Episode 87 - Sharpening The Pencil...

When I first started out learning about the trucking industry one of the early lessons I learned was cost containment and maximization of resources to maximize profit. At first glance its easy to see how a driver or even an owner operator might be tempted to write this off in whole or in part - and many do. That's a tragic mistake that costs them big time regardless of whether they ever fully even realize it or not. For a fleet it has even more dire implications - and the bigger the fleet, the bigger they are. Learn how to manage available time and assets effectively, manage fuel burn and make sure you have excellent systems in place to handle fuel surcharges - including extreme and sudden spikes. Invest in consulting, coaching and training for your company and all key personnel and then make sure EVERY PERSON from the owner to the janitor and everyone in between is trained properly and then is continuous given continuing education periodically on an ongoing never ending basis. Be sure to incentivize those who can be incentivized - and that definitely includes drivers, recruiters, sales staff and dispatchers for certain. Always be learning and refining and always be looking at reports of all available management data. Comparatively, analyze EVERYTHING and EVERYONE and set benchmarks and hard stops. A benchmark - as I am using it here - is a specific target level of performance and a hard stop is the lowest threshold of that tolerance and one that triggers mandatory attention and corrective action. Want to learn more or get my help? Visit our Additional Resources page.