Fleet (Trucks) Management tips

[wowiesy]

I am still at it in this issue...

I've started to change the way we do things on some areas (systems) but the fact of the matter is, fuel is still the single biggest cost!..

Pinaka bago na trak na namin is mga surplus na bili pa nung early / mid 2000s... the rest... 1990's pa.. either bili sa surplus, auction.. or hatak sa mga accounts na di na makabayad...

crucial is fuel... especially for our long haul trucks... maka save man lang ako ng fuel sa mileage.. malaking bagay na... example na lang.. we "clocked" a few of our 10W trucks to be 2 - 3 km/liter... I do not know ang benchmark sa labas kung ilan dapat... pero, assuming kaya pala ng 4 - 5km/liter... that's already a 2 - 3km/liter difference! at 45/ltr and at 5,000 kms minimum per month... that's already 450,000 - 675,000 savings!!! in 2 - 3 months, maka ROI na ako sa fuel pa lang kung sakaling bili ng bagong trak (well.. not really brand new.. but mas modelo na trak - 10W wing van now is what.. about 1.2M ? ) I think I need to know ano ang fuel mileage sa labas na realistic maabot... because dun manggagaling ang justification ko (whether to buy, or to overhaul the engine, engine rebuild - is this an option?, change engine perhaps)

any leads?

are there pinoy local haulers forums here? or saan kaya makakuha ng data on fuel mileage / consumption? for a typical engine model perhaps?

will overhauling an engine improve fuel efficiency? engine rebuild? kung change engine na lang sa mas modelong makina? may gumagawa ba dito ng ganun? possible ba to source locally ng mga malalaking engines for 10W trucks?

Bump up please....

[ARB]

from your posts that most are pre 90's and surplus most of the engines, the 10w na isuzu would probably be the 10p series na either a/b/c, and if may fuso 8dc series. Used to have dump trucks that haul filling materials but here in the province, the average consumption is 2-3 km/l which almost the same as you have measured also.

sa parts suggest ko is canvass first, at least 3 to 4 na suto supply, take note also of the brands that they sell, may replacement na parts na mura but wont last long. sa tires naman, since you do highway lang I suggest you get steel belted truck tires, if not branded lang, gajah tunggal is one brand that stays long.

monitor mo lang na monitor at least the ang tao mo mag dadalawang isip in case gusto ka nilang dayain. even the most stringent measures implement mo kung gusto ka nilang dayain kaya yan nila.

[metslgx]

Bump up please....

Good morning! I actually posted a very long comment here yesterday kaya lang nagloko email ko due to some solar storm daw or whatever it is that caused communications satellites (?) to malfunction!

Anyway, your concern caught my attention as throughout my career, medyo parte ng trabaho ko ang distribution.

Very complicated animal. Will you do it on your own, or will you outsource! If you do it on your own, you already have a first hand experience on the the negative aspects of its operations that far more outweigh its pros.

You have to deal with different personalities which as we all know, (not to belittle these hard working people) but they have a very different personality.

Andyan ang absent ang driver/pahinante, truck break-downs, fuel pilferage, spare parts at tools and equipments na nawawala o hindi mo alam kung overpriced ang pagka bili, vulcanising kuno, huli, etc. etc. Kung sitahin mo syempre galit at maramdamin yang mga yan.

May parking ka at motorpol na mine-maintain that in all practicality, you could have used your lot for other income generating purposes. May mga tao ka din ito na hindi mo rin syempre alam kung sino ang gumagawa ng mga kalokohan, so you are always on the watch. You buy and install GPS, you are probably by now, thinking of getting cctv's for your warehouse and motorpool.

I am not also sure if you have proper inventory of your parts and other supplies and how your issuance and receiving are being documented, kasama na ang inventory at consumption report ng iyong fuel, oils and tires. All of these you need to be able to have proper accounting of! Mapagkakatiwalaan din ba ang iyong book keeper at purchaser? hehe...

Your father would like to have total control of his operations and maybe he is right kung talagang mapagkakatiwalaan naman lahat ng taong gumagalaw sa organisation nyo pero kung hindi, it is really your responsibility to show proof and figures that you are spending way too much money on your current set-up and provide a more solid justification why outsourcing is a much better alternative. Of course the main hurdle is how to convince your father that he will have a better peace of mind going your other way.

Ang tag line nga sa Logistics di ba core-competency! You manufacture and sell your product so that must be your core competency and you would want to invest your time and effort on how to make your products better and accepted by your target market, and strategise on how to sell more and get better margins. You donot want to waste your time on items or services that can be provided to you by other parties where their own competence lies. In this case is trucking and distribution, and to some extent, probably even the management of your warehousing and inventory!

Try to source for trucking companies with good track record. Ask for proporsals and compare them with your own cost. Do remember that cost is just one of the components as if their cost (porposal) is more or less the same with your own cost, remember that your major headache is your managing your fleet yourself and the other things that comes with it.

Hi jacking and short deliveries are one of your concerns which you can now pass on to your service provider as this is part of your agreement. In the case of warehousing, they are responsible for the losses and damages of your goods while it is in their possession.

Remember to choose trucking companies with sufficient marine insurance that will cover the value of your goods, and complete papers plus list of clients that they currently have for your reference and peace of mind.

If the above still does not convince your father, and while you are trying very hard to come up with a very good project study to present to your father, you should try attending seminars/trainings on logistics and supply chain. Ateneo and La Salle offer courses on this and this would open your world and will keep you attached to the Industry.

If you really want to do outsourcing, remember that your next problem is how to dispose of your fleet and your conscience that will bog you thinking about all those people that will be laid off and how their families would be able to cope.

You can then consider proffessionalising them and help them put up a cooperative. The purpose here is for the said cooperative and your company to have an agreement on a lease to own term for your current fleet and provide sole trucking service to your company (initially). You will have to teach your drivers and pahinante's to run and manage the cooperative by themselves eventually. This has a potentially win-win situation for both of you.

Thanks and i hope i was able to provide you of some assistance.

[loidch]

10wheelers and dumps are around 4kms/ltr. loaded one way
22wheelers at around 2kms/ltr. both ways loaded
i make sure the drivers make at least 18k a month just to lessen the temptations. they are paid by trips btw. i also made it a point that trips are always available and it for their asking.
plugging all the leaks in the system is impossible.....i can nurse a few cuts and lick the wounds, but if its an amputation then one of us has to go