JAMES QUAYSON

James began his life in Ghana, and moved to the United States this past fall. In Ghana, James had a college degree in Integrated Management Studies. He is now studying at the University of North Texas and will graduate in the spring of 2016 with a degree in Logistics & Supply Chain Management. James has had to face many adversities since moving to America. However, he has prevailed by being very hard-working, independent, enthusiastic, and committed to his goals. James is a soccer coach and is a chairman for the Ghanaian Student Organization.

Table of Contents

Topic Page #

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………….4

Embracing Electronic Logs …………………………………………………………………………….8

New Yard and Local Fleet …………………………………………………………………………...10

Future Plans …………………………………………………………………………………………………14

References/Works Cited.…………………………………………………………………………….16

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Introduction

I. Problem

The implementation of electronic logs correlates with an up to 15% loss in

revenue for trucking companies and up to 25% loss in productivity for the drivers

switching to electronic logs to paper logs. There is legislation planned for the

future that will require all drivers and trucking companies to use electronic logs

as opposed to paper logs.

II. Objective:

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Provide Raider Express with solutions to minimize the revenue and profitability

loss for drivers that use electronic logs. The solutions will be organized in a short,

mid, and long term solutions.

Executive Summary

There are two actions which should be embraced by Raider Express. The first action is to

embrace the electronic logging in order to be ready for when the legislation is passed. The

second action is to build a new yard in Mount Prosper, Illinois in order to enhance the

productivity in that area of the country. If both of these actions are taken, Raider Express

should be more prepared for when the legislation changes occur. Both of these actions are

discussed in further detail in their own sections of the report.

Raider Express should embrace the electronic logging in order be ready for the

legislation changes. The changes will happen, and by making sure Raider Express is ready when

the changes happen, Raider Express will have some competitive advantages. In order to

complete this, Raider Express should do the following:

a. Train all new drivers with electronic logs.

b. Offer incentives for drivers who use electronic logs efficiently.

c. Provide electronic log training for dispatchers/fleet managers.

d. Have dispatchers go on “ride-alongs” with electronic log drivers.

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The benefits that will be gained by doing the above steps include:

a. Raider Express will be ready for changes compared to competitors.

b. Dispatchers will be more knowledgeable of the electronic log process.

c. Drivers will be legal.

d. Improved driver behavior.

e. Real time log entries.

Raider Express should also consider opening a yard and building a local fleet in Mount

Prosper, Illinois. Data from Raider Express shows that about 25% of the deliveries made by

Raider Express go to the following states: Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio. If

Texas is not included, the percentages change to 55% for those aforementioned states.

The deliveries in those areas are currently being made by long-haul drivers, who have to

make stops at customers on top of the time they spend on the road. With the amount of time it

takes for the deliveries to be made in those areas, it would be beneficial to have a local fleet

and yard. Mount Prosper happens to be at an ideal location in order to be able to sustain all

those states. All of those states are within a 500 mile radius from Mount Prosper. This allows

for the local drivers to make deliveries to all those places within a relatively short amount of

time. The long haul drivers will not have to make those deliveries, and can return home or

make another long haul after resting Mount Prosper. This will help Raider Express maintain

better hours for their drivers.

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If Raider Express embraces the electronic logs and builds a local fleet and yard in Mount

Prosper, they could be ready for when the legislation passes. They will be ahead of the

competition, and will also have a foothold in a critical geographical area of their trucking

business.

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Embracing Electronic Logs

The legislation that requires trucking companies and drivers to use electronic logs as

opposed to paper logs is coming in the future. There is no way to avoid it. Therefore, embracing

the change is a best course of action to take until the legislation passes. This will put Raider

Express ahead of its competitors when the laws change. In order to embrace the logging

changes, the following actions should be taken by Raider Express. The benefits of these actions

will be discussed as well.

There is not one single way to combat the changes that are going to be required by law.

Instead of fearing electronic logbooks, they should be embraced in terms of all of the benefits

they will provide the company. With the proper amount of training, both on the driver side and

the fleet manager side, Raider Express could reduce the negative impact of electronic logs.

While in driver training school there should be extensive courses on how to operate the

electronic logs, and how they will work within the truck, so that when a driver gets out of

school he knows how to work his truck as efficiently as possible. With the way the industry is

turning, knowledge is power. A driver should also attend a refresher course shortly after going

on the road, let the driver get situated with the truck and make a few runs, then in a month or

two come back to Raider Express and attend an electronic log refresher course, and then every

six months afterwards, this way Raider Express can ensure drivers have all the knowledge they

need to be successful. The more prepared and the more knowledgeable Raider Express drivers

are, the better they are going to perform on electronic logs.

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Similarly fleet managers need to know as much as they possibly can to help the drivers

when a problem arises. Fleet managers should be required to attend at least one full electronic

log session so that the fleet managers know exactly what the driver is dealing with out on the

road. If they do this, they can better understand the problems that the driver will encounter out

there. A fleet manager should also spend a day in the truck with a driver so he can get a real

view of what the driver is going through. Without the real world experience a fleet manager

can easily overlook some of the aspects that a driver deals with every day. To encourage

drivers to switch to electronic logs before they have to, an incentive plan should be offered for

a driver who performs well on electronic logs. This will get the drivers to view the change to

electronic logs as a good and beneficial change, as opposed to being hesitant to the idea.

Incentives for key performance metrics should also be created. If there is a metric, such as

delivery velocity, which is important to Raider Express, additional perks and benefits for drivers

that excel in the metrics should be offered. Raider Express already has an incentive plan for

good drivers, but a separate plan should be made just for electronic log drivers. The difference

between paper and electronic logs is too big to keep both on the same reward system.

The benefits of electronic logs outweigh the costs of them in the long run. With

electronic logs log data is stored in a single system that is easily accessed. You also get real

time data from the carrier, log entries are easy to research. Truck drivers should also be able to

get more rest, and won’t need to keep up with their logbooks, because they are going to be

automatically kept up to date (Unknown, n.d.). Electronic logs prevent driving infractions, and

falsification of logs. These are important for the namesake of Raider Express. Electronic logs

can help keep Raider Express’ CSA score lower by making the drivers and safer, by keeping track

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of driver speed and following distance (Mason, 2013). The major benefit of paper logs is that

information can be altered to allow drivers to drive longer. Unfortunately, this is not legal and

can have severe legal ramifications and fines for Raider Express if the authorities find out.

Electronic logs make sure every driver is legal.

One of the disadvantages of electronic logs is that if a driver is stopped by Department

of Transportation, they may require the driver to produce paper copies of his logs, however,

this could be avoided if the drivers get a cheap printer and put it in their truck (Unknown, n.d.).

Paper logs are submitted sometimes weeks after their completion, meaning if a driver was in an

accident, or got a ticket, or something along those lines, then appropriate action will take a long

time to go through. Electronic logs can also be paired with driver software to improve driver

behavior, and make sure Raider Express drivers are safe on the roads when they represent the

company. If the driver gets into a wreck or gets a ticket, Raider Express will receive information

immediately when the load is finished. This makes Raider Express a more viable name in the

industry when shippers are looking at what companies to dedicate lanes to.

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New Yard and Local Fleet

Raider Express should consider building a new yard and truck fleet in Mount Prospect,

Illinois. Illinois would be the most ideal state to build the drop yard in the area as Michigan,

Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Missouri make up a majority of Raider Express’

deliveries per state in a sample from October (minus Texas). According to the data provided by

Raider Express, these 6 states make up 61.2% of the deliveries (not including Texas). A good

central area for these locations is Northern Illinois. When meeting with Mr. Eggleton Jr., he

mentioned that Chicago was a big area for business, so an area near to Chicago could be very

beneficial. Chicago itself was eliminated right off the bat for being too much of an investment,

seeing as it is the most expensive city in Illinois.

14.05%

12.97%

11.35%

10.81%6.49%5.95%

5.95%

5.41%4.86%

4.32%3.78%

3.24%2.70%

2.70% 1.62% 1.62% 1.08% 0.54% 0.54%

Deliveries per state for October (not including Texas)

MIILWIMNOHMOOKNYCOLANEIAMANJ

The above pie chart demonstrates the delivery percentages in each state (other than

Texas) from data given to us by Raider Express. Michigan makes up for about 14.5%, Illinois

12.97%, Wisconsin 11.35%, Minnesota 10.81%, Ohio at 6.49%, and Missouri at 5.95%; totaling

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61.2% of the deliveries. Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota alone take up nearly half

the pie chart themselves at 49.19%.

As a recommendation for an ideal location, Raider Express should build a drop yard in

Mount Prospect, Illinois. It is indicated by the red balloon in the above map representation.

Mount Prospect makes the most sense as it is an affordable city right in between Raider Express

most highly frequented areas. Mount Prospect is just under a 40 minute drive from Chicago

and lies within the northern part of the state of Illinois. It is regarded as one of the cheaper

places to live in Illinois, and with such easy access to Chicago it would be sure to attract

employees to the area. The city lies right along Interstate 294 and Interstate 90, both of which

are convenient ways to drive to Wisconsin, as well as gain easy access to highways that go to

the other states previously listed. The placement of this yard will allow for Raider Express to

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hire a local fleet to make deliveries within the mid-west. This will allow for long-haul drivers to

just drop the trailer off, and began to rest. The local drivers will then handle deliveries in

aforementioned states. This will improve efficiencies in the use of electronic logs as less time

will be wasted by long-haul drivers having to make several local deliveries. A lot of time is

wasted by the long-haul drivers when they are just sitting at delivery spots waiting for

customers to be ready. This causes issues for them on how long they can drive because they

already spend a lot of time just driving on the road. With a local fleet, the drivers won’t spend

as much time on the road and the issue of being stuck at the delivery docks will not be as

severe as it would be for the long-haul drivers. These short delivery times would also eliminate

one of the constraints that Raider Express has which is making sure that drivers can get home in

their requested time frames. Time savings which will lead to much less hours being wasted by

the electronic log drivers, in addition to nullifying a major constraint, are two benefits of this

proposed solution.

The state of Illinois does offer various tax breaks to business’ fitting Raider Express’

profile (Illinois.gov). Raider Express could qualify for the following tax incentives if they choose

to build the yard in Illinois: Enterprise Zone Program, Economic Development for a Growing

Economy Tax Credit Program, Illinois Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit Program, and quite

possibly more. This would be a great way to lower the taxes in what is already one of the

relatively lower taxed cities in Illinois.

If Raider Express starts up a local fleet based out of Mount Prospect, Raider Express will

also have the opportunity to attract more local business. They can have an office with

dispatchers/fleet managers in the area, and even a salesperson to help procure new customers

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in the area as business grows. Mount Prospect is also a good location for hiring local college

graduates. The University of Illinois is just under two and a half hours from Mount Prospect.

This university is the most popular in Illinois and also has Supply Chain Management as a major

in its business school. Northern Illinois University is located just about an hour from Mount

Prospect, and is home to many Operations Management majors. The University of Wisconsin is

also just about 2 hours away and has a Supply Chain Management program as well as an

Operations Management program. These schools will provide for ample recruiting tools for new

employees to Raider Express as business grows.

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Future Plans:

1. Short Term

a. Begin training new drivers on electronic logs

b. Train dispatchers and fleet managers on how to use electronic logs

c. Begin organizing an incentive plan for good performances on electronic logs

i. Incentives to switch from paper to electronic logs

ii. Incentives for good performances on key metrics

2. Mid-Term

a. Release the devised incentive plan for electronic log drivers

i. Distribute to all drivers, so they see benefits

ii. Distribute to all fleet managers and dispatchers so they know what

drivers are being graded on

b. Fleet managers and dispatchers should start doing drive alongs with drivers

i. Make sure they are using the system to its full capabilities

c. Start planning and building the new yard in Mount Prospect

i. Choose lot, location, move trucks to yard, etc

d. Look for drivers in Mount Prospect area who will begin working for Raider

Express when yard is finished

e. Begin search for fleet manager who will be located in Mount Prospect

3. Long Term

a. Finish building the yard in Mount Prospect

b. Begin the local operations

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c. Keep incentivizing good performances for electronic logs

d. Continue the ride-along initiative

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Works Cited/References

Mason, R. (2013, May 21). 6 Benefits of Electronic Logbooks. Retrieved from

Predigretechnologies.com: http://www.pedigreetechnologies.com/blog/bid/292860/6-

Benefits-of-Electronic-Logbooks

Unknown. (n.d.). Electronic Log books vs Paper logs: will you be ready for Electronic logs.

Retrieved from Smart-trucking.com: http://www.smart-trucking.com/log-book.html

"Northern Illinois University Your Future, Our Focus." Undergraduate Programs. Web. 7 Dec.

2015.

"10 Best Places To Live In Illinois, US - Movoto." Movoto. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

"Academics - College of Business." University of Illinois. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

"Incentives." Illinois.gov. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

"Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin - Madison." University of

Wisconsin. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

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