How you can save on ffi a, delivery costs

ces as discussed last month in "Delivery Policy. " The counterpart of this policy is the establishment of position descriptions for those being managed. These guides are the game plans for all the players and indicate who is responsible for what.

Employees are generally categorized as those who work in the yard (yard men, fork lift operators, warehouse men, etc.) and those who work outside or from the yard (drivers, helpers, etc.). No one set of position descriptions fits both inside and outside people. Many, in practice, perform part or all of the tasks involved.

For our purpose, we are grouping the tasks most frequently performed by drivers in three categories plus a set of general responsibilities.

Questions on deliverl costs? Send them to this magazine at 4500 Campus Dr., Suite 480, New'port Beach, Ca. 92660. Wally Lynch w ill answer them in future issues. This is your chance to take advantage of his expertise in cutting your delivery costs.

This month Wally Lynch continues his analysis of the job of a delivery dispatcher for a lumber and building materials dealer-ed.

arHE DISPATCHER is a manager-a I manager in charge of insuring the completion of delivered sales. He changes sales to receivables with the help of yard people and drivers.

Managing requires a policy which spells out acceptable activities and performan-

General Responsibilities

o accommodate customers r maintain good personal hygiene

. report to . wear and maintain company uniform

Responsibility

FOR TRUCK & operate truck o refuel truck r pcrfbrrn prevcntive nraintcnruce

. keep truck clean o fill out trip tickets accident reports whcn neccssary

Assure acccssory availabililr

RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN YARD o load truck(s) o tic dorrn loads o chcck loads

. operatc fork li11(s) (Pick)

RESPONSIIllI.ITY OLiTSIDE YARI) o makc cu\lomer delircrrcs o follorv bcst routes o locatc cleli"erl' sites o rraintain schedules

. direct hclpcr's efforts o collect COI)s

. obtain rccc-ipt signaturc

. rcceil'c pat'rncnts o take salc orders o rtt:rke lt:ut,l nl:r, emertls

. nrake on-sitc hand pick ups

. r'nake tearn track pick ups o nrakc vcndor pick ups

. rnake branch transfers

Your companv nral' harc sali\lactor) posilion dcscriptions in place, but i1'not, it's easl to prepare thcnr and at thc same time oaluate *hat nou' exists. A tirre tested way of doing this task is to ask each driver to \\'nte doun *hat he thinks lri.jof i'. I ct hirrr u\(' alt) cri'tirrg position dcscription arailablc as a guiclc. Comparc his list with r.vhat you think hc should bc doing. Bcttcr still, usc the above lists as thcy' agrcc riith )our colnpany's needs lbr the conrparison. Adcl or subtract as local conditions clictate.

The drffercncc betrveen u'hat the conr pany wants clone and *'hat the drivers think the compan) uants donc is the tsilight zone. It should be clarit'icd in the position description. The complcted guide should be availablc and used b1' all. This exercise needs to be done oncc a )'ear to kccp position descriptions up to ciate.

Drivers see customers dail1, usualll' more' often than alnrost anyonc clsc in the compan)' does. They are thc #l public relations arm of thc industn. \lake sure they arc nranaged ucll and undcrstand *hat is erpected of them bl both managemcnl and the managing dispatcher.

".\Tunttecrrtent Srlrici'.s tJte BlttL'k Hole o.f Delivarv, " dividerl into threesepurutc rlollar voltune rrtanuols, trntler 52 ntillion, .52 5 ntillion uncl oyer 55 rrtillion, is ututl uble ;fctr 545 .lront Builrlt'rs [:,.tpress lnt., 11550 Pluno Rrl., Dullus,