Yet those who can offer more, like warehouse services, cross-docking, and multi-drop loads, will be able to reap the benefits. “In these cases, we become more of a ‘solutions provider’ for challenges in their business units,” explains Devine. “People who can provide value-added solutions will continue to be very important in the produce hauling and logistics business.”
Best Practice Fundamentals
It is no secret perishables require a more carefully choreographed loading and delivery performance than other cargo. But some things should never change, and these are of the utmost importance to long-term success according to Jerue’s Campano: service, integrity, and relationships.
“Truck brokers have to make the customer or carrier’s job easier and more efficient if they’re going to succeed,” Campano says. Doing the job, as committed, is a start, but communication is central to the best possible outcome, especially if there’s an issue. This is where solid relationships come into play: if you’ve invested both time and resources, there will be trust on both sides to do the right thing, he says. Lastly, money talks: “Quick pay is vital,” he emphasizes. Speeding up the process will not only be appreciated by carriers, but go a long way in building strong relationships.
Stoiber, too, believes in the benefits of quick pay and long-term partnering. Brokers should “balance the needs of carriers and customers, to work hard to keep their most loyal trucks busy when things are slow, and resist the urge to chase high-dollar loads in peak season by shorting loyal customers. You always ultimately lose business by trying to be the cheapest,” he warns. If you want to keep your carriers, he recommends “pay quickly, work hard for them, communicate, be their advocate in disputes, and treat owners and drivers as though they were supply chain partners, not necessary evils.”
For Patterson’s Howard, it boils down to a few tried-and-true essentials: exceed the customer’s expectations for safe and on-time deliveries at a fair rate; deal with carriers in an ethical manner; pay promptly; maintain a highly motivated and skilled workforce; and use cutting-edge technology to operate efficiently.
“At the end of the day everybody has to make a profit,” Devine points out. “It’s our job to figure out cost effective solutions that are good for all parties involved.”
The Big Picture
Matthew Young, a transportation and logistics analyst based in Chicago with Morningstar considers the rising ranks of brokers and 3PLs in the industry as bringing order to a ‘highly fragmented’ market. “From the perspective of carriers, brokers serve as an attractive source of freight opportunities thanks to their ability to aggregate demand across a customer base of thousands of shippers. By using an intermediary, small and midsize truckers can minimize empty miles and supplement sales efforts—no small benefit in a capital intensive business like trucking.”
