Driven by data, science, and a deep understanding of the industry, taking advantage of dedicated contract carriage services can transform the way you see your operations. A DCC arrangement can take a lot of shapes and forms, and one of the benefits of working with NationaLease is that you get a customized solution based on the specific needs and conditions of your business.
Even if you’ve been running your own trucks for years and aren’t sure about relinquishing some of that control, you can rest assured that we’re here to be your partner every step of the way.
So, what does this process look like on the ground level? In the case below, we’ll consider a company that is struggling to manage their fleet, struggling to control costs, incurring risks, and dealing with the headaches associated with running and maintaining their own fleet. The below is drawn from real-life examples of how NationaLease has provided DCC solutions to customers.
Understand the customer
First, let’s consider a few facts about our customer, who we’ll refer to as Company A.
- Have been running own trucks for 40 years
- Current fleet of eight tractor-trailers and two box trucks, all with liftgates
- Run mostly regular routes in three states
- 50% of deliveries require overnight stays
- Routes are built by an employee nearing retirement without aid of software
- Believe strongly in driver professionalism
Company A has a new President—the founder’s granddaughter. Familiarizing herself with all aspects of the business, she reviews the company’s financials and grows concerned with how costs are being reported. Different costs end up in different categories, and no one can seem to tell her key indicators such average cost per mile or, more importantly, average cost per stop.
Adding to her stress, she keeps seeing articles about nuclear verdicts and becomes concerned about the damage any type of truck accident could have on not only the business’ reputation, but the finances as well. Running ten trucks a day carries risk, but the new founder is determined to find a solution that will help her:
- Gain clearer visibility over costs
- Maintain or enhance service to her customers
- Mitigate the risk of running trucks on public highways
Since she doesn’t want to eliminate the fleet, and she has some very loyal, safe drivers working for her that she doesn’t want to let go, she considers outsourcing the fleet to a dedicated contract carriage provider.
Develop solution based on needs
Addressing the three bulleted goals above means understanding Company A inside and out. To achieve this, we need to examine the “who, what, where, when, and why” of how the fleet operates today. This includes analyzing historical data to find patterns and trends.
For Company A, we may want to know:
- Are customers getting the “right” level of service?
- Are high-revenue customers prioritized?
- Are 10 trucks and drivers the “right” amount?
- Can high service levels be provided with less assets & people?
Using the data collected, NationaLease’s Logistics Engineering team builds optimal routes and determines the number of trucks, trailers, drivers, and driver management needed to affect the solution. This is then reviewed by Operations Management to ensure that it is “executable”. In other words, your solution should be grounded in reality—not graphs.
Based on the above, a formal proposal to Company A, including pricing, is drafted and presented to the founder and her key staff.
Deliver solution + relationship begins
After carefully reviewing our proposal, Company A decides to move forward with DCC.
Under this scenario, the founder can sell off her trucking assets, with all her customer deliveries now completed under a long-term service contract. NationaLease ends up hiring over half of her current drivers and provides all the trucks, trailers, and driver management and administration, including formal safety training and incentives. NationaLease also handles any on-road incidents. Company A’s signage and branding can stay on the truck, if they prefer.
In addition, driver recruitment, hiring, and firing is now administered through NationaLease, as are substitute drivers and equipment, driver call-offs, and other day-to-day challenges. Essentially, Company A doesn’t have to spend nearly as much time or energy managing its drivers.
The routes themselves are designed with the assistance of software to maximize efficiency, though adjustments for customer preferences and business rules can still be easily made. For example, a specific customer may only be able to receive products between 12:00PM-3:00PM. This constraint can be added to the program, and the routes and stop order are adjusted accordingly.
For Company A, the enhanced efficiency, along with the availability of backup trucks and drivers, makes it possible to serve their same clients with nine trucks, further helping to reduce their costs.
Ultimately, working with NationaLease allows the founder and her team to focus on Company A’s core business. With the comprehensive safety program in place, they feel better about drivers operating on public roads. And, thanks to accounting and data availability, one of the founder’s biggest concerns—oversight of costs—is also resolved.
This is just one example of how dedicated contract carriage with NationaLease can transform the way you see and run your business. Your scenario likely differs from this one, but the takeaway is that we’re here to build you a customized solution that fits your needs. If you’re ready to learn more, get in touch with us today.
