Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/357935
58 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2014 its facilities. Manko also has visibility to the service level – delivery to the door, inside the house or "white glove" unpacking and installation – that will be needed. With this information, Manko em- ployees schedule a home delivery with the consignee before the freight arrives on its dock. Once delivery is made, they update the shipment details in the company's customer portals. Despite having a variety of customer types and unique service require- ments, Manko does not assign its customer service team to specifi c ac- counts; it cross-trains them. "You are going to get the same ser- vice level no matter who answers the phone," Bilchik says. Just as retailers have fl exible supply chains that can bend to meet dynamic demand from consumers, Manko has designed its independent contractor fl eet to have the same capability. On any given day, the company operates as many as 40 straight trucks, fi ve tractor-trailers and 30 cars and vans. "It works out well for everybody," Bilchik says of the contractor model. "Contractors can throw another driver in their truck at night and run for another company, so their assets are always making money." Manko uses an external management service to offer its drivers employee benefi ts such as health insurance while maintaining an arms-length relation- ship with its contractors. Going green In 2010, Bilchik realized an opportu- nity to eliminate $2,500 to $3,000 per month in pallet costs. Manko began offering a free service to customers to remove their unwanted leftover pal- lets and dunnage from docks. Drivers loaded the refuse into their trailers after making a pickup or delivery. Manko began paying drivers to pick up and return the pallets to its own facilities. The new program made it possible for the company to not only stop buying pallets but also sell its excess to pallet recycling companies. Manko has been able to turn $500 to $700 in profi t each month depend- ing on the number of pallets drivers bring back. In September 2013, Manko moved its corporate headquarters to a new building in Tampa. With this location change, Bilchik saw another opportunity to save money and reduce landfi ll waste. Manko had been throwing away cardboard, plastic shrinkwrap, Styrofoam, steel and other material it stripped from packages while cross- docking and delivering shipments such as furniture to model homes for staging. The company was collecting enough waste to fi ll a 30-cubic-yard dumpster each month and had been spending between $500 and $600 a month to have the dumpster removed from its facility. Bilchik had a baler installed in Manko's Tampa warehouse. The baler comes with a full maintenance lease for $175 a month. One bale of cardboard is enough to pay the lease payment, he says, and each bale of shrinkwrap sells for between $150 and $300. Recycling companies pick up the bales from the warehouse. Today, 90 percent of the waste that moves through Manko's system is recycled, Bilchik says. Drivers also benefit from making an extra effort to clean up waste from customer locations. "We pay drivers for every- thing they bring back," he says. Manko also recently upgraded its air conditioning units in its facilities and is in the process of converting its warehouse from T12 to T5 lights to save money and further reduce its eco-footprint. These efforts have shown that even small companies can do a lot to reduce waste and im- prove the environment, Bilchik says. Through his membership in the Florida Messenger Associa- tion, Bilchik currently is mentor- ing 12 similar-sized companies to help them set up similar recycling programs. "Everybody is working in that direction," he says. Last January, Bilchik purchased Manko with business partner David Armitage. Bilchik is now vice presi- dent and chief operating officer, and Armitage is chief executive officer. The strategy to become a one-stop shop for shippers and carriers for e-commerce and home deliveries is paying dividends. Manko is grow- ing exponentially while raking in savings and environmental benefits from its green initiatives. In 2013, Manko had revenues of $2 million; the company is on pace to reach $3 million this year. CC J I N N O VATO R S profi les carriers and fl eets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953. You are going to get the same service level no matter who answers the phone. – Bryan Bilchik, vice president and chief operating officer Bryan Bilchik, vice president and chief operating offi cer of Manko Delivery Systems, has led the company's turnaround eff orts and green initiatives.