Downsizing the boards???
- Thread starter Falligator
- Start date
mjolnir131
Veteran Expediter
Coming out of the gate, it looks like a mess. Had a truck unload in Sullivan, MO 67 miles St.Louis and it showed we were 3rd out on a Topeka, KS board 307 miles away.
They are still working on it this week supposedly, but I am not impressed with what I have seen so far.
Can't comment too much yet until we see what they are calling the final version. On the upside, Memphis is actually called Memphis, rather than Brighton.
Billings is on the Salt lake board 555 plus miles away when denver is just over 5 due south.I'm getting really tiered of being told we have really smart people working on it and i can see what they are trying to do.horsehockey it's like a house a bad foundation makes for a bad house
Were you one of the first outs on that board?
We seen two. Did get a load this morning back east but not sure what board we were on?
Either still on Topeka, or maybe Baden, IL?
Scuba
Veteran Expediter
I posed that question as to when the web site will be updated for the maps to Frank last week but I haven’t heard back from him. This morning I can’t log in to the panther web it says it is down for maint they may be updating it as I am writing this. I also expressed my concern that we may have to do a boat load of unpaid dh after each load to get on a board which will hurt many of us. To be honest with you my excessive dh is what’s keeping me alive because I am on the flat rate. But if now I have to dh to the area for free it wont be worth it to stay on the flat rate. I guess only time will tell but as bad of a time as we are having the last thing we need as truck owners is more expenses that we can’t recover I know that my earnings are off by just over $100.00 per day from last year that is one heck of a hit. And if I now have to dh for free I won’t be able to survive the hit.
I don't know if our dh would really be any different than it is now. One thing I believe we will see will be high numbers of first outs on a board. One then would have to call to see where they are at. A place like LA may have 5 or 6 first outs, but they may not even be in the LA area.
Like my other post, we were in St louis and were on the Topeka board. We were number three with a first in KC and another in Kansas. We were the only truck close to Saint Louis. Wouldn't have known without a call to evaluate what our situation really was.
Like my other post, we were in St louis and were on the Topeka board. We were number three with a first in KC and another in Kansas. We were the only truck close to Saint Louis. Wouldn't have known without a call to evaluate what our situation really was.
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The whole point of this is to put us closer to the freight. What I'm seeing so far doesn't even come close to reaching that goal. At least the 0-a-day boards told you where NOT to go. Billings is on the Salt Lake City board. You know what board Billings should be on? It shouldn't be on one. Coco Beach shouldn't be on the Tampa board. It should be on NO BOARD AT ALL. Sheesh. This ain't rocket science, and I've got a snotload of rocket scientists 10 minutes away from me who will back me up on on that.
Tempest
Seasoned Expediter
I am starting to think the old 50 mile radius should be brought back. Atleast them we knew where we stood. I thought the idea of reducing boards was gonna keeps trucks outta dead zones not incorporate the dead zones into the hot zones. I am LOST!!!! I like many of the new changes but this time I gotta ask why the guy behind this move hasnt been pulled in for a random drug screen. Sorry dude but your smoking some bad stuff!!!
pelicn
Veteran Expediter
Things that make me go hmmmm....With the boards so large it's harder to find where the other trucks are sitting. If you don't know where other trucks are sitting how do you know if you or them is closer to the freight?
In Denver, were 2 of us on the board and the other truck was at the same truck stop. We got offered a load, we told dispatch that we'd take it for X amount. She said ok. We started writing all the info down to get ready to roll and she called back saying that they found a truck "closer to the pickup" The pickup was only about 20 miles away, so I guess the other truck was "closer" to the exit than we were.
They took it for what it was offered at (which was CHEAP)
My point is, how often are you sitting with other drivers when an offer comes in. You know whether or not you can negociate if you are 1 or many sitting in the same place. With the boards so large you can't know as easily.
In Denver, were 2 of us on the board and the other truck was at the same truck stop. We got offered a load, we told dispatch that we'd take it for X amount. She said ok. We started writing all the info down to get ready to roll and she called back saying that they found a truck "closer to the pickup" The pickup was only about 20 miles away, so I guess the other truck was "closer" to the exit than we were.
They took it for what it was offered at (which was CHEAP)My point is, how often are you sitting with other drivers when an offer comes in. You know whether or not you can negociate if you are 1 or many sitting in the same place. With the boards so large you can't know as easily.
I would like the number of boards we can see increased. Right now I am setting in Orlando (now the Tampa board) the only other board I can see is Jacksonville. It would really be helpful to see what surrounding states look like when trying to decide if a person should move.
Well, this may help you. I'm also on the Tampa board, also in Orlando, and I'm #2 on the hit parade. It's pretty sad that you can get this kind of information from EO, but not from your own carrier.
Pelicn, to me it''s not as much of a question of whether or not you can negotiate, it's a question of am I sitting here in Orlando about to rot when I should move a helluva lot closer to Tampa because that's where most of the freight comes from, or should the Tampa board be renamed to the Orlando board because this is where the freight comes from. Don't get me started on Billings, Montana and it being on the Salt Lake City board.
If they're gojng to make changes, fine, but at least keep us informed about the changes and how they are to be implemented, and by that I mean something other than the non-informative information we've received thus far. We're still in the dark about everything that matters.
OK, I got a little more information on this mess. Basically, it's gonna stay a mess until Sunday at the soonest. That's when the restructuring is supposed to be complete. Until then, when you deliver to, say, Billings, MT and it tells you that you are on the Salt Lake City board, it's not actually telling you that (even though it is). What it's really saying to you is, the closest board to you is SLC, and it's to SLC that you should be going. In other words, at least for the next week or so, they have removed the "no information" method of Fleet Self-Positioning and replaced it with the "wrong information" method.
Empty Moves will be given depending on how many miles away from the Virtual Terminal you delvier, according to unnamed sources because they weren't authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
On Orlando, when the QC and online tells you that you're on the Tampa Board, you're really not. The Tampa board doesn't actually start until the intersection of I-4 and 429 about 12 miles dead west of Kissimmee.
Technically, the Virtual Terminals themselves extend for a 30 mile radius around the "terminal" even though the boards themselves have a larger area. Maps that show where you are in relation to the Virtual Terminals and to other trucks will be available to us. They will be very different from the maps we now have.
Florida now consists of three boards, Miami, Jax and Tampa. Currently, if you deliver to Ft Pierce or Port St Lucie it's a coin toss as to whether you'll be on the Miami or the Tampa board (I checked, and no one knows, apparently it'll be up to the QC and your GPS coordinates), but in reality you won't be on a board at all. The QC may tell you what bord you're on, but all it's really telling you is which one is closer.
I only hope that when they get this completed that the computer won't just automatically Empty Move you to the closest board, but rather to the closest board (virtual terminal) where you are actually needed. Otherwise, I can see some real nasty stockpiles where it sends every truck within 500 miles to SLC to sit on a 1-a-day board, or sompleace like Nashville where it starts to look like the Detroit board.
They have a couple or three more areas to work on before it's done, midewst states, Indiana and Illinois are two that I remember her mentioning. That's supposed to be done by Sunday. After that they'll tweak a few things and the QC should be in alignment. We'll see.
Empty Moves will be given depending on how many miles away from the Virtual Terminal you delvier, according to unnamed sources because they weren't authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
On Orlando, when the QC and online tells you that you're on the Tampa Board, you're really not. The Tampa board doesn't actually start until the intersection of I-4 and 429 about 12 miles dead west of Kissimmee.
Technically, the Virtual Terminals themselves extend for a 30 mile radius around the "terminal" even though the boards themselves have a larger area. Maps that show where you are in relation to the Virtual Terminals and to other trucks will be available to us. They will be very different from the maps we now have.
Florida now consists of three boards, Miami, Jax and Tampa. Currently, if you deliver to Ft Pierce or Port St Lucie it's a coin toss as to whether you'll be on the Miami or the Tampa board (I checked, and no one knows, apparently it'll be up to the QC and your GPS coordinates), but in reality you won't be on a board at all. The QC may tell you what bord you're on, but all it's really telling you is which one is closer.
I only hope that when they get this completed that the computer won't just automatically Empty Move you to the closest board, but rather to the closest board (virtual terminal) where you are actually needed. Otherwise, I can see some real nasty stockpiles where it sends every truck within 500 miles to SLC to sit on a 1-a-day board, or sompleace like Nashville where it starts to look like the Detroit board.
They have a couple or three more areas to work on before it's done, midewst states, Indiana and Illinois are two that I remember her mentioning. That's supposed to be done by Sunday. After that they'll tweak a few things and the QC should be in alignment. We'll see.
Well, it started out as a simple question. Well, two, actually. The first was redundant, asked to make a point. I was sitting in Orlando but was on the Tampa board. So, I asked, "Where on the Tampa board is the freight coming from, Tampa, Orlando, someplace in between? I need to know where to go." The answer was, of course, "I don't know". That's because things are a little too compartmentalized at Panther. What works well for inside Panther doesn't necessarily work well for us. Driver Relations doesn't know the first thing about Dispatch, how it works or where the freight is, so when you ask about an unfamiliar area and where the best place to go might be, Driver Relations truly has no clue.
So, to make my point from the redundant question, I inquired about me sitting in Orlando and being on the Tampa board, that's it's literally telling me that I'm on the board, I'm good to go right where I am. Why would it tell me I was on the Tampa board, when in fact I'm not? I also inquired about why the QC would tell someone who just PODed out in Billings that they were on the SLC board, 300 miles away. Of course, she didn't know the answers to those questions, but I was insistent that they go to research for an answer. My question was typed into the system and sent to Research as follows:
"driver called is concerned with the boards and wants to know why the orlando is on the tampa board billings Mt is on salt Lake city"
This is why I'm slightly less than a fan of the Driver Relations --> Research chain of events, because often a complex set of circumstances or a complex question gets condensed down to one or two sentences, too often with the intent of the question being diluted to nearly nothing, and the Research Department rarely spending the time and effort to do any in-depth research (path of least resistance - I've questioned the accuracy of the notes on a pro, and the resulting "research" consisted solely of reading the notes on the pro), and you end up with a meaningless answer from Research.
But I got two responses, actually, both equally rich in the blatantly obvious, both from the same person, one into the system (Submit or Review a Complaint) and to me directly via the QC.
Into the system the response was: "Because Orlando,Fl and Billings,MT are no longer boards."
Brilliant, but doesn't really answer my question. But, it's ISO 2001:9000 compliant for tracking results purposes, that's the main thing. <snort>
Next, via the QC, but with added information:
"Orlando, FL and Billings, MT are no longer boards under the new Virtual Terminals BP Implementation Program."
I responded by thanking her for confirming the obvious, but it really didn't answer my question. I then called into Driver Relations, monopolized 28 minutes of their time, and got some good information. Information that should have been sent out in any one of the three previous fleet messages that gave us really no information at all. The previous messages read more like the teasers the TV networks run 6 weeks before the new fall season begins (This fall on NBC, BIG things are gonna happen. Be watching!).
I'm still trying to figure out what the "BP" in the Virtual Terminals BP Implementation Program might be. One might think it stands for Board Position, but we don't have boards in the new Virtual Terminals Program, we have terminals, instead, so it can't be that, can it? When I think of BP and terminals, I think oil refinery. Maybe that's it.
But at least I feel a little better about the new fall season.
So, to make my point from the redundant question, I inquired about me sitting in Orlando and being on the Tampa board, that's it's literally telling me that I'm on the board, I'm good to go right where I am. Why would it tell me I was on the Tampa board, when in fact I'm not? I also inquired about why the QC would tell someone who just PODed out in Billings that they were on the SLC board, 300 miles away. Of course, she didn't know the answers to those questions, but I was insistent that they go to research for an answer. My question was typed into the system and sent to Research as follows:
"driver called is concerned with the boards and wants to know why the orlando is on the tampa board billings Mt is on salt Lake city"
This is why I'm slightly less than a fan of the Driver Relations --> Research chain of events, because often a complex set of circumstances or a complex question gets condensed down to one or two sentences, too often with the intent of the question being diluted to nearly nothing, and the Research Department rarely spending the time and effort to do any in-depth research (path of least resistance - I've questioned the accuracy of the notes on a pro, and the resulting "research" consisted solely of reading the notes on the pro), and you end up with a meaningless answer from Research.
But I got two responses, actually, both equally rich in the blatantly obvious, both from the same person, one into the system (Submit or Review a Complaint) and to me directly via the QC.
Into the system the response was: "Because Orlando,Fl and Billings,MT are no longer boards."
Brilliant, but doesn't really answer my question. But, it's ISO 2001:9000 compliant for tracking results purposes, that's the main thing. <snort>
Next, via the QC, but with added information:
"Orlando, FL and Billings, MT are no longer boards under the new Virtual Terminals BP Implementation Program."
I responded by thanking her for confirming the obvious, but it really didn't answer my question. I then called into Driver Relations, monopolized 28 minutes of their time, and got some good information. Information that should have been sent out in any one of the three previous fleet messages that gave us really no information at all. The previous messages read more like the teasers the TV networks run 6 weeks before the new fall season begins (This fall on NBC, BIG things are gonna happen. Be watching!).
I'm still trying to figure out what the "BP" in the Virtual Terminals BP Implementation Program might be. One might think it stands for Board Position, but we don't have boards in the new Virtual Terminals Program, we have terminals, instead, so it can't be that, can it? When I think of BP and terminals, I think oil refinery. Maybe that's it.
But at least I feel a little better about the new fall season.
Still agree it is hard to tell what will happen until the smoke clears. We had a truck unload yesterday in Miami from Memphis, and we are loading out today from Orlando to NC.
Good thing we didn't go to Tampa. I believe at least for awhile, we will maintain going to where we know the freight is until we see how this works. The SLC was a good example from MT.
I don't believe SLC would have been our choice to DH from Billings. Several other options would have came to mind before that one.
Good thing we didn't go to Tampa. I believe at least for awhile, we will maintain going to where we know the freight is until we see how this works. The SLC was a good example from MT.
I don't believe SLC would have been our choice to DH from Billings. Several other options would have came to mind before that one.
i hate it when they go to trying to fix things that aren't broken........
now how am i suppose to see what loads come from a 300 mile radious and how many trucks are around???
im in albany .... took a load from the south east area of NY .. near NJ line.... to burlington VT .. yesterday and then DH down here to the albany area....
the board here is showing 1 load a day
im 1st on the boards and 2 under me....
i seen 2 cargo vans sitting here last night when i came in .. now 1 ..
and how come there has been NO lay over pay lately???
i sat with a load from fri evening till monday morning..... with NO lay over pay ... and only took 1 day to drive.
now how am i suppose to see what loads come from a 300 mile radious and how many trucks are around???
im in albany .... took a load from the south east area of NY .. near NJ line.... to burlington VT .. yesterday and then DH down here to the albany area....
the board here is showing 1 load a day
im 1st on the boards and 2 under me....
i seen 2 cargo vans sitting here last night when i came in .. now 1 ..
and how come there has been NO lay over pay lately???
i sat with a load from fri evening till monday morning..... with NO lay over pay ... and only took 1 day to drive.
Just a thought, I have a small side business with one partner and we build and maintain web sites for a few small companies. These sites have a members back office which allows them to track things and do some other stuff.
When we are planning a major change to the members area we handle it a little different than Panther is. We build the entire new back office off to the side where members cannot see it. We will run it for a couple weeks in real time and check for bugs etc before ever releasing it for people to use. Of course there will be a few bugs those members will find but by doing it this way we are able to get rid of 98% possible issues before the users ever see it.
From our experience this makes for a much smother transition than what is happening currently. I understand the problems and have allot of patience coming from a tech side but I do think they might have had a few less headaches by better planning.
When we are planning a major change to the members area we handle it a little different than Panther is. We build the entire new back office off to the side where members cannot see it. We will run it for a couple weeks in real time and check for bugs etc before ever releasing it for people to use. Of course there will be a few bugs those members will find but by doing it this way we are able to get rid of 98% possible issues before the users ever see it.
From our experience this makes for a much smother transition than what is happening currently. I understand the problems and have allot of patience coming from a tech side but I do think they might have had a few less headaches by better planning.