5 – Maximize Your Personnel
All the systems in the world, whether for pre-routing deliveries, takeoff accuracy, or having the product in stock, cannot make up for personnel that don’t do their jobs correctly. Having the right employees who know how to walk the walk goes hand in hand with success.
“Basically, you have to have good people pulling the loads and pulling efficiently,” Moretti says.
For instance, when a fast turnaround is required, Allen & Allen knows exactly who to select. “We know who to send and who not to send when we have a quick turnaround that might be 150 miles away,” says Bobby Joe “Buzz” Miller, president and CEO of Allen & Allen. “We know who likes to get to the site and sit around and chat, and who doesn’t.”
William Young Lumber, the two-unit dealer in New Castle, Del., cross-trains all of its employees in all of the company’s departments. The object is to enable each employee to handle each other’s tasks when someone might take vacation time. “You have to have knowledgeable people in your business, or your business won’t prosper, especially in these very difficult times we are going though right now,” says Harold West, the yard’s president.
6 –Vet Your Vendors
Narrowing the scope of your vendors while zeroing in on key partnerships can boost timeliness. For instance, if 50 companies produce a special-order product, narrow the list to suppliers located within 50 miles.
“Too many companies are in the mind-set that if a customer asks for it, ‘I have to give it to them, even if I have to go to China’,” says Kellick-Grubbs.
Dealers should also keep an eye on vendor deliveries, especially the late ones, and grade suppliers based on their performance. If a vendor continues to be late with deliveries, they may not be the partner you need in the supply chain. In a more sophisticated approach, by allowing primary vendors complete visibility of materials being sold, vendors can act more quickly to re-supply dealers.
7 – Give Cameras to Drivers
ABC Supply is equipping its drivers with camera phones that relay back to management the final status of a delivery, including where and how materials were dropped off at a customer’s site. The move is part of ABC’s new Customer Service Delivery System, which is expected to be fully implemented in all 350 of the Beloit, Wis.-based distributor’s locations by year-end.
Early next year, all of Allen & Allen’s delivery trucks will be mounted with computers that capture signatures and photos for proof of delivery, which the system will store with the delivery ticket for retrieval later.
8 – Enhance Fleet Maneuverability
William Young Lumber uses trucks that don’t require commercial driver’s licenses in addition to its fleet of larger vehicles to serve markets in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Using one-ton trucks with dump bodies, William Young saves money, because the single-axle vehicles cost less at tolls and get better gas mileage then larger vehicles.
More importantly, the trucks allow William Young to make quick turnarounds when small fill-in loads are required, such as delivering 100 extra studs. Given that William Young deals with six of the nation’s largest builders, maneuverability has become an asset, especially in summer when business peaks.
The non-CDL driver pool it maintains includes retired policemen, military, firemen, school teachers and school administrators. West estimates that he’s had at least eight retired Delaware state police officers work at the company since the program’s inception.
“I let them pick their own days and their own hours,” West says. “It’s a different talent pool, and they don’t care if they are working three or 10 hours a day since they have other sources of income, such as their pensions.”
