Know The Trucking Business
Do you have the facts and figures which support what you’re doing according to your plan? This is how you determine if it’s working. Should you stay the course? If it’s not working, to what extent do you adjust the plan? Do you scrap the portion that isn’t achieving your goals, or make small changes? How do you know the best course of action?
Many small fleets run on ‘day-to-day’ load planning. It’s like a pilot flying by the seat of his pants; it may get him to where he needs to be but–after a nail-biting, really bumpy ride–it won’t be a flight he wants to repeat.
Knowledge creates strength; hence, it gives you the power to succeed. There are two different ways in which a person can gain knowledge. One is from experience, being there and doing it, making mistakes and working in the trenches. The other way is through studying and research until you know your subject inside and out.
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” You shouldn’t let a single customer represent any more than 20% to 25% of your total revenue or accounts receivable.
A Customer Service Action Plan is a series of activities assigned to each driver and employee which must take place consistently with every customer…
You need to reassess where you’re hauling, who you’re hauling for, and what you’re hauling. Many hauling sectors declined in the last year, but not all. A hauling sector can be anything from the lane you haul in, to the products or industry you’re concentrating on, to the individual companies for which you haul.
You have a wheelbarrow filled with dirt at the top of a hill, or you have the same wheelbarrow at the bottom of a hill. Obviously getting that dirt-filled wheelbarrow to the bottom of a hill would be a lot less work than trying to push it to the top. Now think of this wheelbarrow as your freight rate:
Listen to this story of how I turned cheap freight from vinegar into fine wine for one small carrier, using nothing more than industry experience, resourcefulness and dedication to finding a solution.
The snow, which had been no more than just spitting began coming down in furious earnest, quickly coating the roadway in an inch or more of snow. We continued on, as we were now fully committed to the climb and descent.
As we’re crossing a long bridge, a fire truck frame (just the cab with nothing but frame rails and rear axle) does a 360-degree spin about 200 yards ahead of us on the bridge we’re crossing. I know that if it’s that slick I must maintain momentum
With a scarcity of people wanting to drive a semi, with freight availability increasing almost daily, many trucking companies’ thoughts are turning to add more drivers. However, with recruiting, training and being sure new hires are ready to follow the constant barrage of new regulations from the FMCSA, the investment of both time and dollars bringing on new truckers has increased.