We have been discussing the following issues and wonder what others think of these policies:
When you say "we" who do you mean?
What would happen if the slate was wiped clean and we no longer had Express Centers
It could mean a change from dwell time that begins when you check into an express center to dwell time that begins when you deliver, wherever you happen to be. "Time from Last Load" could begin immediately and the clock could pause while you were out of service.
What would fair compensation be for a truck that is pre dispatched several days before a load is to pickup and the load cancels on morning of pickup?
A shipper-paid truck ordered but not used penalty of $500 a day, seems fair. The carrier should be paid too because of the work it put into the load. We can talk about the amount and other variables that may come into play, but the current dry run system of a token amount paid to the carrier by a shipper is a joke.
Diane and I have been burned by shippers who abuse the system by booking loads to secure trucks, and paying the small price for canceling the load because it is convenient to them. There are two shippers we no longer serve because of it.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Three strikes and you are out.
When those shippers call now for a truck and dispatch calls us, our answer is no, unless the shipper or carrier will agree to pay the full amount of the run even if the run cancels. If they are willing to pay, we would be pleased to serve the customer. This transfers the risk of a canceled run from us to the shipper (a known bad actor) or carrier (if the carrier is serious about serviing the customer).
We do not ask this of all shippers, only the two at particular locations that have burned us three times and left us marooned in remote areas at great cost to us; after we responded to and acted on their load offers in good faith and fully prepared to hold up our end.
Without such a policy change, we are left with the present one, in which a driver is foolish to agree to a load that picks up several days in advance. We've been burned doing that too and learned our lesson. In the several days we wait for the pick up, any number of other loads could be dispatched to our truck. The more time there is between the moment of dispatch and the pick up, the more likely it is that unforeseen circumstances will develop and the load will cancel.
What is fair compensation when a truck has started traveling towards pickup and the load cancels?
Pay the truck the rate per mile, all miles, that was agreed to when the load was dispatched. Grant less-than-75 status as is done now with a dry run.
Should a truck be paid for all miles they have traveled towards the pickup and then when load cancels all miles back to where the truck moved
No. If express centers are eliminated, and less than 75 status is granted for a canceled load, the truck has a fair chance at all loads within reach, regardless of location. As often as not, the truck may end up in a better location when proceeding toward a pick up that canceled.
With driver variables such as they are, one driver may be thrilled to end up wherever half-way to a shipper may be and another driver may be disappointed. Your question assumes that the driver would want to return to the starting point after a load cancels. I don't think that assumption should be made.
Why when stopped do we have to check in when the computer knows where we are?
Because the FedEx Custom Critical "state of the art" dispatch system is anything but. It contains assumptions that were built into it before cell phones were invented and the telephone booth was the primary means of communication. These decades-old built-in assumptions remain in place because the perceived need or will to ferret them out has not developed with sufficient energy and mass among the powers that be.
Comment:
These are good questions you are asking but I caution you and the "we" against seeing the world in the context of the present dispatch system and Qualcomm technology. Look past what is and think about what will be.
Everybody has a cell phone today and the explosion of smart phones and aps make it possible to outmaneuver Qualcomm at a fraction of the cost. Smart phones or smart phone-like devices that are tied into the truck engine may be the way of the future for trucks needing that link.
Why bother with expensive Qualcomm devices when drivers can carry devices in their pockets, that could also be set in truck-linked dashboard cradles, that have more computing power and application flexibility than Qualcomm users of the past can even begin to imagine if they think only of Qualcomm or Qualcomm-like possibilities?
When thinking not about what is, but about what will be, smart phones have another distinct advantage. The cost of being wrong or changing course is small. Why spend years researching in-truck systems and tons of money to install them when smart phones can do the job? If you are wrong about what you want the technology to do, don't change the device, simply change the aps.
These are challenging and exciting times. We are rapidly reaching the point where billions of people worldwide will be carrying computers in their pocket and have, via the internet, instant access to nearly all of the world's known information. This will cause everything to be invented anew and require leaders in the transportation industry to hone and further develop their imaginations and visionary skills.
