollar a square foot. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.

[11:26] First Steps For Clients

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah.

Mark Mann: All right. Awesome. So let’s give some of the Arizona listeners, hopefully we got a lot of them out there, a playbook. So if a warehouse manager is out of space and out of budget today, hopefully not as the first of the year, but what is the first step you tell them to take before they even pick up the phone to call you?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, kind of like I just mentioned, the budgetary aspect of stuff, you know, outside of being out of space. You know, I think right off the bat, you could say, you know, “What could I do with all of the extra space if I get all of the stuff that I don’t need in my warehouse out of here?” But just from the budgetary corner of it, do the math and compare the cost of the warehouse to the trailer. See how much money you can save, and then, you know, think about where you can reallocate that money, and what other projects you can do, or what other processes that you can make better, just with those extra funds.

[12:20] Simple Yard or Dock Change

Mark Mann: So what is a simple yard or dock change you’ve seen your customers make that you feel like other people should copy?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, one of the things that we see pretty often is people actually storing the equipment here in our yard. Many customers have a lot of trailers, as well as, you know, traffic coming in and out of their warehouse or warehouse space. So when they can kind of get rid of the stuff that doesn’t need to be directly on site, or if it needs to be shuttled from our yard to their yard, it just gives them some more wiggle room in their yards. And they know exactly where everything is and when they need it. And if they don’t need something for, you know, three or four months, they can come over here and sit on our yard and just kind of take that headache away.

Mark Mann: Man, it’s great to have that kind of space and to offer that kind of service. That’s, we used to call that AVA, right? Additional value added, right?

[13:14] Unusual Use Cases

Mark Mann: So the last time I was in Phoenix, there was a container full of footy pajamas. What is the most unusual use case for one of the trailers you’ve seen in your market?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, that one is up there for sure, because along with that there were also some adult diapers and some other weird things in that same container. But for a long time we had a customer who ran kind of carnivals and things like that, and he stored, you know, carnival attractions and games and stuff like that in our trailers for decades.

Mark Mann: Wow. So slot machines? How about that? Anything really weird like that?

Rosie Youngstrom: Not that I can think of off the top of my head, but just kind of all sorts of these little gamey things, and you see it and you’re just like, “Oh, wow. That’s kind of crazy.” And yeah, he stored in there either long term, when he didn’t need it anymore but he still wanted to hold on to it, with the stuff that he would offload for certain events and then just reload onto those trailers whenever he needed them again.

Mark Mann: Excellent.

[14:14] Best Problem-Solving Story

Mark Mann: When I talked to Chris Martin, who is the general manager here in the Louisville and southern Indiana market, he told me a story, was eager to tell me a story, about how he saved a customer $1.4 million. What’s the best problem-solving or cost-saving story that you have in your market?

Rosie Youngstrom: I mean, for us, it’s just the problem-solving part of it. I think that that kind of weighs heavily on a lot of people. I think, you know, throughout the day, if you’re constantly running into these obstacles that, you know, aren’t allowing you to do your job as effectively or as efficiently as possible, or as you’d like to, that’s kind of the biggest difference that we can make.

So recently we had a 3PL company call us for quite a few trailers. They actually just had a newly built warehouse that they were struggling to figure out where to put things and how to keep reorganized. So they rented about 15 trailers from us just to help solve that problem. They were able to tag trailers, and they knew exactly what they were putting in the trailers. Made it easy to find them on the back end of stuff. And just the organizational aspect of it that they offer really, really helped them out.

[15:26] Knowing Where You’re Supposed To Be

Mark Mann: All right, it’s time to get personal. This is the Dan Patrick part of the interview, right? The signature round. So let’s start with you. What was the moment in your career when you thought, “Yeah, this is my world. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be”?

Rosie Youngstrom: Well, if there was necessarily a specific moment… But when I think about it, I think it’s really just when I started speaking with and visiting with our customers. It’s just a rewarding spot to be in. You know, we’re essentially here just to help them do their jobs better, and being a good partner to those people just feels good. And then obviously the people that I work with internally here are wonderful. So that makes my life pretty easy as well.

[16:08] Philosophy Of Leadership

Mark Mann: Yeah, I was going to ask about that. So you’ve mentioned that at Arizona Trailer Rentals everyone is family, right, once they walk in the door. Who taught you that philosophy of leadership? How does that show up when you’re talking to your team?

Rosie Youngstrom: I think a lot of it comes from me playing sports throughout my life. And I think just the best teams that I, you know, was a part of kind of had really, really good chemistry, you know, off the court or off the field. And then just really realizing that when you develop those relationships with people that surround you, I think that just helps the greater good of everything. And knowing that the people or the person next to you, you know, wants you to succeed as much as you do, that goes a long way.

[16:51] Reset Strategies

Mark Mann: So when you get home and the desert sun sets, what pulls you away from trailers and freight? What do you do to reset for the next day?

Rosie Youngstrom: Yeah. I’m fairly active, and I really enjoy being out here in the Southwest. Especially being from Kansas City, not a ton of the outdoorsy stuff could do there. So being out here, you know, I enjoy going for hikes or bike rides, walking the dog, and just spending as much time outside as I can. It really just kind of revives me and brings me a lot of joy.

Mark Mann: All right, so Rosie, this has been an exciting tour of the Valley. Couple more questions, though.

[17:28] Retiring Myths

Mark Mann: What is one myth about storage trailers in the Southwest that you hope we can retire after this podcast today?

Rosie Youngstrom: The one myth that I think we can get rid of is that they can’t be thought of as an extension of your warehouse or their inventory.

Mark Mann: Yeah, absolutely. And I’ve heard that from a couple of people. You know, it’s not a band-aid. You know, you can keep these things. I love the story that you told about the customer who, you know, needed trailers for six months, and they’ve already called to say, “Hey, can we keep these for another six months?” That’s a great —

Rosie Youngstrom: That’s somebody realizing that it’s not just a band-aid. We can really use these things all the time.

Mark Mann: Right. Yeah. And not only that, they can store them on your yard. That’s even better. That’s really cool.

[18:11] What To Do When Feeling The Squeeze

Mark Mann: So, last question. For anyone listening who is kind of feeling that squeeze in the Phoenix market or the Tucson market, what is the one thing they should do this week besides call you?

Rosie Youngstrom: I would say, you know, look at how long inventory, scrap, obsolete parts have been sitting on the floor, or how long they’ve been put in a spot they don’t belong. And check if you can see that your teams can operate safely with the current surroundings that they have. Where, if you just have stuff they need to get out of the way as soon as possible, that might be kind of a quick and easy way to make a difference right off the bat.

Mark Mann: Rosie Youngstrom, general manager at Arizona Trailer Rentals, thanks for showing us the Wow factor in the desert.

Rosie Youngstrom: Thank you so much.

Mark Mann: Very fun. So that’s it for this week, guys. I’m Dr. Mark Mann, and I’ll see you next time on The Wow Factor.