Accepting the award: Dennis Baxter, director of logistics
Company: National Carriers Logistics
Location: Springdale, Arkansas
Web: www.nationalcarriers.com
Contact: 800-835-9180
Started: Company founded in 1974, broker division started in 2001
Employees: About 200 people, not counting drivers. Logistics team: 20
Business size: 1,500-1,800 loads/month, about $26M/year gross revenue
Load types: Refrigerated, dry vans, expedited
Delivery areas: U.S., Canada, Mexico
Tools: DAT Connect, CarrierWatch
Favorite tip: "Customer service starts with the first phone call you make to a carrier, or the way you talk to a driver. Treat them like customers, and you'll get 100 percent better service."
"Carriers are as big an asset as customers," says Dennis Baxter of National Carriers Logistics, TransCore's Broker of the Month, "We can't do without either one."
Baxter's business strategies have helped National Carriers grow to a $26M business since 2001. His team uses thorough carrier background checks (using CarrierWatch) to build personal relationships with National's carriers. "If you take good care of your carriers, they'll be there for you."
Many things make National our October Broker of the Month. We were impressed with this company's overarching, "plays fair" business strategy, and the way Baxter's team has developed the human element of the broker business.
But their focus on carrier development impressed us the most. "You can have all the freight in the world, but if you haven't got good carriers, you won't have it very long," says Baxter.
To Baxter, good carrier relationships begin with really knowing your carriers. National Carriers has a full-time carrier development staff. "Brokers must do thorough background checks. You put yourself at high risk if you don't have
CarrierWatch."
Baxter notes that there's more at stake than just making sure a carrier's record is clear. "We found that if we are very selective in using carriers with good ratings, we also have better luck with the loads. We don't have loads held hostage, no late or missing loads, no problems with theft, or trucks breaking down."
"When you use CarrierWatch," he adds, "you just get higher-quality carriers. They're professionals, paying attention to running a good business, and they're the ones that will give you great customer service."
Monitoring carriers, however, is only part of a multi-step carrier development program. "We use CarrierWatch to find out exactly why the carrier might be having a problem," he says, "We're not going to delete a carrier because they've made a mistake. We'll call them, say 'CarrierWatch says you've got this,' get a feel for what's going on, talk with their references, and keep notes."
The company's carrier program is built around long-term carrier relationships. "We want the same driver over and over for the same load; we get a lot better service than if we're switching all the time. They know they'll have freight, and we know we'll have fewer problems. That's been a very successful program for us."
Baxter says National offers other perks to carriers, such as a guaranteed fuel surcharge on every load, direct deposit, quick pay, tire programs, and fuel discounts. "We'll offer a lot of services to a good small carrier, ones that they might not qualify for otherwise."
The reason? "Retention. The industry needs to look for more dedicated carriers and work with them, try to be fair," says Baxter, "We've got regular carriers that haul in the high volume produce areas. They know that when times are slow they'll still get freight from us, and we know that no matter how much they're being offered to haul produce they'll still haul for us."
National's carrier program also includes daily interactions with carriers and drivers. "Customer service starts with the first phone call. By the time a dispatcher hangs up the phone, I want him to be calling that driver by his first name, knowing him and caring about what happens to him. They can't promise that someone will get back to them and then not do it," warned Baxter.
"Nobody wants to be treated like a number. If you dispatched 100 trucks and you called the first 50 drivers by name, told them to be careful, asked them to call when they're unloaded, and the second 50 you just treated like a machine, like you couldn't wait to get off the phone? I guarantee the first group will give you 100 percent better service."
"Having good people makes the biggest difference in the world. I don't do this job by myself. The people that work at National are good, dedicated, hardworking people who don't just punch a clock. They," he concluded are what makes us a success."