The Business of Independent Service Provider Contracting

This week’s blog is the first in a two-part series of posts by Bob Tiell, an eTruckBiz Coach, who resides in Lexington, KY. His experience includes years of operational management at FedEx Ground.

Goal Setting - Business Plans and Safety

Even though we're in the middle of peak, it's time to start planning our next twelve months. If planned well with the right goals set at the beginning of the year, we can make peak 2021easier and more efficient for everyone involved. If you haven't already started thinking about your 2021 goals, perhaps you'll find some helpful direction and starting points in this brief blog post.

Let's start with the likelihood that your company has grown throughout the years, and you’ve probably added supplemental routes. They then became full routes (after FedEx Ground approval).

Plus, you've probably added more drivers and a BC, or two, over the years. What's next?

Topics: Business Structure, Business Tools, Business Planning, Intelligence, Business Metrics, ISP, FedEx Ground, Business, Metrics, Profit, leadership, safety, coaching

(Dawn Nyen, Courtesy of Dawn Nyen)

A co-worker recently suggested that I reach out to a customer who has an interesting history with entrepreneurship.

My conversation with Dawn Nyen developed into our most recent Success Story.  And just in case you don’t venture over to that page on our website, I’ll share one of her lessons learned in this blog post, but trust me the interview is worth the few minutes it takes to read.

Dawn’s path to becoming a FedEx Ground Contractor started in a hotel ballroom. She answered a local newspaper ad instructing people to attend a local recruiting meeting about owning a business. Dawn and her sister were the “last ones standing” in the room. Then, her sister dropped out leaving Dawn standing all alone.

Topics: Business Results, Management, FedEx Ground, Business, Investment, Metrics, contractor, Profit, leadership

For more than 8 years, we’ve been building products & services to help CSP’s transform the way they approach running their businesses.

Recently, the FXG model itself has been transforming in unprecedented ways. For most CSP’s , the days of being a “hands-on” operator are gone, and the need to provide leadership & management through systems, processes and people are quickly being implemented. The days where you or your BC’s could “jump in a truck” to fix things are gone.

Topics: Business Structure, Business Tools, Business Planning, Timekeeping, Bookeeping, Intelligence, Business Metrics, ISP, FedEx Ground, Business, Negotiation, model, Metrics, Profit, leadership, safety, coaching, Scheduling, Dynamic Route Optimization

Let’s start today’s blog post with a multiple choice question.

What does EVERY FedEx Ground Contractor need?

a.) Qualified drivers.

b.) Available qualified drivers to replace current drivers in the future.

c.) Qualified drivers for Peak.

d.) All the above.

Answer: d.) All of the above.

If you’re covered up with spare qualified drivers, then you’re set. This business is your oyster.

If you’re not, then finding qualified drivers is by far the biggest moving component of your revenue generating machine. Here are five recruiting changes that must happen now to be successful.

Topics: Driver Recruiting, Business Results, Management, FedEx Ground, Metrics, leadership

In the last blog post about time management, I recommended tracking your tasks. Did you? If you really want to fix an issue, you follow a process.

So, if you want to improve at managing your time and tasks, you gotta start with accurate facts. It’s the first step to discovering time to do things you'd rather be doing.

Now, it’s time for the next step.

Topics: Business Tools, Business Results, Timekeeping, Management, FedEx Ground, Metrics, leadership

Ever wished you could stop time? How about rewind time? Yep, you’ve had those thoughts. Your secret is safe with me.

The truth is our world spins around the sun in a cycle of light and dark we call days and nights. It's way beyond our control. Above our pay-grade as the saying goes. So, why do we think we can manage time?

A co-worker recommended a book written by Todd Duncan called Time Traps. Let me preface something right now, I haven’t read the whole book. I’ve skimmed the first few chapters. Gimme a small break, okay.

Topics: Business Tools, Business Results, Timekeeping, Management, FedEx Ground, Metrics, leadership

Do you feel like you’re in a thankless job? If so, you’re not alone. Most FedEx Ground CSP’s can provide daily evidence to support that conclusion. You work daily ensuring that packages are delivered (and picked up) safely to and from the correct addresses. Many times, you do this based on information that leaves something to be desired.

That’s why last week’s ceremony in front of the White House was so extraordinary. The President of the United States spent a few minutes recognizing truckers including a FedEx Ground Contractor.

Topics: FedEx Ground, contractor, leadership, safety

Today's blog post is by our guest blogger, Brian Reeves, of Reeves Delivery Group.

By Brian Reeves, Reeves Delivery Group

MANAGERS WHO RUN ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES NEED TO BE RECRUITING HUGE NUMBERS OF NEW EMPLOYEES TODAY, JUST IN CASE THINGS GET 50 TIMES WORSE.

Topics: Business Planning, Driver Recruiting, FedEx Ground, Business, leadership

Here's a quote that correctly sums up today's blog post , "The past is in your head. The future is in your hands."

You'll recall that our last blog post dealt with the fact that today's FXG Contracting environment is very different than it was several years ago. More specifically we said what is being done has not changed as much as how it's being done differently.

Topics: FedEx Ground, contractor, Profit, leadership

What was once “wild speculation” has now obviously become reality. As most of you know, we were among the first and few trumpeting the change of your business from lifestyle to transportation company. Now that the transformation is at least halfway complete, it should now be obvious that “what worked in the past won’t work in the future”.

Topics: FedEx Ground, contractor, Profit, leadership