As the owner of a trucking business, you know that the more time, resources and revenue that you devote to running your business, the lower your profit margins and fewer opportunities you have to increase your revenue. If you’ve got a growth mindset for your trucking business in 2022, there are several actions that you can take to reduce your operating costs in the new year and boost your profit margins. In this blog, you’ll learn how to use free technology to grow your profit margins in the coming year. Check out these five strategies for reducing operating costs in your owner operator or trucking company business.
1. Make Your Operations More Efficient
Doing everything by hand may be what you know best, but it doesn’t mean it’s the best approach for your business. Increasing the efficiency of your business processes is one of the easiest ways to reduce operating costs and raise profits. Free tools like Trucker Tools’ mobile app and carrier software platform digitize your communications with freight brokers and help increase productivity. With Trucker Tools’ driver app, you can find the nearest weigh scale, parking, loads with your favorite brokers, truck stops, rest areas and more. If you use Trucker Tools’ free carrier software platform as a dispatcher, you can book loads digitally, easily book backhauls and save your favorite lane searches for future use.
2. Embrace Technology
One of the most effective ways to improve productivity is to be open to using technology in your operations. That doesn’t mean you need to invest in every technology on the market. Instead, identify the most repetitive and manual aspects of your operations and see if technology can help you reduce the time and human resources devoted to those tasks. For example, if your dispatcher or drivers are being inundated with check calls, consider using a real-time load tracking technology to reduce phone calls from shippers and brokers. The load tracking tool in Trucker Tools’ free mobile app can be used with most brokers and shippers and can reduce or eliminate check calls. When drivers use Trucker Tools for digital load tracking, they can upload and send BOL and POD documents through the app, which also saves time.
3. Optimize Routes To Reduce Fuel Expenses
The high price of diesel fuel is eating into everyone’s profit margins these days, whether you’re an independent owner op or a carrier owner. One way to keep your fuel expenses in check is to use technology that optimizes your routes and helps you/your drivers locate the cheapest fuel on the route. With Trucker Tools’ free driver app, you can enter your pickup and destination points and the app will find the best route to your destination(s) and identify the cheapest stops for fuel all along that optimized route. It’s worth noting that the Routing & Fuel Optimizer is one of the most popular features in the Trucker Tools app year after year. In addition to showing you where to find the cheapest fuel on your route, the Routing & Fuel Optimizer tells you how long it will take to reach your destination.
4. Build Strong Shipper, Broker Relationships
Seasoned trucking professionals will tell you that trucking is a cyclical business with ups and downs. It’s important to remember that the way you communicate with and interact with freight brokers today could impact your business and how brokers treat you in the future. Consider using free, real-time technology to strengthen relationships with specific freight brokers that you like running for. With Trucker Tools’ driver app and free carrier platform, you can search for loads from your favorite brokers first before you go the general market looking for loads. Once you find a load with your favorite brokerage in our app or carrier platform, you may be able to book the load digitally using free tools like Trucker Tools’ Book It Now®, which ultimately will also help you reduce your operating costs.
5. Provide Work/Life Balance for Drivers
The competition for good drivers is fierce right now. It’s important to remember, however, that attracting and retaining drivers requires more than a competitive salary. In addition to offering competitive pay, it’s in your best interest to find out what is important to each driver and to try to give it to each of them. Driver churn is expensive and it can leave you hanging and unable to meet your customers’ needs.
“It’s important to maintain that human aspect to your business,” said Chelsee Patton, Riverside Transport’s Director of Recruiting, in a recent interview with Trucker Tools. “Right now, if you’re not careful in my opinion, you really can dehumanize the driver, and if you do that, then you’re going to lose them totally. You have to keep in mind that this is a person who needs time off, they need breaks, they need compassion and they need understanding.”
Tax season is fast approaching! Be sure to read Five Tax Tips for Owner Operators.
To download the Trucker Tools app, visit https://www.truckertools.com/carriers/.
To start using Trucker Tools’ free carrier software platform, visit https://bookaload.truckertools.com/.
