One of the services in most demand from my company is freight bids. In this type of exercise, a shipper tenders a large block of traffic to a group of carriers and asks them to submit bids. The bids, whch consist of qualitative and quantitative information, are analyzed to come up with a short list of prospective carriers. At this stage, meetings are held with the short listed carriers to assess the value of their respective proposals.
During the past week, one of my clients and I met with 20 carriers over a 3 day period. At the end of this undertaking, it was interesting to take stock of which carriers stood out from the pack and which ones did not. Since this group of carriers represents a microcosm of the entire trucking industry, it is worthwhile reflecting on those items that differentiate the superior carriers from the rest of the pack. Here are a few thoughts to consider.

Executive Participation

Superior trucking companies are led by executives who are actively engaged in their businesses and who lead by example. Rather than sending a sales rep to secure a large block of business, they go to the front lines and demonstrate their personal commitment and interest in meeting their top customers and prospects. They lead and provide support to their sales and operations personnel.

Pride and Passion

The employees of a superior transport company walk through the shipper's door wearing their company pride on their foreheads. They are passionate about the company's commitment to quality and providing excellent service. The sincerity of their words comes across to the shipper and instills a level of confidence in them and their company.

Teamwork

Sales and Operations work together in the superior companies. They are represented in the meeting. They each know what is going on with the account or if it is a new piece of business, they each want to know first hand, what is required to provide exceptional service. It is very embarassing when an incumbent carrier walks in and indicates that they are not aware of the problems that are being experienced in using their company. This is a great way to lose the business.

Value Proposition

For the most part, Marketing from a transport company is an oxymoron. It is unbelievable how many transport companies forget to communicate their value proposition, those lanes and services where the company excels. This is an area of considerable weakness in many transport companies. The superior transport companies communicate their value propostion, they provide names of customers that are using the services, where they excel, as references and they provide evidence to support their claims. As an example, one carrier presented their Ryder Logistics scorecard. They were very proud to show us that they had achieved an excellent service record with Ryder. The superior transport companies don't sell price, although they are price competitive. Based on their track record or third party evidence, they demonstrate their service excellence.

Know what you want and what you can do

The superior transport companies come into a meeting with a shipper knowing what blocks of business they want and what they can do. If they have a small fleet, they don't come in saying they can handle 25 truckloads a week. They know what lanes they service well and they know how many trucks they can make available to service the client. They don't overcommit. They are practical, realistic and focused on what they can do well. They know that if they start small and do a great job, they can build on their track record and be awarded more business over time. They don't position themselves for failure by being greedy. They are prepared to serve in a backup capacity and earn their way into a number 2 or number 1 ranking.

While this all may sound simple and straightforward, it is clear that it takes time to create a superior company and to maintain this performance over time. The superior transport companies create and sustain a culture that fosters teamwork, communication, pride, passion and a focus on being the best at what they do well.