For more industry tips from IGEX Trans and their experience hauling with Amazon, see the insights they shared in our carrier panel at RelayCon 2024.
Based in Chicago, IL, Neli Nikolova and her family have been hauling Amazon loads since Relay’s inception. As co-owners of IGEX Trans, a power-only carrier, Neli and her husband have built a business rooted in hard work and family values. We spoke with Neli about the evolution of her company – including how Relay has supported their growth, their drivers, and their company’s dedication to safety, community, and operational excellence.
How long have you been in trucking?
Coming up on 30 years. When my husband and I immigrated to the United States in 1995, he became a driver. Trucking was extremely popular for Eastern Europeans in the late 90s, and in our community, everybody needed someone to deal with paperwork and driver trainings. So, I started a transportation safety consulting company in 2012 to help drivers, contractors, and small companies navigate regulations. I always say if every customer had a piece of Relay back then, everybody’s life would have been a lot easier. Relay’s so tech driven.
How did you hear about Amazon Relay?
My husband became a well-known contractor for trucking companies, so in peak season of 2014, Amazon called us up. We opened our own MC number and were one of the first to start hauling loads through Relay. We were always a power only-company, and that type of work makes up the majority of Amazon loads, so that’s how we continued.
Tell us about how Relay helped you expand operations.
We started with 10 trucks, then grew to 58, and given the market, reduced to 20. We hired our own drivers– mostly to support people we knew in our Eastern European community. Our business model didn’t include owner-operators until 2018, where demand during peak season doubled.
My husband was able to quit driving around then. We needed a fleet manager, and he had decades of experience with trucks, so I rented him a space, told him to hire a mechanic, and put him to work on every one of our trucks before they go out. I mostly oversee the whole operation – the dispatch team, accounting team, planning, customer meetings, safety.
How did your perception of the trucking industry change when you shifted to a fleet owner?
At first, I hated it. Between my safety company and my husband’s experience, I already knew it’d be opening a can of worms. It’s an extremely demanding industry, and this was back before all the gadgets. I was scared. But my husband’s always been the more relaxed one, seeing things as roses and peaches, so he convinced me to give it a shot. Relay made it so easy. I can’t say enough good things.
“Our success comes from balancing flexibility for drivers with structure from Relay.”
Now having that fleet owner perspective, how did Relay help cater to different stages of business growth?
Most of our drivers have been with us 10 years, so they became family. And between all of Relay’s booking options, we could cater to all our drivers. Every driver has different preferences for days, times, how often they work, how many miles. Relay offers full- and partial-week contracts, standby contracts, team loads, as well as Post A Truck and auctions. There’s a less-than-a-truckload option for local runs Monday-Friday to pick up seller shipments. The variety is perfect for our business. We get to honor our close relationships with our drivers and make sure they get paid.
What features of Relay have been most valuable in helping you sustain and grow your business?
Our favorite feature is Post A Truck. We just list our availability and load criteria, and Relay automatically books any load matches. The past couple of years, we’ve used it for 70% of our fleet reserved for Amazon. It’s been a tremendous help, because we used to be regional company, but we found our niche in staying local and having drivers on standby. If there’s an urgent load match, we can pick it up at a good rate for on-time delivery.
We’re in the Chicagoland area, which is busy, so we can use Post A Truck to stay afloat with daily expenses. And when a driver is not running a contract, it allows us to react if anything happens last minute. We just won’t post trucks for that driver if they need time at home, or we’ll cancel the post.
“In transportation, there’s a lot of demand for staying local so drivers can have personal life-work balance. Amazon Relay is perfect for booking shorter trips to make that happen.”
Tell us more about that feeling of a family-run business. How does Relay support it?
My son went to school for business operations and supply chain management and quickly made friends with a lot of international students. The kids needed something to do in the summer, so I taught them to dispatch and book on load boards, make sure our drivers were assigned and on time. They still work for us today even though they went back to their countries. They said with Relay it’s so easy to get all the alerts they need to get work done on their phone.
Today, my son manages dispatching. Funny enough—he used to hate the industry growing up. I’d make him check payment sheets or run errands to the yard as punishment. Now, he can’t imagine doing anything else.
So, Relay’s flexibility has helped your company with driver retention. How does it help encourage driver performance?
Relay has a library of optional courses that carriers can reference when they’re educating drivers, even if you’re a one-man show. Say I get a call that a driver is not following yard rules. I make him sit in the office and complete Relay safety videos and we talk about the incident. My safety team loves that these resources are available.
We also go through our performance score page with the drivers. Relay lists drivers that are flagged for different reasons, like load delays. We’re able to show them how their behavior impacts the company performance metrics, and how that affects our ability to book loads. You have to have a good execution score to access the most opportunities on Relay. A lot of people are visual learners, so they can understand it when they see it. It makes them want to do better.
“Trucking has been our life, and Relay has been the partner that helps us run it smarter. It’s not just about moving freight—it’s about building something lasting for our team, our families, and our future.”
How have other teams in your company found Relay useful?
Every team has a specific way of using it, but it’s all sitting on the same dashboard. We love having everything in one place. For accounting, it’s easy to download every payment from Relay, and compare it to Relay’s trip history spreadsheets that list every load and driver assigned. It saves time on research when we make sure statements are aligned.
Would you recommend Relay to another trucking company and why?
Yes. First, you’re paid every week. Second, there’s so many different options to get your trucks moving. And third, Amazon’s big into safety – they’re alerting carriers a lot more, even for local regulations, like where trucks aren’t allowed to park or pass near facilities. Or notifying drivers of weather updates. I also save a lot of money on tracking subscriptions with Relay because I can see where each load is, and what route the driver took. Amazon Relay’s dedication to safety saves all of our teams a lot of time.
Access freight opportunities through Relay
Whether you’re a family-owned business like IGEX Trans, or an independent owner-operator, you can succeed with the help of Amazon Relay. Start your application on your desktopor in our app on iOS or Android. But first, check out Relay’s carrier requirements to make sure Amazon is the right fit for your business.
Disclaimer: Amazon does not tender loads through any third-party load boards. Any Amazon loads posted on third-party load boards will only be tendered directly to approved and onboarded carriers via the Relay web portal or Relay mobile app. If you are interested in hauling loads for Amazon, sign up and book directly on relay.amazon.com.
