How not to be a “black hole” in the supply chain!
Heard it at the truck stop. . .
A couple of weeks ago, my husband Eric was gassing up his 1990 Ford Ranger at a local truck stop. Eric worked in trucking for a long time, so he enjoys meeting and talking with truck drivers (and talking and talking, but that’s another story).
Anyway, Eric struck up a conversation with a driver passing through on his way to St. Louis. He’s an older guy, we’ll call him Steve, and he’s been driving for 40 years. He’s just the sort of guy Eric enjoys chatting up.
Steve’s ready to retire. Now more than ever. Pandemic driving was tough for truckers. Personal protective equipment was difficult to find for a long time. And many facilities didn’t have any social distancing guidelines with shared kiosks and crowded waiting areas. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. The drivers who kept working were working overtime and in dangerous conditions.
Steve’s about over it. He told Eric about the place he was delivering in St. Louis. “The black hole” of deliveries, is how Steve put it. This place has a reputation for being difficult, late, hard to work with. And it was going to be Steve’s last trip in. The truth is right now, carriers and drivers can be a little more choosy. And they will be. It’s something to think about.
Do you want to be known as “the black hole of deliveries?”
Don’t be a black hole in the supply chain: call a freight broker.
Here at AM Transport, we understand the problem. In logistics, the pendulum is always swinging, and when it’s on the shipper’s side, it’s easy to cut corners. When trucks are a dime a dozen, you don’t have to be as careful, right? You’ve got the freight and trucking companies need the money.
But when things turn around, and they always do, you could be left in a lurch. That’s why working with a freight broker is a good idea. A good freight broker with long-term relationships can make sure you have consistent capacity all the time. And consistency is the name of the game.
The truth is, at AM Transport Services, we believe in doing the right thing even when no one is looking. What does that mean? It means when you work with us, we take a long look at your lanes and your network and then we put small, service-oriented fleets on dedicated lanes and routes for you. We take care of the paperwork, we track the freight, and we provide a single point of contact.
We make sure that the carriers coming into your facility are paid consistently for their hard work, day in and day out. We make the appointments and we pay detention when it’s necessary. We do the right thing all the time so that swinging pendulum doesn’t have to affect your business.
Shipper of Choice?
Each time the market shifts towards carriers, you’ll see lots of talk about being a shipper of choice. And you’ll hear lots of ideas. A couple of years ago, the folks at FreightWaves put out a “Top 5 Ways” to be a shipper of choice, and the ideas still hold true today:
- Pay Fast
- Keep drivers out of detention.
- Treat drivers with decency and respect.
- Be flexible.
- Communicate and be transparent.
Take a look at that list. This is exactly what we do at AM Transport Services. And we do it all the time. Day in and day out because the carriers we work with are small businesses with long histories. They have a committed workforce which means low driver turnover. They are the companies you want to work with. They are the carriers you want picking up and delivering your freight because they make you look good. Don’t ever forget that the carrier who delivers your freight makes an impression on your customers and that goes straight back to you. And your reputation matters!
When you work with a freight broker like AM Transport Services, we make sure you are a shipper of choice all the time. That means you’ll have consistent capacity, reliable rates, and a good reputation.