truck driver

entry level trainee manager

order picker

transportation supervisor

long haul driver

Sygma-Network

Decent people in management but all energy is spent just trying to sustain the status quo!  Biggest complaints:
1) Physically exhausting work!  While they do not disclose the true nature of the work when recruiting new hires, any driver that makes it thru their training which takes 4-5 weeks shouldn’t really complain about this because this is what they signed up for and it’s not going to change.  
2) poorly loaded trailers - No effort to improve the constant issues with loading the trailers. Poorly loaded trailers require a ton of extra work for drivers.  This isn’t just something that occurs sometimes; it’s virtually every load!  On rare occasions you might get a load that has all the stops loaded correctly but this is definitely rare.  
3) Terrible Equipment - I should have listed this first because it’s by far the worst part of the job.  Most trucks have at least 500k miles and a lot of them have over 900k Mikes on them.  They are in terrible shape!  Nothing gets fixed except the things that have to to be able to pull the trailer. Break downs are very common!  Never seen a company with more than 10 trucks neglect their equipment this bad!  Interior are filthy and in the worst shape I’ve ever seen!   Seats are wore out completely!  Doors windows, arm rests, are always broken.  The trucks exterior are completely beat up front to back! Drivers tear them up and they never get fixed!  If that’s not bad enough, 25% of the time, when you show up they don’t even have a truck available.  Trailers are just as bad!  Doors won’t open and close, refer units constantly breaking down, warning messages on trucks and trailers ignored!  Because the equipment is so bad and drivers don’t have assigned trucks, they don’t take care of them either!  
4) Dollies, Ramos, and load bars are all in terrible shape!  There’s not enough follies and drivers steal them from others.  You have to pick up your dolly but that doesn’t work all the time because they will cut your lock.  Trailers often don’t have but a couple load cars in the trailer which frequently results in pallets of food and dry goods falling over while driving.  
5) Uniforms not given to drivers until they make it at least 3 months and then it’s limited to a couple hundred dollars.  This work is very physical and must take place in all weather.  But just like the trucks and other equipment, they do not invest in making sure we have adequate protection from the elements, 

Like I said initially, all efforts are spent just trying to sustain the daily challenge of finding enough people and trucks to get the deliveries out get door!  No effort or commitment to providing quality uniforms, supplies, tools, trucks, & equipment which not only hurts our image to our customers but also reduces morale of employees, and increases job turnover!  They are constantly hiring and training drivers because most won’t make it past 30 days and the few that do are unlikely to make it 6 months.  Anyone who lasts a year or longer will be in then top half of seniority.  

I keep telling myself it will get better.  I can handle the work because I will make 100k a year.  Just don’t know how long my body will be able to take the abuse &/or how long I will be able to justify the poor equipment & lack of investment & resources by the company.  

There you have it!  As detailed a review as you will find!  When it comes down to is, if you can handle the work, and your new driver is a great place to come get you a years reduce worth of experience until you can find a better paying job. I guarantee they’ll be hiring. Good luck & stay safe!

If you like stress than this is the place for you. You can feel the tension the moment you walk into the office. Everyone is overworked and looks like they would rather be anywhere but here. The company has trimmed the work force to the bare bones so everyone's work load is at or even above (I know this isn't possible but I am trying to make a point) maximum capacity. Suffice to say it is not a fun environment to work in.
The company is not employee friendly. It is a low margin business so the bottom line is all that is focused on. Work/life balance? What's that? Need help from your manager? Good luck with that. Most of them are either too busy or too incompetent to help. That was my experience anyway. There may be some good managers but I didn't interact with them. Most of them are too busy finding fault with your work so that they can write you up and start making a case to get rid of you. Turnover is extremely high, even in this economy.
I worked in the purchasing department which is headed by a man but is mostly staffed by women, young attractive women. If you are a pretty young thing with any kind of education or retail/distribution background they will hire you. I'm not sure why this is but that is how they operate. I kept to myself as I was way to busy to socialize but from what I could hear there was a lot of gossip and cattiness.
My position of Inventory Control Specialist was a numbers driven, stress inducing, nightmare. I was tasked with keeping the proper inventory levels for a set number of items located in 3 different warehouses. This meant reviewing the same reports everyday. The reports are generated by an AS400 based computer system that is proprietary to, and has been written by, SYGMA. It is user friendly but it is not even close to being a state-of-the-art MRP platform. It basically gave you the last 3 weeks of sales on each item and then if you had the time, which most people don't, you had to flip between screens to get additional sales data that only goes back a year. For most items the sales remain consistent so 3 weeks worth of sales data might be sufficient. But for items that have any type of fluctuation, be it seasonal, promotional or there was a shortage for some reason, you did not have the data you needed to accurately plan your forecast. God forbid the sales on an item jumped or fell for no apparent reason. There were no tools to factor these fluctuations in. You are constantly, and I do mean constantly, changing open purchase orders. SYGMA's suppliers must be used to this because it is SOP for them but it is frustrating having to re-work everything all of the time.
From what I was told, there have been no raises for about 5 years now not even COLA's. I was also told that the bonus structure was slashed considerably from what it was a few years ago. I heard that it was 20% of your base salary but it had been cut to 5%.
All-in all I am glad to be out of there. I did learn a lot during my time at SYGMA, most of it what not to do or how not to run a business (at least from an employee's eyes). If you are a cute young woman who likes to sit in a cubicle all day and number crunch then by all means apply for a job with SYGMA. If you're not then I would suggest looking somewhere else.

Overall, Sygma is a hit or miss, depending on location. At the Denver location, we've had poor management issues for years that have gone unresolved. I've worked more than 14 hour shifts at times, fast paced, and hectic environment. The supervisors and upper management don't seem to care AT ALL for their employees health and/or well being; They just want routes covered and they don't care how. Training is non-existent in nearly every department. Warehouse is terrible at building orders in sequence. Drivers are blamed for any and all damages/shortages of product. I have had very few nights where I was able to pull up to each delivery sight and do my job with no issues. It can be a very straight forward job, however their lack of supervision in the warehouse proves that your night is likely to be overwhelming and at times dangerous. I've had heavy product (40+ lbs) hit me in the face. I've opened the back doors to the trailer only to have an entire pallet push me back and fall on top of me. Retention in all departments is very low. Management is frequently changing with no improvements. Morale throughout is through the floor with constant complaints. Supervisors don't even want to do their jobs and it has a direct effect on the tempo and attitude throughout the company as a whole. We've had to request help from other centers to send multiple drivers and supervisors just to stay afloat and keep our routes running. If you enjoy working your bones out of your body for some decent benefits and never seeing your family, then this may be the right spot for you. However, with the amount of faces I've seen come and leave through my time with this company I don't see that as many people's goals. We had nearly 90 drivers when I started, and we're probably in the ballpark of maybe 50-60, most of which are recently hired within the past year. I'm going to throw out a guess that maybe 25 drivers have been here for 9+ years and are already invested too much into the company via 401k/pensions and other benefits where it doesn't make sense for them to leave, however I'm sure some of them are ready to retire early and we may have another 5 or so (I'm speculating) top 20 drivers that are soon to retire and/or leave within this year (2019). Word of advice, look someplace else if you're looking for a driving job in Denver, CO.

Harrisburg, PA - Senior leadership is awful. Lack experience and never motivate or positively inspire their employees. Simple gestures of kindness and greetings are missed daily. They would rather walk right past you than to say hello. They are rude and self-centered. Show no appreciation for any work you do. Respectful behavior, doesn't exist. Senior leadership talks behind your back to your peers and it creates a negative work environment.They have a mindset that if they pay you that you should give up everything else in your life on a second's notice to come to work or stay late especially when they make poor decisions and are getting negative results because of it. There is poor retention at this place. No training program. All new people walk around confused and do not know what they are doing or what they should be doing. Knee jerk reactions to fix issues. No thought of how it will affect others involved in implementing it. Lack experience to see how even simple decisions will play out. They lack foresight and intelligence/education to fix current issues so you will feel like every day is worse than the day before. When issues are brought to their attention, there is no follow through. The culture is so broke that even the most positive and experienced people there can not get enough support from above to create the change necessary to improve the work environment. Diversity??? Don't make me laugh. They hire others to fit in with their atmosphere and culture, it is short sited and uninspiring. Whatever the easiest route to take they will take it regardless of who it affects. HR department is one of the worst I have ever been around. Need help? Call this 1800 number. Got a complaint, don't bring it to me! Oh did I mention you have to watch your paycheck closely because they will try to take money from you if you are not paying attention even if you are a salaried employee. Communication issues and I could go on forever. Not all locations are probably like this but I would not work at the Harrisburg, PA location. Just awful work conditions and a negative work environment.

First off I just want to say that a lot of the drivers talk smack about dispatch.  Dispatch is only an issue when they are pressing you to do extra routes, they will straight up lie to you about pay, conditions etc.  Otherwise they are great to the drivers and from what I have seen they are under a pretty good deal of pressure to make sure things run smoothly, which is a direct result of most of the drivers attitudes.   
          
               Most of the drivers that work here act as though they are the gods of trucking and are the greatest things since god himself.  If you are new the other drivers will treat you like you are dumber than dirt, and that is beyond trucking itself.  Seriously these people are rocket scientists in disguise.   
           
                My biggest issue with the entire job was the warehouse employees and the managements lack to identify them as an issue.  Most of these warehouse employees are felons on work release or they are straight out of jail and they do not care at all in the slightest way about how your load is handled or loaded.  The loads are horrible.  You WILL waste the most time looking for 1 or 2 pieces for your stores or digging out a pallet that has been misplaced. If you complain about them management will straight up tell you that they are not an issue and they are doing everything correctly.  So if you come here to work in the warehouse, know that you can do this job as bad as you wish and management will treat you like gold.
           
               Orientation consists of 3 classroom days telling you all about the ways you can get fired, and that is no exaggeration.  Someone actually walked out in my orientation and when he was asked why as he was heading out the door he replied something to the tune of  "I came here for a job and clearly you want to fire me".  This guy had been a trucker for 10 years + already so, I think that says something.

                If you can wade through all the problems and make your way off the extra board to get an actual bid the job is fine.  The pay is decent and the benefits are OK.  Just be careful.  They only have your back until they don't need it.  They will find a reason to fire you if they don't like you, I have personally seen it a few times.  Best advice for new drivers.  Be accurate on your deliveries and they will love you.

               I am still employed here.

Sygma, being a food distribution trucking company, requires a very healthy and strong body. The majority of trailers are 48' long, however I have seen 53' trailers used, but very seldomly. You are delivering a full trailer of many types of different food products, by hand and dolly (running up and down a lengthy aluminum ramp and are open to a variety of conditions that can/will result in daily injuries). On a regular local route, you will have 10 to 13 stops, with a large variety of product sizes and weights. Other than during training, you will have three people to a truck: the driver, an experience driver helper, and yourself (in-training). Stick it out for 3 to 6 months, and then you will be considered for the CDL Class A company-training (earning your CDL). Once you have a CDL, you will be on the floater board, taking over for absent drivers, for longer distance routes. Once you get to this point, you will be making a very respectable paycheck. Longer distance routes have only 3-7 stops, and typically is run by a Team (you and another CDL driver), which keeps the truck moving 24/7. These routes are very enjoyable, compared to local routes, and you will rest for your 10 hour required daily layover in the sleeper berth of a moving truck (which was rather easy for me to get used to). In all honesty, if you are willing to prove your worth as a hard worker (fulfilling a successful run as being a driver-helper), you will get a CDL, which results in an unbelievably large paycheck. I am happy to have received my CDL with Sygma, but their management wasn't the greatest at the time, which was the main reason for my leaving. Listen to your body, work through as much pain as you can, and always look for potential hazards (working as safely as possible).

Now if your looking for a job where you are never home then this is the job for you. They tell you that you can either do local routes where your home everyday or over the road and make more money.
You will start as a relief driver meaning your filling routes for other drives who are on vacation or sick. So each week your doing different routes. After my first two weeks of training I was over the road constantly never go any local routes. I got hired saying I would be gone two nights a week maybe three max. Well I was gone 4-5 nights a week. Sleeping in my own bed twice a week if I was lucky. They will work you to death. The minute you think you get a few days off they will call you in and send you out. So even on your night off you have a good chance of having to work. 
Management was good, they did appreciate all the hard work but trying to get a day off was almost impossible. In my option they are more concerned getting the routes covered and the food delivered then they care about you or your family. They could care less if you ever get to see them. 
Again the pay is decent but you work for every penny. It's a little physical at times but it doesn't take long to get use to it. So if you single and want to travel the western United States then this is good for you. If you have a family don't plan on ever making plans or being home. You'll never be home when they say you will be. 
Oh they have cameras in the trucks so if you get caught even glancing at your cell phone or have ear phones around your neck they will fire you. No warnings, instant termination. So get use to listening to music at very low levels( because your partner will be sleeping) or driving in silence for 11 hours. 
I have it about five months and I was over it. None of the other drivers lives there job. None of them planned on staying long term either.

Disappointing company overall. Does not stick up for employees. Transportation director Brian sucks. Transportation supervisors don't motivate employees, no encouragement not a team environment unless your there buddy/ friend or if you lie to drivers, for supervisors telling them there on the phone or not there. Transportation supervisors are extremely poor at supervisor skills, you can't  go to them for anything, even problems with drivers stuck on the side of the road with blown out tires, or at backhauls for 8 hours wanting to leave, hurt, accident etc. Transportation supervisors don't know the inner workings of d.o.t logs, or any other procedures in the office so you're left to figure things out on your own. Supervisors play favorites and give more work to people that they know which doesn't allow growth for all employees. No procedures in place for anything in the office, over 100 drivers same question everyone gives a different answer terrible organization , no one will back you in any decisions, profanity is the first language of all. You never know if people will be there tomorrow, drivers request that great guy they went out with last week that did a outstanding job, I had to tell them they left the company. Supervisors specifically do an awful job, don't take my word for it check the scoreboard of countless drivers that left and continue to do so. Supervisors look out for themselves and friends, no focus on developing or promoting people because everything is a fire drill and there is so much turnover. Transportation is very supervisor heavy, with plenty of them with no workers. Transportation department is a environment based on friendships, it's who you know instead of what you know. just very very unprofessional.

This place needs to start over with all new employees, starting with the president who only hires his friends, then all department managers, team leads, recruiter, and supervisors. I don;t even know how this warehouse manages to get a single case out when you have the logistics coordinator  , sending drivers to closed backhauls, constantly using profanity, complaining about the company leaving to do personal errands on the clock and gets away with it because she is supervisors pet. Transportation supervisors who pay no attention to drivers only to write them up or beg them to go out again. These are the most laziest ignorant  people i haver every come across.  Transporation supervisors that are in charge who know absolutely nothing about logistics, transportation, dot logs. Team lead only giving friends and family privileges, not having to follow same rules. All supervisors or anyone else who has a little bit of power, they all abuse it. Management, supervisors, team leads are all in this for themselvels.  Employees constantly walking out or not even bothering to put a 2 week notice in is Sygma signature motto. Transportation supervisors have nasty disrespectful  attitudes who are sygma networks down fall. I can tell you all the drivers who have spoken to me about going to hr about the awful transportation supervisors and nothing is done about it. Hourly people are paid 5 cents on the dollar the salaried people are but have to do way more work. Raises are weak 25 cents at most for hourly.  Don't work here you will regret it on the first day. Its beyond bad, they went through three transportation directors in four years, and they have given up looking for a new one. So you have supervisors in charge, yes that is going to work out great, NOT.

Pays well, especially with overtime. They just recently bumped up wages to compete with other companies, although I can't disclose the exact amount. If you do your work efficiently, quickly, and correctly you won't catch any flak for it. Management was a lot more responsive than you'd think for a company like this but can still be stupid at times. Work/home balance was non existant when they're low on staff. Woke up at 3:50AM just to get back home at 8:30PM 5 days a week. Unless you have seniority your days off will be split into Saturday - (another day that isn't sunday or friday). Absolutely killed my legs, but that's part of the job. Do not go into this thinking you can juggle a "normal" relationship with your family, you'll be working from 5 am to 5 pm often, and can sometimes go longer than that depending on the load you need to pull for the day. The efficiency is what kills you mostly, gotta be hauling butt and slinging heavy boxes all day at a really fast pace and maintain it for these 10 - 12 hour - 15 hour shifts or you'll land in hot water once you're off probation. For the pay I honestly say its not worth it, you can land a job filling canisters or serving customers at a chick fil a for probably the same wage. Oh, and you can't take any sick days until after you're off probation which could take months depending on how fast you go. In that time period if you miss 2 - 3 days you get hit with a threat that they'll fire you. Even if you're 1 minute late a few times they'll do the same thing.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 29 salaries reported	$95,000 per year
Entry level trainee manager 258 salaries reported	$98,760 per year
Order picker 8 salaries reported	$21.57 per hour
Transportation supervisor 4 salaries reported	$64,500 per year
Long haul driver 2 salaries reported	$1,575 per week

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