BestNow

INSIDE: DECIMATING DETENTION
BestNow
The official publication of BestTransport, the leader in transportation management
BestTransport.com
JUNE 2019
Getting
smart
about freight management
(Psssttt: Best can help)

PORT OF ENTRY ASK REO: SMART ON DETENTION
Clean up
the d-word
In the history of transportation,
one of the old plagues has
been detention of equipment
and drivers. It’s a big problem.
A recent FreightWaves study
provides insight. At its peak, the
average load paid $2.03 per mile.
A driver traveling 550 miles a day
would generate $1,116.60 a day
and $5,582.50 in revenue over
five days. Drivers get an average
of 3.73 loads a week. That leaves
a deficit of 1.27 loads a week per
driver. That calcuates to 698.5
miles lost. At $2.03 a mile, that
adds up to $1,417 in lost weekly
revenue, or $73,684 a year.
So what does all that mean?
Well, it means that if you can
figure out why you’re losing haul
time, you can increase revenue.
It could be that detention
caused by delays at docks loading
or unloading is a big problem. I
believe each of us understands
this could be an issue. BestTransport
co-founder Vince Ciroli
knew it years ago. That’s why he
came up with the Freight Friendly
Initiative.
Here’s a CliffsNotes explanation
of FFI: It suggests that caring
for the well-being of a driver
could mean carriers will review
CLICK HERE OR ON HIS NAME TO EMAIL REO HATFIELD
rates per mile or savings in
detention costs. What does caring
for the well-being of drivers
mean? How about:
• Having the comforts of the
driver in consideration, including
• the timing of the driver loading
and unloading
• the ability of the driver to
have a dock
• the ability to provide a place
for parking
• the ability to share some coffee,
drinks, snacks and restrooms
• the proper scheduling of
loading and unloading and a
place to wait.
Then, just maybe, if we are a
team, this will net savings.
If we increase capacity through
better performance and fewer
delays, if we manage properly
the pickup and delivery schedules
and we offer the services I
just described, then we become
a friendly destination or starting
location.
Today, with electronic logging
devices, or ELDs, in trucks,
dispatchers can determine the
availability of rigs at given times.
Best’s Transportation Management
System allows for scheduling,
dock locations, advanced
knowledge of truck arrivals and a
lot more that add up to savings.
We are taking data and using it
to improve efficiency.
Detention charges filed by carriers
are not cheap. Some have
two hours’ free time for detention
and then charge $30 on the low
end to $100 per hour on the top
end. They also have set limits of
$600 per one detention.
If you follow the FFI of Best-
Transport, you might find your
true detention at the lower end of
the cost.
A concern is this: We want all
parties to be fair. We have found
that what was a fuel surcharge
to replace costs for higher fuel
has turned into a profit center
for some. The improvement of
miles per gallon on trucks has
lost its way in the fuel surcharge
and needs to be discussed in
contracts. The average mph on
trucks has changed from 5.1 to
7.1 mpg or greater. At this level,
carriers save more than $21,000
a year on fuel alone.
In fairness, the cost for trucks
have gone up as well. Detention
is a way to assist carriers with
cost. It is also a cost creating an
incentive to shippers to control
docks.
Nobody can prevent some
delays due to manufacturing,
product or quality issues, but
all of us can use our systems to
schedule better.
Carriers need to be at the
docks on time. Use your system
to track and the dashboard on
the Best TMS to keep records
of failures by carriers as well as
shippers.
Carriers normally deliver in
the mornings and pick up in the
late mornings and afternoons.
Consignees who ignore the unloading
cause harm to not only
the carriers but the shippers who
are dependent on the proper
appointment schedules. Carriers
that fail to be on time in the
morning need to be addressed as
well.
Detention is costly to all. It
needs to be fair to all. You need
to negotiate your detention
up front, schedule your loads
properly at the dock and use your
TMS dashboards to score carriers’
performance and yours.
Detention is not to be a profit
center. Failure to monitor, no
tracking, not holding each
other accountable and schedule
failures turn a cost into a profit
center for those that don’t manage
drivers properly.
I consulted Darlene Boeck,
traffic manager at Corey Steel
Company in Cicero, Illinois, for
her thoughts. Here’s what she
said:
“My approach (only mine
for now it appears) is to reset
the fuel surcharge scale so that
it accurately reflects what it
was originally intended for: To
compensate drivers when fuel
is at a premium. I think many
carriers, as you stated, use the
surcharge to offset detention or
other peripheral charges, but,
unfortunately, EVERY shipper
or receiver gets hit with the same
bat, regardless of whether they
are a detention offender or not.
I think carriers and shippers
should bite the bullet, charge a
real-cost line haul charge, reduce
the fuel surcharge and bill the
appropriate shipper or receiver
when detention does occur.
This would be a paradigm shift
for all carrier and shippers if it
were considered, but it would
reward those folks who work to
keep their docks efficient and
place the burden of detention on
those who struggle.”
Reo B. Hatfield is chief operating
executive of BestTransport.
Email him at rbhatfield@besttransport.com.
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june 2019 3

MAIN FRAME
4 best now
$mart
money
is on smart
technology
But it takes far more than
gadgetry to deliver results
in the profit column. That’s
where best comes in.
Volvo is an industry leader in smart technology for all types of trucks.
“Nobody give me trouble ‘cause
they know I got it made. I’m bad,
I’m nationwide.”
— ZZ Top
Jimmy carter occupied
the Oval Office,
the Pittsburgh
Pirates were world
champs and global
trade largely was
the province of international
conglomerates when
ZZ Top released its hit single “I’m
bad, I’m Nationwide” in 1979.
That year also marked the passage
of the Trade Agreements Act,
its objectives including, among
other things: fostering the growth
and maintenance of an open
world trading system.
Four decades later, players of
all types and sizes compete in the
global market, so much so across
many industries that the ability to
operate worldwide — never mind
nationwide — is a prerequisite. In
those instances, those who can’t
go global can’t go at all. The world
has grown smaller.
Technology has made it all possible,
opening avenues that only
could have been imagined when
a peanut farmer from Georgia
roamed the White House halls.
Supermax ships, containers and
cargo aircraft all have become
ubiquitous. But more importantly,
the internet has taken over
— the web is worldwide — and
an e-commerce marketplace has
emerged.
That has swept in the burgeoning
era of the Internet of Things
and artificial intelligence, which,
in turn, will bring about a future
in which autonomous rigs rumble
down the highways.
Leaders in freight are scrambling
to modernize and take advantage
of technology’s potential
to improve efficiency, cut cost and
enhance quality.
But challenges have multiplied
with the opportunity.
In the disco-crazed days of ‘79,
global dealings took place in the
long shadows of the Cold War between
the United States and Soviet
Union. Today, tensions are
running high everywhere, not the
least of which between three per-
Continued on next page
By the numbers
The American Association
of Importers and Exporters
last year surveyed companies
to learn how they are using
technology to address global
trade woes. Some of the findings:
Risk fears
What are the top risks facing
supply chain managers?
34%
Regulatory
42%
Supplier and transportation
Top objectives
What are your business
goals?
Reduce costs 57%
Increase customer
satisfaction 46%
ID auto. technology 30%
Build relationships 14%
june 2019 5

petual foes, the U.S., Russia and
China. Perhaps never in history
has commerce confronted such
a confluence of events, from the
tension over tariffs and sanctions
to the rapid advance of technology,
partly fueled by customer demands
reaching their zenith.
Coursing through all this is the
unfolding digital transformation,
with smart technology capable of
tracking, monitoring and correcting
everything from room temperature
to freight’s precise location
at any point in time.
“These problems exacerbate
typical risks and uncertainties associated
with cross-border trade,”
according to an American Association
of Exporters and Importers
(AEI) white paper titled “How
Are Companies Using Technology
to Address Global Trade Woes?”
Smart companies are investing
in smart technology. But like everything
else in the modern era,
merely investing isn’t enough.
“The best-performing companies,”
according to AEI, “are
employing complementary technologies
that allow them to gain
granular visibility and increase
agility.”
Translation: Technology is only
part of a larger picture that must
be considered with care in order
to ensure a smart investment.
Enter BestTransport. Relying
on Best’s Professional Services
Group can help companies put
together a comprehensive strategy
that delivers real bottom-line
results.
“Technology is a wonderful
tool,” said Best Chief Operating
Executive Reo B. Hatfield. “But
it’s only part of the equation.
You can’t expect technology to
do it all. You need to match it to
what you’re trying to accomplish.
That’s where we can help.”
The first step is identifying
goals, Hatfield explained. That
provides the framework for formulating
a strategy with technology
as a linchpin. Best is ready to
help make it happen.
6 best now
J. Scott Cummans
President and CEO
Reo B. Hatfield
chief operating executive
1103 SCHROCK ROAD, SUITE 100, Columbus, OH 43229 | (614) 888-2378 | BestTransport.com