The trucking industry is a moving puzzle. Shippers, receivers, and drivers all operate on different schedules and it can be difficult to get them to align. Enter the TransAm Trucking Planning department. Their job is to do exactly that: align the pieces.
1,000 Piece Puzzle
The Planning department’s main goal is to balance the network. If 100 trucks drive loads into South Carolina, then 100 loads need to drive back out. As a result, every day each planner contacts their list of TransAm Trucking customers (sometimes several times a day) saying, “We need {X number} of loads to go to {enter place}.” The customer responses determine what loads are available. The next step is to match the drivers to those available loads.
Where does this piece fit?
The Hours of Service rules regulate a driver’s time. This is only one of the many factors playing into how loads are offered to drivers. Some of the other factors include – among other things – whether the driver is an independent contractor or company driver, home time, maintenance stops, and a tractor’s proximity to the load. Planning uses special software that navigates all of these elements, and more, when trying to match the drivers to the freight. Nothing is set in stone. Moreover, circumstances outside of Planning’s control can change everything in the blink of an eye. For example, when a tire blows out or traffic is jammed, Planning finds a way to get the load delivered on time. This could even mean finding another driver willing to do a relay or swap in a timely manner. Once a load is delivered, the process starts all over again.
Nothing is the same day-to-day in the Planning department. They are constantly trying to solve the trucking industry puzzle when the pieces are constantly changing. Without the customers, there are no drivers, but without drivers, there are no customers. Planning keeps everyone moving. Without them, we would all stop. Thank you, Planning, for finding the pathways through the puzzle.
