What In Expediting Has Changed For The Better In The Last Ten Years?

[ATeam]

What in expediting has changed for the better in the last ten years? There are always negative developments. What are the positives? I'll start with ten that come to mind. Please share others.

1. The showers have gotten better at TA and Petro, much better.

2. Automatic transmissions, super-single tires, air tabs and other technology advances are increasingly found on trucks.

3. GPS became more affordable

4. For those who consider electronic logging an advance, it is here.

5. Motor oil quality improved, enabling extended oil changes.

6. Split speed limits have been eliminated in some states.

7. For reefer trucks, the TVAL opportunity became further developed.

8. No-smoking laws improved indoor air quality at truck stops.

9. The Great Recession and CSA drove a lot of marginal drivers out of the business.

10. The Load-1 model came on the scene where the CEO is directly and publicly engaged with contractors and drivers.

 

[zorry]

# 9. C'mon. Nobody ever called you and Diane marginal drivers !

Just kidding.

There's been improvement in all equipment, minus the engine fiasco.

Ez-pass, Pre-pass, smart-phones have made life easier. Along with scanners,tablets,etc.

 

[RoadTime]

Interesting to think back. For myself I would have to go #1 with the advancements of GPS. I still am amazed how I ever found a destination without it, and don't miss my brief case filled with maps. Followed by in-cab scanning of paperwork and Ez-pass has made life much easier. Oh yeah and that Load 1 model, what can I say

 

[zorry]

I remember a carrier was having issues with a major customer.
We were required to phone in prior to p/u. Do you have this,do you have that ?

I went beserk ! Let the screw ups call in !
I never had any problems so why bother me !
I don't have time to find a pay phone !

Opps, showing my age. This was pre cellphone/ Qualcomm.

 

[moose]

The Expo moved from a tent in the Detroiter (or so i'v been told) to the Mega show it is.
not to mention the drivers cookout's...
& then the O'l mighty Moose came along...

 

[cheri1122]

Eo got Ragman & his inspired illustrational insanity. [Doing the Sally Field thing] He likes us! He really likes us!
Oh - and the bloggers are pretty good too.

 

[Lawrence]

10. The Load-1 model came on the scene where the CEO is directly and publicly engaged with contractors and drivers.

I think this was a game changer. Thanks to social networking access like EO and Facebook - leaders of companies are more accessible. I hope to see more of this from other companies.

 

[ATeam]

I think this was a game changer. Thanks to social networking access like EO and Facebook - leaders of companies are more accessible. I hope to see more of this from other companies.

It's a game changer only to the extent that a carrier views its contractors not as commodities that are easily replaced but as human beings who bring value to the game. And in that regard, technology has little to do with it. It does not matter what kind of communications technology exists or does not exist, if the attitude does not exist at the top to value contractors as business people and human beings, it will not happen.

In the new career field that Diane and I are entering, much has been said about how the internet has revolutionized the way people shop for goods and services. Price shopping can be instantly done by someone standing in front of a display in a store and using a smart phone to check prices elsewhere. Customer reviews are very popular and can also be instantly accessed. A retail merchant no longer stands as the primary information source and a merchant can only hope to be a small part of the purchase conversation any more.

But in the carrier/contractor relationship, it remains the trucking industry norm that the carrier makes the rules and the contractor seeks to optimize his or her opportunity in that context. If you don't like the rules, too bad. Go somewhere else, your replacement is already scheduled for next week's orientation class. It will take more than Facebook, EO and other online resources to change that.

The Load-1 "model" works because that company is led by a good man with a good heart, not because of Facebook or EO. If the internet did not exist, word about the same man would get out and and the company's reputation would be the same. The internet just makes it easier and faster to get the word out.

It might be that other carriers will begin to get it about how CEO's can address their recruiting and retention problems by being directly and publicly engaged with its contractors and prospective contractors. But if CEO hearts and minds remain closed to that approach, no amount of technology will help.

 

[davekc]

On the other side of course is if a carrier has constant contractor issues, the internet spreads that information much faster. We witnessed several last year that ran into problems and tanked right away.

 

[ATeam]

On the other side of course is if a carrier has constant contractor issues, the internet spreads that information much faster. We witnessed several last year that ran into problems and tanked right away.

Good point.

 

[cheri1122]

Lawrence is correct: it is a game changer [technology & social media] because the word spreads a million times faster & farther than when 'the grapevine' was face to face or via CB chatter.
Example: I was just reading on facebook about I 40 being shut down around Memphis, due to ice. Years ago, I wouldn't have had that info unless it happened to be on tv, and I happened to catch it - I could be accepting a load right now that goes through Tenn, without knowing what's in store. Technology has made a tremendous impact on what we do and what we know.