Carriers and privacy
- Thread starter AMonger
- Start date
Fr8 Shaker
Veteran Expediter
.....t & k ?
Fr8 Shaker
Veteran Expediter
Whats up I put those letters in caps and when posted shows up in lower case ?
If you mean they're compiling a database of which carriers each O/O is leased to, I don't see that as private, exactly - not when the vehicle has the carrier's name on it, and it's driven in public [where anyone might see them]. The question is, for what purpose are they doing it?
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
ahhh have you ever looked at the "Alliance" board??? It will tell you where each truck is located that all members of the "ALLIANCE" have in serivce....down to supply to "partener" carriers, southat they can know wher diamensions and capacity and assigned unit #...
Now if you are running for a "non alliance" carrier,I can see the need for a data base of certain info so that they can provide it to "partener" carriers and having it does provide them with the needed info so that they all can know where available trucks are sitting....
Technology, isn't it a wonderful thing.....
Now if you are running for a "non alliance" carrier,I can see the need for a data base of certain info so that they can provide it to "partener" carriers and having it does provide them with the needed info so that they all can know where available trucks are sitting....
Technology, isn't it a wonderful thing.....
It's good business to make it their business. Is there some reason you don't want the companies you run for to know about the other companies you run for?
Let's say you're the only van in Armpit, AL. One company is bidding on a load for you, against another company, and it just so happens that you run for both companies. Would you rather have both companies bid the load lower and lower and lower for the same van, or would you rather have them work together to get them and you the highest rate?
When you are a company bidding on a load, how would you know what other companies are also bidding on the load? How would you know that there are no other vans in the area from other companies?
AMonger, I do not know why one of your companies would build such a database but it does not seem out of bounds. Have you asked the company that is doing this for an explanation?
I'm guessing here, but if I ran a company, I'd be interested to know if a van I was using also ran for the competition. The more work that van did for the competition, the less I would be inclined to use it when I had a choice. On the flip side, the more a van ran for me, the more inclined I would be to use it when I had a choice.
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Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
It's an anti-shouting thing. If all the letters you type are caps, they come out short-case.
On some (or maybe many) of the bid boards, the bidding process is rather transparent. Carriers often know who they are bidding against and who won the bid. Some just show the other bids, but some who who placed those bids.
You can never be 100% certain, of course, as not all carriers make available where their vans are located. But many carriers make their available van and truck locations known to customers, brokers and other bidders.
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
Nope.67890
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
If you mean they're compiling a database of which carriers each O/O is leased to, I don't see that as private, exactly - not when the vehicle has the carrier's name on it, and it's driven in public [where anyone might see them]. The question is, for what purpose are they doing it?
What if it doesn't? What if the signs are magnetic, or what if there are no signs at all? Either way, I don't see how it's any of their business. If you're a carpenter or a plumber, does your customer interrogate you as to whether you did any work for the Smiths over on Maple Street?
Carpenters and plumbers might not be the best analogy to expediting, since customers will often ask a plumber or carpenter if they have done work for this or that person (or the Smiths in particular), if they haven't in fact already talked with many neighbors to get recommendations for plumbers and carpenters. The Smiths may very well have had some really bad carpentry or plumbing work done, and people may interrogate plumbers and carpenters to ensure they don't get the same level of work.
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
That crossed my mind, but in this case, what's being requested is names of competitors--with which of our competitors are you doing business? And they're asking contractors, not employees.
AMonger
Veteran Expediter
If a van running more for the competition bothers you, the answer is to use it more yourself. Get on the phone and hustle up some good freight for you to put on it. If your freight's on it, it won't be available for the other guys.
It's like a team trying to make the playoffs, trying to catch the teams ahead of them. At some point, a veteran will point out, "We can't control what the other teams do. We just have to execute our game plan and the big picture will take care of itself."
So a better analogy would be a general contractor asking you for which other general contractors you accept subcontracting work - also a reasonable question.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Where is there an assumption of privacy?
This is an open business, it is not treated as a private arrangement between say a mortician and a client.
If the company is "compiling" a list of vans, I don't see the harm in it at the same time don't really see the purpose of it.
What can a company do with that info?
Not much from what I can see.
This is an open business, it is not treated as a private arrangement between say a mortician and a client.
If the company is "compiling" a list of vans, I don't see the harm in it at the same time don't really see the purpose of it.
What can a company do with that info?
Not much from what I can see.
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
Might not be, but then again, if you want them to offer you freight, then you might just need to cooperate. As ChefDennis mentioned, carriers on the Alliance system have the ability to post their trucks' positions. When I look for a van in Burlington, IA, I want to know that the eight vans listed there are really just two, listed four times each.
A customer calls ABC expedite for a load you are sitting on, but you decline it for whatever reason. The last thing ABC wants to do is waste time calling your other companies, XYZ, Blahblah, and Dirtcheap Expedite, only to get declined three more times.
Sounds like they're just trying to keep from stepping on each other's toes.