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| Featured Blogger Benjamin Bellville |
When you go to start a trucking company it is important to understand freight logistics for beginners as this is the core of a trucking operation, whether a one truck operation or a multiple truck fleet. Logistics is defined as the management of the flow of goods, information or services from the point of creation to the point of consumption. Freight logistics simply put is the process by which you will get the goods from point A to point B, but entails much more than just driving the truck. Let’s take a look at all of the operations that will make up your freight logistics daily process.
1. Management – managing yourself, other drivers or employees to make sure that all the cogs in the wheel are rolling together properly.
2. Booking Freight – making contracts for direct freight or finding loads from brokers on load boards.
3. Dispatching – properly assigning the load to a truck that can get the freight there in a timely and compliant manner.
4. Safety and Compliance – ensuring that all company operations follow federal and state guidelines for safety and compliance, as well as keeping the company files stored properly up to code.
5. Accounting – keeping proper records of accounts receivable and accounts payable.
6. Transporting Goods – driving in a safe and compliant manner while making sure to be on time with agreed to scheduling for pickups and delivery.
7. Customer Relations – building strong relationships with brokers, shippers and receivers as well as any businesses you work with to maintain other aspects as mentioned above.
8. Mechanical Upkeep – making sure your equipment meets guidelines set forth by federal and state regulations, keeping it looking presentable and professional.
Perhaps the number one reason that many one truck operations fail quickly is that they are started by a former owner operator who is used to someone else performing all of these tasks for them and they neglect one or more of these steps when they operate their own company. You have to be able to wear many hats as an independent trucker and have the time to dedicate towards the cultivation of all areas.
It can seem overwhelming at times to find the time to put towards each task as much of your time is spent doing the transporting of goods and you also have to have proper rest so you can be safe behind the wheel. In order to accomplish this you need to be able to kill many birds at a time rather than doing each separate. Multitasking properly is something you should be good at before you even consider starting your own small trucking company.
In my next blog post here on Express2290 I will be getting into ways in which you can make freight logistics for beginners more manageable to optimize your time and your business image so be sure to come back and check it out.