Breakthrough Moments | Rompiendo Barreras

Experiencing a Breakthrough

We’ve all experienced a breakthrough: that moment when a new idea or a better understanding finally materializes in our head. Sometimes it comes from a deeply engaging conversation with a coworker. Other times, it is the result of deep thought and intentional deliberation. Regardless of its origin, this newly-formed understanding has the power to shape not only what you do, but the way in which you go about doing it.

As our name suggests, here at Breakthrough we place a lot of value on these moments and enjoy celebrating them with our team.  Whether by learning new skills, gaining meaningful insight from a fellow team member, or taking a chance on a new opportunity, all of our team members have experienced their own breakthrough.

With this in mind, as we celebrate our 14th year of innovation, collaborative relationships, and client value we’d like to share some of these breakthrough moments our team members have experienced through the years. Whether they come from someone who’s been with us for six months or six years, all of them are powerful examples of how our smart, passionate, and edgy team lives our core values and creates value for our clients.

Rompiendo Barreras – “Breaking Barriers”

With dramatic changes come innovative solutions. When regulations on the Mexican fuel market were overhauled in the final months of 2017, a newly liberalized system meant that several of Breakthrough’s clients would suddenly undergo significant volatility in their Mexican shipping routes. Prior to this, there had been no demonstrable need to manage fuel pricing, as all state-run fueling stations throughout the country had the same price.

To help these clients manage in such a newly open market, Breakthrough created the Mexico Fuel Recovery program, allowing shippers to take control of their fuel cost. For client account manager Jose Mizrahi, this new opportunity was a breakthrough moment, as it suddenly provided a means for breaking barriers both internally and with our clients.

Originally from Mexico, Mizrahi knows firsthand how the fuel market operates in the country. “Fuel management had never been an issue in the country until the energy reform” he says. “The Mexico Fuel Recovery program offers transparency, fairness, and removes distortion in the Mexican market.”

He also appreciated the value this provides not only to clients, but to the industry as a whole. “With the changes happening in the market we want to show the right way to manage fuel from the beginning,” Mizrahi explains, “and by starting to do this with the largest shipper in Mexico we are definitely becoming a best practice for managing fuel in the country.”

This sort of forward-thinking strategy inspired a breakthrough moment for another team member as well. Within his first six months as a client account manager, Ricky Morales was able to witness the disruptive paradigm shift that Mexican energy reform caused in some of his new clients’ supply chains. He also appreciated the level of daring required to transform what was considered the normal method of calculating fuel costs.

“We are challenging the status quo of a process that had been accepted as the only way to calculate fuel cost,” says Morales, “and we disrupted the industry by finding a more accurate and completely transparent way to reflect these costs.”

He was also compelled by both the timing and scale of the value provided to clients. “Breakthrough has been “breaking barriers” from the beginning,” Morales explains, “and we will continue to do so not only in the United States but in the world as we continue to work closely with our global clients.”

For both Mizrahi and Morales, implementing this new service offering in response to a changing industry paradigm led to a greater understanding of both their role at Breakthrough and in the industry as a whole. Innovation often follows industry challenges, and in this case, breaking barriers during Mexican energy reform to create client value was an impactful breakthrough moment.

Interested in learning more about how energy reform in Mexico affects your supply chain strategy? Contact us today.