4 Tips to Improve Your Local/Long Haul Company
A local/ long haul company can be a lucrative business, but there is always room for improvement in any business venture. If you own this type of business, then we encourage you to review your business practices and find ways to improve your efficiency and productivity. Our business professionals are there to help give advice on risk management methods that will improve safety for your local/long haul company and bring down the overall costs of doing business.
Use Routing Software
If you are still using the “best guess” method for routing your trucks, then you are wasting a lot of money and time. Modern routing software can help you to use routes that are easier on tires, use less gasoline, and will get your drivers to their destinations faster. The most common mistakes the “best guess” method creates for trucks is a lot of starting and stopping, and routes that have sharp turns and steep hills. Modern routing software will help you to avoid those traps and save you money.
Screen Your Drivers Closer
Unreliable drivers, especially in long haul situations, can cost your company a lot of money with every run. You want drivers who understand the laws associated with local/long haul trucking, are focused on meeting deadlines, know how to drive without causing excess wear and tear on vehicles, and who have excellent customer service skills. Any trucking business benefits from hiring drivers who are good with people as well as good with a clutch.
Review Your Insurance Needs Every Six Months
As your trucks age, they lose their value. If you are carrying the same insurance on your trucks now that you were carrying two years ago, then you are more than likely paying too much. Has your company’s business changed to carrying more hazardous materials? If you do not have the right insurance in place then one accident could put you out of business.
Most trucking company owners do not realize how dynamic their insurance needs are and how just the slightest insurance lapse could cost them thousands of dollars. You can improve your local/long haul company by having your risk management experts review your coverage every six months and make the appropriate changes.
Be A Stickler For Maintenance
Routine maintenance on your vehicles will save you money every year. Yet, there are many trucking company owners who simply do not subscribe to the idea that routine maintenance is critical. You should hire a mechanic who is solely in charge of routine maintenance and force that mechanic to submit a maintenance log every month. Not only should you insist on a maintenance log, but you should review it to make sure the work is getting done.
It is very easy to lose money in the trucking business, mostly because company owners lose sight of how important it is to attend to the details. If you want to improve your local/long haul company, then you need to be involved in daily operations and insist that all of the details are monitored. You should meet with your risk management experts regularly to assess your business protection, and you should make every driver and employee accountable for the success of your organization.