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Perhaps the only thing better than dealing with a third party logistics company is working for
one. That's quite a statement, but certainly not overstated. I have been with Tucker Company Worldwide
for almost 20 years. I find it hard to believe that I've done something for that long but there are a
few simple reasons for it. The job offers variety and challenges. Also, I enjoy working for a
reputable company and "watching the chips fly."
UNSUNG HEROES
Over the years I have noticed that many of the trades that pertain to third parties, logistics, et
al., rarely mention the core of our business: the dispatch function. These are the operations
people who make the day-to-day decisions, coordinate with the customers and the
customer's customers, contribute to the company's bottom line and put the company's
ideology into practice. Three cheers for the dispatch personnel - we can't get along without
them!
ROADWAY REVUE
How many of you dispatchers - on the way home at night or on the way to work in the morning -
go through a mental checklist? "A hot load to North Carolina has to be there by 7a.m. or the
line shuts down. Did I fax everything to the carrier? Oh good, he's got satellite tracking; I can
monitor this from home tonight. The driver sounded very capable, he understood what was at
stake, etc." I know I do it all the time, and I'll bet each one of you do, too. It's part of the job that
can't be escaped.
SENSITIVITY TO CUSTOMERS
Covering loads and making commitments, coupled with the responsibility to follow through,
can be stressful for any dispatcher but in logistics, it creates a unique challenge. Their job is to
match the right carriers to fit the customer's needs. These evaluations must sometimes endure
over a long period of time. They often have to decide who to choose and when to do it in a
matter of minutes. The choice has to be the right one. Customers won't tolerate many mistakes
by a logistics company, so the operations people must strive to be accurate in their analyses
every time. (No stress here!)
Operations people have to be attuned to changes in the customer's attitudes and patterns.
Has their business with us decreased or increased? Either scenario is a signal that something
has changed and the dispatcher is responsible to be sensitive to those changes.
SENSITIVITY TO CARRIERS
The carriers look to the operations people for good "balancing freight" and to get them into
accounts that perhaps only used orange or yellow trailers. In many cases they are an
extension of the carrier's sales staff.
With a few exceptions, small and medium size carriers are our best partners and have the
most longevity with us. They, like ourselves, learned a long time ago that we need to have a
symbiotic relationship and the biggest isn't always the best.
Operations people must solicit and maintain carriers in much the same way that sales people
solicit customers. The keys are: 1) having a good product, 2) building relationships, and 3)
following through on business agreements. It is amazing what can be accomplished between
a carrier and a broker when the relationship is genuine and the effort is sincere.
Just like customer sensitivity, dispatchers need to be sensitive to changes in carrier
performance. Are they making a sincere effort or is it half-hearted? A logistics operations
person cannot afford to have a "convenient" relationship with the carrier. Sometimes there
may be a change in the carrier's philosophy with regard to broker freight. I call this a "carrier's
manifest destiny", that he should someday stand on his own without brokerage. This is an
unfortunate myth in our business.
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE
The bottom line is that operations people make a significant difference in keeping or losing a
customer, moving a carrier's equipment, rate analysis and on-call responsibilities. The
dispatch function is the pulse of the business and sometimes the job only looks easy.
I have never gotten away from dispatching loads and being involved in the problems that may
arise. This is a hands-on business and despite what the dotcoms are professing, there's no
replacement for person-to-person communications in the transportation of freight. And there's
no more important group of communicators than those overlooked dispatchers and
operations people. We salute you!
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