When you’re hosting friends or family at your house, you’ll likely take certain steps to prepare for their visit to ensure a pleasant experience for all. The same type of preparation can apply to the world of bulk transportation. Specifically, you’ll want to make your facility “driver-friendly” to ensure bulk freight loading or unloading goes smoothly. In this article, we’ll examine why a little driver-friendliness can go a long way in creating a successful relationship with the bulk trucking companies you partner with.
Why be Driver-Friendly?
When visiting loading and unloading facilities, bulk freight drivers face many unfriendly hurdles. They face long waits to load or unload, onsite accommodations that aren’t all that accommodating, and people that are sometimes less than cooperative.
When routinely encountered at a given worksite, these negative factors may discourage drivers from wanting to visit the facility in the future. And, if one driver has a bad experience at a specific site, chances are many other drivers will hear about it. So, it stands to reason that if your site – or your customers’ sites – are viewed unfavorably by drivers, it may be more difficult to find drivers willing to visit your site and move your products.
This might not seem like a big deal – especially in a shipper’s market like we have right now. But there is a constant ebb and flow to bulk freight capacity and it likely won’t be too long before capacity tightens again, and you’ll need to rely on the good relationships you have with bulk trucking companies.
By making your loading and unloading sites more attractive to drivers, you will make it more likely that they will want to handle your loads. This often means more than just steady capacity – it can mean more competitive rates for your operation as carriers vie for your business.
Checklist: How Your Facility Can Be Driver-Friendly
The following practices serve as a great start to becoming a driver-friendly shipper.
- Ensure Safety and Accessibility. Above all else, the most important thing to drivers is that you provide a safe, clean, and accessible site. This includes unobstructed pathways for trucks and clear instructions for drivers. Safety equipment for loading and unloading processes should also be provided.
- Assist Drivers with Staff Support. Make sure loading and unloading facilities are staffed and ready to receive the driver upon arrival. Facility employees should perform most of the loading/unloading work while the driver waits with the truck.
- Assist Drivers with Necessary Equipment. Make sure your facility’s equipment is ready. Ensure that hoses, if needed, are readily available, and that staff can make the required connections.
- Provide Onsite Driver Amenities. Offer a few amenities to drivers, such as onsite (or nearby) scales and a secure parking lot where a driver can rest while products are being loaded or unloaded.
- Allow Bigger Windows for Shipping and Receiving. In terms of appointment windows, the more flexibility you can give carriers, the more likely it is that they can fit your loads into their schedules. This includes start and end time flexibility along with longer windows for appointments.
- Open During Unconventional Hours. While this may be unpopular, operating facilities during ‘off hours’ like nights and weekends can be extremely beneficial when necessary. Carriers operate around the clock, so accommodating their schedules can greatly improve your ‘driver friendliness.’
- Perform Efficient Trailer Inspections. Inspect trailers quickly to minimize waiting times for drivers. This ensures they can make the best use of their valuable hours of service.
- Communicate Facility Details Clearly. Know and communicate your facility details and potential issues. Provide information about scales, loading/unloading capacity, appointment systems, and any other relevant details.
- Ensure Adequate Storage. Make sure your silos have room to avoid delays and detentions. A quick way to make an unfavorable impression is to have a driver arrive at the unloading site only to find the storage facility full.
- Be Nice and Respectful. This one should go without saying, but the biggest strides in becoming a driver-friendly facility often come from treating drivers with respect and courtesy. Ensure that your staff treats drivers as they’d like to be treated.
By implementing these practices and maintaining a driver-friendly approach, your facility can stand out in a competitive market, ensuring smoother operations and better relationships with bulk trucking companies.
Lean on Bulk Connection to form relationships with bulk trucking companies
Looking to form strong relationships with bulk carriers? Why not form a relationship with potentially hundreds of them with one single phone call? Bulk Connection is a bulk freight 3PL with one of the largest networks of bulk trucking companies in the industry. Since 1987, we’ve been combining this network with our specialized knowledge of chemical and food-grade products to give shippers a one-stop solution for their bulk shipping needs. Contact us today to learn how we can support your liquid and dry bulk shipments across North America.