Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/795447
62 commercial carrier journal | march 2017 Fleets leverage technology to meet customer demands BY AARON HUFF I n the early 1990s, Walmart was the largest customer for a number of dry van and refrigerated carriers as it rapidly expanded its retail presence. A lot has changed in 25 years. While Walmart con- tinues to demand attention from fleets, it has lost ground to online retailer Amazon. Many less-than-truckload and truckload carriers now work with Amazon for line hauls to its regional distribution centers, as well as for first-mile logistics to pick up shipments and final-mile deliveries to customers. Online sales have increased 15 percent annually in recent years compared to a mere 2 percent for traditional retail. Even though carriers that work for Amazon and other online retailers must deal with constantly changing lane volumes with high service standards, the e-commerce opportunities are too big to ignore. Choosing wisely e growth in online sales has translated to more demand for carriers other than UPS (CCJ Top 250, No. 1) and FedEx (No. 2) to make residential deliveries. Dayton Freight Lines (No. 65), a Dayton, Ohio-based LTL carrier, has been purchasing more straight trucks and vans to make residential deliveries and avoid sending its trac- tor-trailers into neighborhoods. Beyond dropoffs, management has turned down "white- glove" delivery opportunities with additional handling requirements such as installation and disposal. "We want to take freight to the first place that is out of the weather — a carport or garage," says Derek Kirby, director of safety. "We want to be there one minute and gone the next." For residential deliveries, Dayton averages three stops per hour using straight trucks and vans. For van delivery, a shipment has to weigh less than 125 pounds. "We have to define what we want to do and not be pigeon- holed," Kirby says. "We have to be really careful about what we get ourselves into, and make sure we define that. If we try to become everything to everybody, we will not be successful at what we do." Dayton's delivery van fleet also has proven useful as a training ground for new drivers. e company trains dock workers, starting at 19 years old, in vans before graduating them to commercial driver's license holders for straight trucks and Class 8 tractor-trailers. XPO specializes in white-glove delivery services, where drivers handle in-home installations and remove old equipment.