01.17.21
Our client, a mid-sized logistics (trucking) company with an annual revenue of five million dollars, was rapidly growing and expanding their business during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, the demand for online shopping increased significantly resulting in a massive spike in the number of truck loads that needed to be shipped to their customers.
The high demand for truck drivers created a sourcing problem for several logistics companies around the nation. Many companies needed more truckers causing an extreme amount of difficulty to source an adequate number of truck drivers for contract or full-time work. Additionally, there was no way to predict how long this spike would last, and hiring lots of workers to possibly let them go shortly after wasn’t an ideal option for our client.
The high demand for truck drivers created a sourcing problem for several logistics companies around the nation. Many companies needed more truckers causing an extreme amount of difficulty to source an adequate number of truck drivers for contract or full-time work. Additionally, there was no way to predict how long this spike would last, and hiring lots of workers to possibly let them go shortly after wasn’t an ideal option for our client.
This initial solution would incur a finders fee for every single truck driver the outsourcing company would find which negatively affects our clients profitability. Due to small margins within the logistics industry, this solution would significantly affect their bottom line. Ultimately making it unsustainable for the client. In addition, the legal and PR ramifications that may come along with firing a mass amount of employees created major concerns for the company.
Here at K^2, we believe where software can solve problems, humans should not have to do it. Ideally, a business can solve problems without training, delegating, or hiring new employees.
We proposed a unique software solution which was all encompassing from getting jobs to verifying payment. It allowed the client to post their extra loads onto our application which allowed independent truck drivers to pick up loads on their routes and drop them off.
Why is this a good solution? Because it's a Win-Win-Win!
Due to this solution, the client is now able to ship their loads. Their customers are happy because their products are being delivered on time. Finally, truckers are thrilled because they can make extra money!
Here’s a closer look!
Any independent truck driver who has an empty load can go on the application K^2 created and search for loads along their route. Once they identify a load they want to accept, a contract is created. They would go pick up the load, which would be tracked from pickup location to the destination allowing the customer to see where their shipment is during transit. Once delivered, the client would sign off on the received load. Lastly, once verified, the value of the contract would be paid out to the independent trucker. This process was completed ALL under a single platform!
How is this different from other software solutions such as a traditional job board?
A traditional job board would allow our client to post jobs that independent truckers are able to apply for and potentially receive a contract for said load. If accepted after the interview process, a contract would have to be manually created by our client. In addition, communication of where shipment, timeline, and other rules such as hazmat load would have to be discussed and put into the contract. If agreed upon and a contract act is signed, the truckers would pick up the load and have to give updates of their location manually as they were en route to their destination. Once the shipment is delivered, it would need to be verified by both parties. After all parties are satisfied, a payment would be made to the truckers. This solution would require a number of different platforms to communicate with each other, all while leaving room for human error.
Our solution encompasses all manual steps after a job is posted on a traditional job board. The key is to create the entire ecosystem under a single smart platform. Everything is automatically tracked from creating the initial job posting all the way to paying the truckers via the contract the application initially created for the independent trucker. Hence, we mitigate the amount of room for human error. It becomes another source of revenue for the company since the client takes a small percentage of completed contracts.
The client received a software solution that was able to solve their problem without having to incur the massive cost, workload, and legal headaches of hiring and letting go hundreds of truckers. Their deliveries were made on-time and they were able to quickly increase the number of load requests accepted because of the confidence in their ability to find truckers and fulfill orders.
This solution increased their revenue because the client only paid out the truckers when loads were delivered and was able to collect a small percentage of each completed contract. Once the software generated more revenue than the cost of development, it was quite profitable margins for their business!
Lastly, they added a “truckload” of truck drivers to their network. As their hiring needs change, it is considerably easier and more cost effective to hire full-time truckers.
Using code has a lot of benefits from cost, time, scalability and much more. If you are curious whether a custom software solution is suitable for your business needs please don’t hesitate to reach out for a free consultation!