Were you able to do it with at least one less driver?
Overlap plan
- Thread starter Knowledgeseeker
- Start date
It will be fine
Well-Known Member
No. I had to add routes. The HD I bought was split up differently for the HD contractor than how I ran it, he had guys from other towns covering partial areas of what I bought. For every 2.5 HD guys he had running I probably got away with 2 additional routes. Problem is every route I was running started generating less. They are starting to fill back in because the density is increasing and my guys can handle more stops in their smaller areas, but it's been a rough few years. I lost the revenue equivalent of a driver so I've basically been short staffed for years. I'm hiring another guy now that will get me back to the coverage I had 3 years ago.
Knowledgeseeker
Member
IWBF, I will keep these things in mind and try to factor them in price negotiation with sellers and X. STFXG good point with the trucks, some of the trucks are small for ground but two of the five towns have very narrow streets (Read high density city roads with parallel parking allowed on both sides and no garage) and I can't imagine big trucks managing to navigate through the streets. This may pose problems as it may be difficult to utilize the same truck for home and ground.
Given the on line purchases of furniture and appliances growing at a fast pace there will come a time when you'll be going to CDL straight trucks with hydraulic tail gates. It is truly a clouded picture going forward. Therefore as a contractor just keep one thing in mind when it comes to dealing with that company...Change is the only constant and nothing in that contract is truly binding upon FXG. You'll discover that fact very early on.
The Youngin' Of It All
Well-Known Member
The last thing you want in a route / overlap sale is a truck loan as well. If you have anything below a 700 at this point, regardless how tight or spread out your route is, you're either going to be adding more trucks and drivers and losing money or constantly adding wear and tear by driving multiple trips because of space capacity. With FedEx going after everything such as furniture, tires, etc., it's amazing 700's are even getting it done. My current investments have me focused on 1000's for the future growth of this company. Thinking big means going big. That's exactly what X is doing and what I have to do to even have a chance at being profitable whether I like it or not. They've made it clear to keep up or get out and sell. Always has been a one step behind game with the rules always changing from day one. Hope your deal works out Knowledgeseeker. Not sure if you are dealing with 1 contractor or a bunch who merged under one, but I would recommend doing your homework and weighing out the scale of pros and cons and ask yourself where you see yourself 3 years from now in terms of loans, current truck conditions, and employee retention. These 3 factors alone are enough to make or break you in this business. Also, ask yourself if you can see yourself as profitable and able to reduce your driver workforce while making scale for ISP.
The Youngin' Of It All
Well-Known Member
Also keep in mind with the VRP going away and everything going directly through Vision that you're going to have to deal with Home Delivery trucks being loaded down the road. Hate to break it to you but there are no more PIP's and Turn By Turns because everything is directly set up by sections and loaders scanning packages from here on out. Ask yourself how you're going to be able to train new employees under the new system or if they will get flustered and walk off the job, especially if they are smaller trucks. You get what you invest, so make it count if you intend on continuing to be an ISP.
BakerMayfield2018
Fight the power.
Learn how to form a paragraph
The Youngin' Of It All
Well-Known Member
I was more a Math than English person in my day but thanks for the feedback.
OrioN
double tap o da horn dooshbag
Well, that sucks because depending on the business stops of the day, I preload my cargo to get to them first with the corresponding resis deliveries so I don't drive in circles
My days are numbered as a HD driver
All HD drivers days are numbered. WAGN.
OrioN
double tap o da horn dooshbag
Soo, they'll operate on Saturdays as well?
My customers hates the ground drivers in my area, butt not this HD driver!
Blah, even some businesses, like the pet hospice place I mentioned in another thread, requests H over G or E... they'll be sad to hear about the merge
Off to work on a Saturday!
My customers hates the ground drivers in my area, butt not this HD driver!
Blah, even some businesses, like the pet hospice place I mentioned in another thread, requests H over G or E... they'll be sad to hear about the merge
Off to work on a Saturday!
Yep. The more overlap I've done the more ridiculously light Saturday and Monday have become.
What you are being told Knowledgeseeker is no exaggeration. Profit? That's what you give the government. What you live on is your cash flow. Likewise, as a result of the limited revenue pool a contractor has to work with, as an overall compensation package a significant majority of contractor drivers only make about 60% of what your average UPS driver gets and no benefits of any kind while matching or exceeding what that UPS driver does in a day. As a result many small scale contractors have to drive a route themselves on a continuous daily basis just to have something to live on themselves. So let's put it this way. If your family has a long medical history of bleeding ulcers then none of them could accuse you of not doing anything to maintain the family tradition.
Knowledgeseeker
Member
Yep it looks like the trucks are good for now and but not what I can use in future. Youngin, can you explain more clearly why the turn by turn is going away. I could not clearly understand why? I am a hardcore math guy and don't care about paragraphs.
Guys, this is great that I am getting to know these challenges now rather than later.
Guys, this is great that I am getting to know these challenges now rather than later.
I think the lease on the software is up.
That being said, they do have better software at Ground that can be used in conjunction with a gps. Basically the contractor and a management team member enter sections of a route into the system and then the system puts the addresses in order each day on the scanner and then downloads into a gps in same order. It can be tweaked to get fairly precise.
Overall it's good to help drivers get the feel for a new area.
Personally beyond a training tool, I usually ignore it.
It will be fine
Well-Known Member
The are running all packages, both Ground and HD through the same sorting system over the next few months. The vision system that handles Ground does not generate turn by turn directions. It will give you a delivery sequence if you want it. Fedex will be loading the larger trucks but not the sprinter cargo van style trucks. It takes a bit more training to teach people to deliver efficiently without the turn by turns. The training is worth it though because HD guys that can only follow turn by turns are idiots.
There will be two main adversaries that you will be in conflict with on an almost daily basis......The company and your fellow contractors.
I was a day 1 contractor at a startup terminal back in early nineties when Roadway was just getting this ground package subsidiary underway. There were just 3 total contractors of which I was one of them. We knew each other, worked together as much as we could, defended each other interests despite the fact that each one of us had a territory comprised of multiple rural counties along with dozens of zips. Given the size and scale of X terminals today when it comes to contractors it's everybody for himself and X is constantly playing them off against one another in an effort to get whatever benefit it will produce. In addition if you have to drive a route yourself just to survive your weekends will be consumed by all the vital tasks you had to push back to the weekend. if you have a wife and kids escalating domestic tensions could have a major impact on your chances for survival.
I wasn't a "day 1 contractor" but I find none of this to be true today. X can be
s but we contractors all get along and work well together.
It will be fine
Well-Known Member
The bigger I get, the less I deal with other contractors. We help each other out occasionally with a truck or extra driver but it's certainly less than it used to be.I wasn't a "day 1 contractor" but I find none of this to be true today. X can be
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