Categories: Business

What Are The Benefits Of Dispatch Companies?

There are many jobs out there that get a lot of positive press. Lawyers, doctors/healthcare workers, firefighters, police officers, astronauts – all of these professions get a good chunk of airtime, and they totally deserve that. However, plenty of other careers don’t get nearly the respect they’re owed, and one of them? Truck driving.

Truck drivers are the unsung heroes of our everyday lives. Without them, just about everywhere, from wholesome giants like Costco to the specialty shop down the street, would be barren and empty. Groceries, electronics, furniture, and everything in between and beyond would be MIA, then where would we be?

Yet, truck drivers get the short end of the stick despite their importance. They work long hours away from home, deal with annoying construction/delays, and frequently have to sit through unnecessarily drawn-out loading times at the docks. It’s a lot, but solutions like the use of dispatch companies can make things easier on both these drivers and the bosses above them.

Curious about what they have to offer? Here are four of the biggest (and best) benefits of trucking dispatch companies.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

1. Improved Load Choices

Whenever you’re at work, there are not usually too many options available to you. After all, you generally have set tasks and responsibilities, and it’s your job to follow through on them. However, truck drivers (typically) get even less flexibility than the average worker.

They have very strict deadlines to meet, routes to follow, and approved freight they can take on. It doesn’t matter if they have a preferred delivery time or location. What’s available is generally what’s assigned to them, and they just have to make it work – which doesn’t exactly give them a whole lot of control over their daily operations.

This is perhaps one of the most significant benefits of dispatch companies. Because they are a specialized and outsourced party, they have a greater wealth of connections and resources at their disposal.

Practically, this means they have far more loads to choose from than a small or mid-sized trucking outfit would have on their own, giving drivers a little bit more choice in how, where, and when they operate. And in turn, this helps them get loaded faster and get home on time while still securing the miles they need to put food on the table. It’s a win-win overall, really.

2. Help Manage Sudden Delays

Not everyone is a huge fan, but some people actively enjoy life on the road regardless of the little annoyances accompanying the lifestyle. Although, one thing that no one ever likes is road delays. And that’s unfortunate because they pop up constantly.

Whether the result of a multi-car pileup, extensive roadwork, or the regular old five o’clock after-work rush, you can rest assured that they will last altogether too long and be a massive headache to deal with unless you’ve done a run long enough to memorize all its potential alternative routes. But that’s where a dispatch company comes into play.

Rather than being forced to wait until whatever’s delaying you has run its course or trying to make heads and tails of your GPS and go around, dispatch can point you in the right direction. They’ll keep an eye on whatever is causing the problem and ensure you have a workaround that’s safe, not too far out of the way, and truck-friendly.

With their guidance, you’ll get back on track in no time and can keep your schedule running smoothly. And if there happens to be no good way around, they’ll talk to where you’re supposed to deliver and give them a head’s up you might be a little late.

3. Billing is No Longer Your Problem

Being a truck driver is tough on the very best of days. But, you’d be wrong in assuming that the higher-ups in charge have any easier of a time. Running any company is littered with difficulties, and there are tons of problems to overcome for trucking businesses in particular.

Many of these issues pop up purely because of the fact that most companies are not actually all that big. Beyond Swift, Schneider, Prime, and the like, there are thousands of small ventures, and many run fairly sizeable fleets of trucks despite their status as a small-sized business.

That’s great for cash flow, yet this can be a detriment to the management side of things, as these companies simply don’t have as much manpower to keep up with all the tedious day-to-day operations like billing, bookkeeping, customer service, etc. Luckily, finding the right dispatch service can be of great assistance here.

Why? Well, other than handling hauling plans and helping drivers with routing, dispatch can take care of practically all the company paperwork. Collections, billing, carrier compliance, invoice creation, and more are all part of their domain, allowing trucking companies to focus less on a mess of documents and more on who actually matters — their drivers!

4. Good Potential For Cost Savings

Unless you’re an owner-operator, costs aren’t an especially big concern. Fuel, truck washes, sudden repairs, and other expenses that come along with daily operation are largely under your company’s domain. They’re the ones footing the bill directly or will be sure to reimburse you for any personal money spent on these matters. But if you’re on the other side of the coin, money is always an immediate concern.

Truck driving is an immensely expensive business. There’s just so much to pay for. From the actual per-mile earnings of drivers to the salary of general staff to truck upkeep, contract fees, healthcare, and more, it seems like everything costs a fortune. It can make generating a real profit rather strenuous, which definitely discourages getting involved with dispatch companies.

However, the reality is that dispatch companies can actually bring cost savings in the long run. Confused by this? Remember, you would otherwise be spending cash on an in-house team, something that is traditionally much more of an investment than a third-party solution due to higher salaries, training costs, turnover, and so on.

On top of this, a dedicated outside dispatch service specializes in what they do. They have knowledge and resources that keep trucks and freight moving more efficiently and can secure higher-paying loads, pulling in more money that will only improve your wallet’s situation.