Access America Transport develops a war room mentality and segregates the disaster operations center apart from our daily operations.We develop contingency plans specific to the customers we service. These plans allow us to coordinate response efforts needed for FEMA, State/Federal agencies, and government contractors.
Below are bullet points to a successful emergency program.
Asset Allocation:
Access America develops relationships with Regional and Long haul trucking companies that will be able to pool trucks to specific regional locations on our command.
Separate contractual agreements are needed to ensure our forecasted capacity is there when and where we anticipate it to be needed.
Response:
Access America responds quickly and effectively to all types of emergencies. We operate from a response center at our corporate office in addition to remote locations across the United States. We are able to staff personnel on site as needed by our customers.
This structure allows us to respond to any disaster and allows Access America the ability to coordinate relief efforts with multiple agencies and jurisdictions.
Communications:
We have a Special 800# set up for emergency operations, an emergency email address that goes to the entire team so that shift workers and everyone involved are all on the same page. Cell phones are on 24/7. We have real time information from radio and TV news sources in our operation center for additional updates.
Poor communication in a disaster environment will quickly deteriorate your operational effectiveness.
Program Director:
An individual per shift is designated as the program director. There is an increase in activity and demand. A team leader is needed to bring everyone together and manage the process so that every task order is completed correctly and efficiently.
The worst thing that can happen in a disaster environment is that everyone is focused on everyone else’s job and not focused on the job they are assigned to do.
Practice in the offseason:
We don’t expect that everything will be up and running as soon as we turn on our PCs on in an emergency. Access America Transport coordinates force tests for emergency plans, procedures, and skills in response to an actual emergency. We call on our trucking companies to get a snapshot of where all their assets are in the country. This proactive approach allows us to see where our strengths and weaknesses are before they happen.
This effort is coordinated not only internally but also with external service providers.
You never know what major disaster maybe threatening the country. It’s best to have a range of different skills and assets to cover your needs. While the key to a successful emergency program is preparedness, you must also have a staff that can empathize with the people they are helping.
While our competitors may create risks by the carriers they use to load a shipper’s cargo on, we manage the risk before the load even happens.
By addressing the issue of carrier compliance you are mitigating against the risk of prosecution, a fatal blow to your organization’s public image, and not to mention possible litigation. This applies to both Shippers and Brokers.
Implementation of a successful compliance program gives you control over your company’s future as well as your customers. Some of our competitors seek short term rewards as opposed to strategic long term gains by having lapsed or loosely controlled management of their carrier “vetting” process and continued monitoring. Access America believes in always going for the quality in the partners we use because customer satisfaction will always be a by-product.
The cornerstone to our successful risk management mandate requires our carriers to be successful in 6 core competencies.
Safety, Solvency, Ethics, Regulatory Requirements, Capacity and Performance
Safety: Access America Transport’s contracted carriers at all times must have an FMCSA Safety Rating of (Satisfactory) or they will not be allowed to be placed on any of our customers loads. This rating is measured by DOT audits and history of accidents.
Our carriers also must have a maximum of a (75) FMCSA SafeStat value or lower to be placed on any of our customers loads. This rating measures a carrier’s maintenance and violations history for their vehicles & drivers. (The lower the number the better rating)
Both ratings are federally regulated and monitored. Access America monitors this daily on all carriers for every shipment. A carrier in violation will be deactivated from use.
Solvency: Access America will not load a carrier that has a history of filing for bankruptcy and just re-opening under another motor carrier number. We run history credit worthiness reports from their Duns, Tax ID numbers and motor carrier numbers. An un-solvent carrier will not be activated for use.
Ethics: Access America Transport will not load a customer’s cargo on a carrier we researched to have a history of holding loads hostage for more payment or we have an industry peer’s knowledge of poor customer service. Carriers with poor business ethics will be de-activated from use. This is constantly monitored.
Regulatory Requirements: Access America Transport at all times will monitor contracted carriers and for new carriers their DOT Operating Authority & Insurance requirements mandated by law. We receive daily reports on changes from the government.
Capacity: This is a very big issue as we look to carriers from large to small to fill the niche our customers require. Whether its 4 flatbed loads a week for dedicated short runs in Alabama to Pool Distribution centers requiring multiple drop trailers for nationwide traffic. We hire carriers that accommodate our customer’s needs.
Performance: Our carriers know that every shipment is monitored from pick up to delivery. They are graded on capacity, on- time pickup and delivery, customer service of the driver, professional manner in the event of a service failure and recovery.
Access America Transport is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company. Our carrier performance measures are ISO Certified. In order for us to maintain this certification our performance measures will never be compromised. A carrier must have the ability to maintain at all times the six core competencies.
As our company continues to grow Access America Transport realized that its growth would be best managed through quality.
Access America Transport began a pursuit of a better way to measure; Our impact in the industry, Our level of customer service and Our overall operational excellence.
Access America Transport is a Third Party Logistics Provider, and in early 2009 we accomplished this goal and became an ISO 9001:2000 certified company. We have now an internationally recognized Quality Management System (QMS) to serve as both a standard and a measure of activities to be accomplished as well as being able to make continuous improvements to our processes.
ISO 9001:2000 certification also serves as a foundation for our corporate growth, without a corporate quality process, we would not know if all of our procedures would be followed as planned and it would be too difficult to ensure distinction and success.”
“Developing the QMS early, as a rapidly growing 3PL, has been helpful in identifying key management indicators and in reducing risk as the company takes on more multi-year and complex tasks.
One of our biggest Key Success Identifiers has been in the Carrier “Vetting” (Investigate to Discover) Process. We have an ISO 9001:2000 certified processes for making sure we are using not only the best carriers in the industry but also a concurrent investigation of their solvency, performance, regulatory requirements, industry related & customer performance feedback.
With very few companies in our industry with this level of a Quality Mandate, Access America Transport has surpassed many of our competitors in service. Access America Transport is now recognized as a principal participant in its commitment to World Class Customer Service and Global Quality Initiatives.
ISO 9001:2000 has also impacted Access America Transport’s strategy toward revenue growth. The standard helps our company to better define the corporate vision, and manage the QMS so its processes would be proportionate to our company’s size. We use the QMS in daily operations, and hold valuable monthly meetings to evaluate quality performance. This alone assists our company to demonstrate its value to our customers.
In conclusion; when we discuss quality with our customers, they know by us being ISO Certified that we have the key elements for success addressed, for us and for them.
It’s almost Spring and that means Frost Restrictions in the Heavy Haul world. During the months of March through May of each year, many northern states and Canadian provinces restrict the axle weights allowable on public roads. Legal limits usually remain the same, but the routine permitted limits are restricted during this time. If you are moving or shipping heavy loads through northern regions, you must take these restrictions and the resulting added costs into consideration. You will need more axles to move these loads than you would at other times during the year, and that will always cost more. The worst case scenario is that the individual states may not grant a permit at all until the weather warms up. It is especially a good idea to consult an experienced heavy haul professional during this time of year to help you prepare for spring time shipping of heavy loads.
In today’s tough economy every shipper is looking to find strategic advantages over their competition. The biggest hurdle for shipping managers continues to be, how I get my product to the end user in the most cost effective, reliable way. It’s a constant battle to find the balance of the cheapest transportation provider with the one that has the best service. A lot of companies are outsourcing their entire transportation department to third-party logistics providers (3PL’s). In 2008, the 3PL industry did over $100 billion in the United States market.
Major Reasons
1. Save Time & Money - 3PL’s have thousands of qualified carriers under contract with the ability to handle your freight. Third-party logistics companies are able to reduce the amount of infrastructure investments in equipment, software, facilities and personnel. A single phone call to a logistics coordinator enables them to select the best value carrier for every shipment. Would it make sense to put that load on the rail? Should we consolidate those LTL’s into a truckload? These 3PL’s are like a having non-paid employees on your staff and allow shippers to focus resources on areas where they are the expert (i.e. manufacturing, product sales).
2. No reason to buy an expensive TMS (transportation management system) - Most reputable 3PL’s have invested in a TMS system or developed their own. These systems can be utilized for free when dealing with a third-party logistics provider. Many companies can even run reports on your freight, analyze shipping patterns and keep scorecards on service quality. All of these factors help reduce overhead for shippers.
3. Liability- Third-party logistics providers manage carrier contracts, DOT safety ratings and insurance certificates better than most shippers. 3PL’s have a back office staff that have SOP’s in place to help the carrier vetting process.
4. Economies of scale - Third-party logistics companies can provide large shipping discounts through economies of scale. 3PL’s are able to achieve much lower operating costs per load due to their ability to leverage their entire business for substantial discounts with trucking companies. These economies of scale can also be seen in the carrier qualification process, technology systems and consistent year-round freight prices.
5. Visibility of loads - Most third-party logistics companies have on-line tracking to give shippers visibility of their loads. Many 3PL’s are able to integrate tracking into shipper IT systems, automated notices, or even real-time delivery notifications by e-mail.
6. Reduce back office duties- 3PL’s have the systems, manpower and the know-how to process thousands of bills a day at a fraction of the cost compared to shippers. They can also audit all of the bills to make sure the carriers are charging the agreed upon rates. This process can be a real headache with large amount of LTL bills. Third-party logistics providers dramatically reduce the need for freight audit and payment personnel.
7. Utilize more carriers - Third-party logistics companies have contracts with thousands of carriers and know the lanes where these partner carriers need freight. 3PL’s also have an extensive network of private fleets. Private Fleets tend to be very lane oriented with lower cost structured and higher levels of service. These carriers tend to have lower driver turnover and newer equipment.
Intermodal Freight Transport involves using multiple outlets for moving containers via rail, ship and trucks without trans-loading any of the freight when changing modes. There are many benefits to intermodal transportation.
Since rail is 3-4 times more efficient than truck, it is cheaper to move the same amount of tonnage via rail than truck. For example, we recently moved a load from Atlanta to Southern California for $1200; the over the road rate for this would have been over $2200. Keep in mind that intermodal rates vary depending on demand just like over the road rates so it is still important to stay competitive and look for the best rates possible.
Intermodal transportation also reduces cargo handling because the goods never leave the container which not only cuts back on labor costs but gives an added level of security since the goods are handled by less people.
With almost 200 years of technological innovation, rail remains the most environmentally friendly way to move the freight that America demands. Steel wheels on steel rail provide a small coefficient of friction resulting in low energy needs per mile. The result is a reduced need for foreign oil, reduced particulate emissions and reduced environmental impact!
There are two types of intermodal options: Container on a Flat Car (COFC) and Trailer on a Flat Car (TOFC). Recently, a mechanism for intermodal shipping known as double-stack rail transport has become increasingly more popular. A 7000-foot train can be loaded, double-stacked in 9 hours and containers can go straight from a train to steam ship or vice versa very easily.
Intermodal Freight Transportation is becoming one of the most popular ways to move goods due to the efficiency and money saving aspects that it provides. For more ways to move your freight, call the team at Access America Transport; let US do the comparison and save YOU the money!
Shipping heavy equipment by rail was once thought as too many moving parts to make it a viable solution. The alternative was shipping their freight using “hard to get” and always expensive over the road specialized equipment.
Times have changed and now and manufacturers, auctions, construction companies, and power generation companies are taking advantage of the heavy haul rail network. Trade organizations like (R.I.C.A). Rail Industry Clearance Association has done a tremendous amount of work to create solutions. They have made great efforts to solve problems that once arose from transporting large dimensional, excess weight, and just out of the ordinary shipments. Heavy equipment that can be shipped by truck before can be rigged to ship by rail. The process can be done so more cost effectively and safer now.
Importing and exporting large heavy equipment by rail from any major US port isn’t a problem either as every port in the US is serviced by one or more major rail roads. The port authorities are very well versed on how to handle heavy equipment coming into and out of their terminals. This continuity among providers has created a seamless transition.
Access America Transport has a working relationship with all North American Rail Roads and has established “volume generated private pricing”. Access America Transport can provide heavy haul customers interested in shipping heavy equipment by rail an advantage in service then going directly to the rail provider themselves.
Access America Transport can manage the entire multi modal process from finding a rail siding, hiring master riggers, utilize private pricing, and even coordinate Local Trucking when necessary.
You cannot obtain a permit for a load that uses multiple pieces to make it over dimensional. For instance, you cannot put two 6’ wide generators together side-by-side to make a 12’ wide load. You cannot stack lumber 9’6” high on a flatbed either. Same thing for putting multiple pieces end-to-end. This is also true for overweight loads. You cannot permit a reducible load for overweight. Any overweight load must be a single piece. If the load is heavy enough, states will require explanations as to why a single piece cannot be broken down further.
Companies build their business on the quality of their products and on their reputation. The product Access America Transport sells is reliable transportation. Reliable transportation begins and ends with the brokers, but in the middle, doing the actual moving, are our carriers. Our LTL carriers play an essential role in earning AAT our reputation. Any carrier has the potential to win us a new customer, or cost us a loyal one. So, choosing the right carrier is the biggest responsibility our brokers have.
Here is what a good carriers looks like. A good carrier has a “Satisfactory” safety rating from the DOT and a low safe stat score (the lower, the better - just like golf). Good carriers have general liability, auto liability, worker’s compensation, and cargo coverage from an insurance company who will send a certificate of insurance upon request. Lastly, good carriers are registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and have an active carrier authority.
How does Access America Transport know they are using these reputable carriers? AAT has a Carrier Compliance Auditor whose responsibility it is to investigate each carrier we work with. When Access America Transport begins working with a carrier, the carrier must provide AAT with documents that prove the carrier is registered with FMCSA and a certificate of insurance that specifies all of their policy types, numbers, limits, and deductibles. The Compliance Auditor verifies a minimum of one million dollars in auto liability coverage and one hundred thousand dollars in cargo coverage for each carrier. Lastly, the Compliance Auditor researches the carrier’s safety rating and authority status with FMCSA.
That is just the initial investigation. How does Access America Transport know their carriers maintain these qualifications? AAT uses two different web-based services that help us monitor all of these aspects. With the first we register each of our carriers by the number issued to them by FMCSA. It sends us three reports each week of changes to safety rating, authority status, and lapses in insurance reports to FMCSA. These changes are recorded in our system. AAT uses a second web-based service to monitor updates to insurance. This one keeps track of insurance policy numbers, limits, and dates of effect for us, transmits that information directly into our system.
Access America Transport is confident that each carrier we send out is going to provide our customers with superior service. We know this because each carrier has proven themselves to us and continue to do this.
LTL is an acronym for Less Than Truckload. This means a shipment that does not require a full 48 or 53 foot trailer. There are many carriers that specialize or offer this service and like full truck load carriers the LTL carriers themselves specialize in different services such as lift gate and residential pick ups and deliveries, guaranteed services, protect from freeze, transit, and bottom line cost to name a few.
LTL equipment:
LTL carriers generally utilize van trailers which are covered or enclosed trailers. There are a few refrigerated LTL carriers who utilize temperature controlled trailers. Roll up doors on the rear for access to the inside of the trailer has become a trend for carriers these days as well. What that means is that the entrance to the trailer is a bit smaller than trailers with swing doors. Most carriers will use pup trailers that they can haul two trailers in tandem and LTL carriers will not accept shipments that cannot fit onto one pup trailer. The drivers around town making pick ups and deliveries are generally driving 53 foot trailers and you will notice the majority of LTL carriers on the interstate running their line haul freight are traveling with two tandem trailers. They do this as the freight has already been sorted for destination and can be easily dropped at the coordination terminals as the freight travels across the country. City drivers are using local day cab trucks that are not equipment with sleeper births that allow the local drivers overall lower weight around town along with increased maneuverability as the trucks are shorter in length. The city drivers will generally have a pallet jack in their trailers so they can adjust the freight on their trailers throughout their days. The carriers will have strategically placed terminals where they are able to consolidate all their freight to be picked up and delivered. As a shipment moves from pick up to destination it will be placed with other freight that is bound for the same area to be delivered.
LTL rates:
Rates for LTL freight are determined by class, weight, pick up and destination zip codes (in the transportation industry this is commonly referred to as the “lane”), and any additional services required to meet the shipper’s and consignee’s (this is another term for the delivery location) needs. Carriers will offer shippers and brokers discounts for freight that they are wanting to secure for business. The amount of discount is negotiated with the carrier and FAK’s (freight of all kinds) maybe offered to lessen the perceived cost of shipments in addition to the discounted rates. What FAK really means is say a shipper wants to move his products which are class 85 microwaves and is negotiating his rates with a carrier. The carrier may offer to move this freight at a lower class of 50 thus lowering the perceived cost. Because Access America does not offer FAK rates our discounts are deeper across the board and this means that we move every one of customers freight at the designated class.
Fuel surcharges are the fuel costs associated with the lane of a shipment and added on top of line haul costs. Fuel is updated on a weekly basis and is based on the national average of diesel. With rising fuel costs LTL has seen an increase as when people are buying less the need to ship is lower. So where a company used to fill up a whole trailer with their product now they may only need half as much trailer space and can ship their product cheaper by going LTL instead of using a full truck load carrier.
Volume shipments are shipments that we at Access America define as over 4,000lbs and/or over 12 feet of trailer space. Our discount space is 12 feet of trailer or 6 48inx48in pallets that cannot be stacked or 12 48×48 pallets that can be stacked. For shipments of these size and weight our brokers will automatically seek out a backhaul quote from one of the 25 carriers we use who will give the best rate and transit that meet our customers needs. Backhaul is an industry term meaning a lane that a carrier needs to get “back” to where they have regular/daily freight.
Accessorial charges such as residential pick up, lift gate delivery, call ahead notification to the receiver, or job site pick up or delivery are some additional services that LTL carriers will offer. These services are very handy for customers whose freight may not always pick up at or deliver to a facility that is equipped with a dock and fork lift.
Carriers determine some of these charges as a percentage of the weight or simply as a flat charge. Guaranteed services are offered by the majority of our carriers and like volume shipments explained above Access America brokers will get our customer a rate for these shipments so the best rate and transit is matched up to our customer’s needs.
LTL packaging:
Carriers require the product they haul to be packaged and labeled to DOT standards. This is to protect them from freight that could easily be damaged or cause damaged to surrounding product, persons, and the environment for shipping hazardous materials. This maybe an inconvenience for the first time or seldom shipper who is not aware of how to properly package their shipment but it is very necessary. While inconvenient on the front end of the process of shipping products it will save money in the long run as the cost to package a shipment properly will increase the opportunity to save money on transporting the product. Now that your shipment is packaged properly it can be put with other product on the LTL carrier’s trailer and Access America can utilize our deep discounts to move the product for you where as a product that was once fragile and turned down to be hauled by an LTL carrier and would have to be loaded on a dedicated vehicle instead of traveling with other freight that is properly packaged.
Choosing an LTL carrier:
Access America makes this choice simple for our customers. We have discounts with 25 different carriers and our system automatically creates a list of carriers who move freight on that lane and offer the services needed for a successful shipment. Rates and transits are displayed next to the carrier’s name and is as simple as a press of the button.
Why use Access America?:
Access America started as a flatbed full truck load broker who grew into a full service broker meaning we can move any type and size of product for our customers needs. On a daily basis we move LTL shipments, full truck load shipments, international shipments, heavy haul, utilizing ocean carriers, rail carriers, expedited carriers, and heavy haul carriers.
With our extensive knowledge and specialized brokers we will work for our customers to move their products at the most cost effective way while still meeting their transit needs. For instance a regular truckload customer has a smaller than usual shipment and our customer alerts their broker on the details of the shipment and with just a couple of quick questions what would have been a $1000.00 shipment can be loaded on an LTL carrier for only $300.00 and this was done by the excellent communication of our brokers to service our customers needs while being cost effective and competitive. Our online system offers the quick quote option and will generate a BOL for every shipment. Our readily available friendly brokers are here for our customers and have the attention to detail to make sure each shipment is handled from pick up to delivery with white glove service everyone should expect.
Have questions regarding Access America’s LTL program? Feel unsure about the system and want a personal walk through the process? After trying out demo (demo login: access1 password: demo) do you want a login and password built personally for your company? Feel free to contact me at the below phone number or email.
Next Page »
|
