Take the Blindfold Off Your Warehouse Operation
Scaling Warehouse Safety & Culture with Jesse Sevilla of States Logistics
What does it take to lead one of California’s busiest 3PL operations and build a culture so strong that people come back—even after leaving?
In this episode of Warehouse Visionaries, Evan sits down with Jesse Sevilla, Director of Sales & Operations at States Logistics, who shares a powerful story of growth, people development, and the role technology plays in building a high-performing, safety-first workplace.
From starting as a warehouse supervisor to now leading across multiple sites, Jesse reveals what it's really like to rise through the ranks in logistics, and what it takes to keep frontline teams engaged, motivated, and safe in a demanding industry.
You’ll learn:
- How Jesse and his team have turned one-on-one leadership and open communication into States’ most powerful retention tool.
- Why investing in ESOP education and cross-training pays dividends in performance and morale.
- How a simple matrix system helped them track training progress and identify future leaders.
- Why tech like OneTrack fills critical safety blind spots managers can’t always catch—and how video helped correct risky behaviors before injuries ever happened.
- The future of logistics: why robotics and software will support people, not replace them.
“Everyone can get the same forklifts. They can’t get the same people. That’s our edge.” — Jesse Sevilla
If you're looking to create a standout warehouse culture, train your team to grow, and lead with purpose—this episode is your blueprint.
Transcript
Evan: Hey everyone. This is Warehouse Visionaries, the podcast where I sit down with the leaders shaping the future of warehousing to talk about how they're doing it so the rest of us can too. I'm the host Evan Stinson, and today I'm talking to Jesse Sevilla, the Director of Sales and Operations with States Logistics. We're talking all about the challenges, surprises, and successes of running a world class operation and building a strong team culture.
Hey everyone, I am Evan from OneTrack and we are on site with States Logistics filming an episode of Warehouse Visionaries. I'm talking today with Jesse Sevilla and we're gonna dive into what life is like running operations for multiple sites in an organization like States Logistics here in California.
So Jesse, let's start with some introductions. Obviously, I just said your name, but can you tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Jesse: Yeah. So my name is Jesse Sevilla. I started with State Logistics 13 years ago. I started as a warehouse supervisor. And throughout the years became a warehouse manager, then operations manager, then a general manager. And as of two weeks ago, I became director of sales.
Evan: Congratulations.
Jesse: Thank you.
Evan: Well, I guess my question here was when you stepped into the GM role, what are some of the biggest surprises or challenges? But maybe now that you've upleveled even further, what are some of those biggest things that have surprised you as you've moved along each of those levels?
Jesse: Yeah. Let me give you a little bit of both. I think when I saw the difference was, when I became a GM, I'm a very hands-on type of manager, right? I want to make sure that I'm talking to my team, I'm working directly with them. So I would like to be very direct with my front liners.
When I became a GM, I was more in the background, behind the scenes. So I had to really trust my managers. That was a big challenge for me, but it took me a couple of years to understand and say, Hey, they're fully trained, you're okay just leaving them alone. That was one of the big challenges.
Now, recently as a director of sales, yes, big challenge. There's a lot of fear there, but it's good fear. I think fear is good. Just for the fact that I've done some sales, but not as a first approach. Meaning the sales team would bring me the clients and then I would sell it as a general manager, but now as a front liner regarding sales, it's definitely fearful—but it comes with the challenges.
Evan: What are those things exactly? What are some of those things that keep you up at night when you're thinking about your role?
Jesse: There's good things and bad things. The bad thing is making sure that we have the volume, we have work for our employees. A long time ago, before States in 2008, when we had that whole market crash, one of the big things as a manager was laying off people. That always scared me.
So that's one of the things that I want to make sure of—that the company always has volume, always has new accounts, so we don't go through that again.
Evan: When you think about what a high performing operation looks like, what are some of those things that come to your mind?
Jesse: A high performing operation—obviously we're a 3PL business, so it's always high performing seven days a week. Training our team the right way, making sure that this is what's gonna be expected and that they're prepared for it. If you train them correctly, you can perform or outperform your current tasks.
Evan: Well, speaking of training your people, what do you think about building a culture in the logistics space? Obviously there's temp workers and different things, but I think States does a pretty good job at investing in the people and keeping the people. So what's your thoughts there?
Jesse: Yeah, especially now, not only with the contractors we hire and our employees, but also with the new generations. They don't want to work in a building like this one. They spend most of their time on social media and think everything's nice and pretty and pink. Obviously working in a warehouse isn't that fun.
So you have to connect with them, and the company's done a lot of great things with this. One of the things is we hired this company about a year and a half ago called Trail Path, where they teach management and leaders how to connect with different people.
Before Trail Path, one of the key things we did was having one-on-one relationships with employees. Stopping as you walk the building, asking how their day is going, letting them know we’re here to help with challenges. I think we do that very well here at States.
Evan: And is there different tips and tricks for different generations of people? How have you adapted as new groups come in?
Jesse: Yeah, great question. I started feeling the change right after COVID. Kids started coming back to work. They were getting help from the government, and during interviews I was literally told, “Hey, I'm here 'cause my parents told me to get a job” or “I'm here 'cause I don't have a free check from the government anymore.”
So one of the things I told them was, unfortunately yes, it's a lot of manual work, but we can train you. This company has been around since 1958, so there's a future here if you want to invest yourself in it. Letting them know, “Yes, we're not Google, we're not Apple, but we're a good company that believes in employees and invests in them,” helps a lot.
Evan: I think the ESOP program also helps with buy-in. You're not gonna screw up if you own part of the company.
Jesse: Absolutely. That's something we have to educate young people on. They don’t know about the program, so you literally have to sit them down and explain: this is good for you, not in two or three years, but 15–20 years from now. That’s when they’ll see a lot of money there. Education is key.
Evan: And I think it helps attract the right people over time.
Jesse: Absolutely.
Evan: So how do you go about coaching in an organization like this, or just in a 3PL in general? What approach do you take—or did you take when you were the GM—when it comes to coaching people and really holding people accountable, making sure everyone's aligned?
Jesse: Training and cross-training are definitely key in a 3PL. A lot of people want to learn multiple tasks. So what I did was create this metric system where we categorized all the tasks in the facility. All employees are listed there, and it shows who’s trained, who needs a refresher, and who hasn’t been trained yet. It keeps you on track, and then you follow up with them to see if they have questions regarding that training. That was implemented in one building and then shared with the entire company.
Evan: How do you help the next group be the next leaders? You’ve moved up through the organization and had a great career trajectory. How do you make sure everyone else has the same opportunities, and that you're investing in the right skills for them to grow and step up?
Jesse: That’s definitely a great question, and it’s part of my goals for this year. Succession planning is key. Dedicating as much time as we can to current leaders, then asking them, “Do you want to keep growing with us? Do you want more responsibility? Are you happy doing so?” That’s going to come from me through training and having those conversations.
Evan: Are there any specific things you do or signals you look for? How do you figure out who wants to step up, since not everyone does?
Jesse: Yeah, I do look for key things. If I see hunger in them, if they want to learn more, that’s a sign. If they tell me they feel capped out and want to do more, I note that. If I see potential in someone, I’ll sit them down and say, “There’s an opportunity I can develop you into. Do you want to be part of it?” I talk to every single one of them—even if I think they won’t want it—because if I see potential, I want to plant the idea.
Evan: Everybody needs a little bit of a push, right?
Jesse: Exactly.
Evan: How do you balance investing the time it takes to invest in people while also getting the job done? Everyone has a million things going on, so how do you keep everything straight?
Jesse: That’s definitely a huge challenge—not only for me, but for most of my peers. We’re busy. We try to step out of the office just to grab some air, but when we do that, we go out and look at employees. Once you’re walking the building, you have to do your job and talk to them. You have to ignore stress in your own life, put a smile on, and say, “Hey, I’m here for you.” They don’t know what you’re going through, but they need to feel supported. It’s easier said than done, but that’s the job.
Evan: In what ways do you think the people really set States apart from the competition? There are tons of providers out there. What differentiates States, and how do you go about building that?
Jesse: I think it’s definitely the culture. We have stats on turnover, but I can tell you that anybody who’s with us four or five years just doesn’t leave. They stay. If you ask them why, it’s the culture. It’s the programs we have, but more importantly, it’s the personal connection from the CEO and president all the way down.
I know this firsthand because I’ve had employees leave States, and two or three years later they came back saying, “That extra dollar was nice, but the culture wasn’t the same. There, I was just another asset. Here, I feel like family.” That’s the reason I’ve been here 13 years—because from day one as a supervisor, I felt part of the family.
Evan: Yeah. I was talking to Ryan Donovan a while back, and he said: everyone can get the same forklifts, pallets, and technology—but they can’t copy your people. That’s the X-factor.
Jesse: Exactly. And it’s not easy. We’re all super busy, but if you don’t take the time to dedicate to your people, you’re not going to set your sites apart.
Evan: So how do you keep people motivated and performing at a high level? It’s a grind, moving product in and out all day long.
Jesse: Empowerment. We make sure to tell people, “You did a great job shipping orders, labeling cases, handling projects.” We explain where the product is going, and the success stories connected to their work. The company also has programs to acknowledge employees—Employee of the Year, recognition awards, training classes, and growth opportunities.
On top of that, we do a lot of luncheons and parties, where we tell them, “This is for you.” It makes people feel seen and appreciated.
Evan: How do you balance productivity and safety? People say you can either be fast or do it right. How do you make sure it’s both?
Jesse: Safety comes first. That’s the number one priority. We tell them: be safe first before you try to outperform. I don’t care if you pick a pallet in three minutes or seven—just be safe. Clients actually appreciate that because it shows we care about employees first. Once you operate safely, then you can perform.
Evan: And usually, if someone’s safe, they’re happier at their job. If they’re happier, they work harder, they’re faster, they pay more attention, and there’s less product damage.
Jesse: Exactly. That’s the type of culture we want—where people know we care about their safety before we care about how many pallets they move.
Evan: What are some of the programs, strategies, or technologies that States has invested in to drive safety?
Jesse: One is OneTrack. As management, you think you see everything on the floor, but you don’t. Technology fills that gap. It was a big eye-opener when we started working with OneTrack—seeing equipment issues, movement risks, body mechanics, even how knees and posture were being used. That’s definitely a risk mitigated by tech.
We’re also using robotics—not to automate everything, but to reduce injury risk. For example, instead of a person in a container lifting 60–70 pound cases, a robot can do it. Multiple solutions like these help with safety.
Evan: Yeah, and it’s about balance. Not everything needs automation, but some things just make sense. And with OneTrack, you might not even realize you’re doing something unsafe until you see the video.
Jesse: Exactly.
Evan: Alright, we’re gonna pivot here a little bit. We talk about this term or this vision of the warehouse of the future. A lot of people think it’s robotics and full automation. What do you think of when you think about the future of logistics and warehousing—10 years down the road?
Jesse: In this fast-paced world where everything’s on an app and people want product at their door instantly, I think the future is going to be more technology. Robotics, yes, but also more software-driven solutions.
With that shift, people will need to be educated and trained to work with the technology. The supply chain isn’t going away, but we’ll have to make it more interesting for the new generations so they’ll want to work in it. What I see now is technology and robotics—but with a lot of labor still involved.
Evan: Striking that balance, right?
Jesse: Exactly.
Evan: So if you had a magic wand and could change one thing about logistics or warehousing, what would it be?
Jesse: Perfection. We ship millions of cases, but that one customer who didn’t get their product correctly—that’s the one that sticks with you. If I had a magic wand, I’d eliminate errors. Of course, humans aren’t perfect, but striving for perfection is what I’d choose.
Evan: Yeah, it’s one of those “what have you done for me lately” things. You ship something damaged or incorrectly packaged—that’s your reputation.
Jesse: Exactly. And every customer is different. If you ship 10,000 units but one gets it wrong, that’s the only one they’ll remember.
Evan: Alright, last question. What advice would you give to other general managers out there who are preparing for the future? How would you coach them to tackle their operation and workforce differently, knowing all the changes you’ve seen?
Jesse: Definitely have open communication. Not just with your managers, but with the front liners. That’s always key. Shift meetings, group meetings, one-on-ones—they’re crucial in our industry. And not just during performance reviews—on a normal day.
I know it takes time, but it’s key to really know what’s happening in your operation and how to fix it.
Evan: Alright. Well Jesse, I appreciate you taking the time and coming on the podcast with me. For all of you listening—stay tuned, we’ll be coming with another episode every month.
Thanks for tuning into another episode of Warehouse Visionaries.
Here are my top three takeaways from my conversation with Jesse. Lead with people first. Jesse credits States’ low turnover and strong culture to real human connection—one-on-ones, walking the floor, and mentorship. Programs like an ESOP help younger employees see long-term value. If you invest in people, they invest back into the company. Train for performance, but prioritize safety. From cross-training matrices to using OneTrack for safety insights, Jesse shows how to scale performance without compromising safety. Technology helps fill the gaps we can’t always see, and it’s not always about speed—it’s about safety and smart operations. Grow the next leaders early. Jesse's growth came from a boss who believed in him. Now he's paying it forward with asuccession mindset, talking to team members about their goals and building custom paths to get them there. If you’ve listened this far, you’re serious about improving your logistics operations. You can subscribe to the show on YouTube, follow OneTrack on LinkedIn, and sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an episode. You’ll always get the best resources from your peers in the industry delivered straight to your inbox—so you can stay one step ahead in your operation.
