Preplanning is a vital aspect of managing a trucking company. It can be the difference between a profitable and a struggling business. In this article, we will explore the benefits of preplanning drivers and how it can improve driver utilization, driver satisfaction, and profitability.
First, let's look at two scenarios: one where driver Nick, who is not preplanned, is dispatched into a 0700-1600 delivery window without a preplan and told to contact his driver manager when he gets empty to get his next load; the second where driver Paige, who is preplanned, is dispatched to the same consignee with the same 0700-1600 delivery window, but she is preplanned on another load 50 miles away at 1100.
In the first scenario, Nick gets to the consignee at 0900 after getting stuck in morning traffic and gets unloaded at 1100. At that point, he calls his driver manager to report that he is empty. The planner knew they were going to have a driver emptying in their area that day, but weren’t really sure when, so they decided not to make a plan until they were sure when the driver would be available. By the time the driver manager contacts the planner with the available driver, all contracted customer freight has already been planned, and the planner has to start reaching out to brokers to find freight that can live load that day. At 1200, the planner finds freight picking up 100 miles away at 1700 at rates 15% below their contracted customer rates in the same lane. Nick makes his 1700 appointment and leaves the shipper location loaded at 1900. At that point, Nick is worried about finding parking for the night and makes it 50 miles before stopping for the night.
In the second scenario, Paige knows she has a tight timeframe to get unloaded and get to her next load, so she calls the consignee to get directions and they tell her that it gets busy in the morning, but if she parks on the side street around 0600, she will probably be first in line to get unloaded. Paige gets there at 0600, they start unloading at 0715 and she leaves at 0800 with plenty of time to make her next pickup appointment 50 miles away at 1100. She leaves the shipper at 1300 and drives 300 miles before stopping for the night at 1800.
The benefits of preplanning are clear from these scenarios:
The preplanned driver got 5 times more loaded miles than the unplanned driver with half as many deadhead miles, drastically improving profitability.
The preplanned driver’s rates were 15% higher than the unplanned driver, further improving profitability.
The preplanned driver made a lot more money that day than the unplanned driver, increasing satisfaction.
Additionally, preplanning allowed the preplanned driver to better plan their lives, and communicate with shippers or receivers to make pickups and deliveries more smooth.
Overall, preplanning allows trucking companies to plan for higher-rated customer freight as opposed to lower-rated brokerage freight, and creates an environment focused on high driver utilization which improves profitability and driver satisfaction.
To achieve the benefits of preplanning, trucking companies can manage to lag measures of how well planners and driver managers do at planning their drivers well in advance of becoming empty. A good lead measure is looking at which drivers are currently dispatched that do not have preplans and how long until they are expected to empty by driver manager and planner.
In conclusion, preplanning is a key tool trucking operations can use to drive profitable operations through high driver utilization and satisfaction, and network efficiency.
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