Why Does Every Owner Operator Need Truck Dispatching?

Owners-operators face many important questions. For example, rent or buy a truck? Should you hire other truckers or go on flights on your own? But most of the questions of the owners-operators can theoretically be solved thanks to the truck dispatching, as this company says. Of course, the final decision on hiring dispatchers depends only on you. After all, perhaps you yourself will perfectly cope with all the tasks. 

But if you have the slightest doubt, we suggest you read this article and learn about the advantages of hiring a dispatch service.

What do dispatch services do?

If we briefly describe the work duties of the dispatching service, then this is cargo management on behalf of the owner-operators. Everything that concerns the trucker, cargo, and customer passes through the truck dispatcher. He should know about everything — about the weather, about the laws of different states, about the rules of safe transportation of goods, about payment and invoices. The dispatcher has a lot of responsibilities from which the owner-operator can free himself. For example, communicating with freight brokers, negotiating with customers, sending drivers on routes, and planning the work of truckers.

Good dispatch services provide comprehensive services. They find the goods themselves and ensure timely payment of orders for the owner-operator. The dispatcher is actually an indispensable assistant for you. Just look at how many responsibilities he has.

  • Cargo search 

Dispatchers are looking for new orders for your business on the download boards, paying attention to the most profitable deals. This will greatly help owners-operators who are just starting their activities and still need to get regular customers. 

  • Fleet management

This includes the organization of the work of truckers (or just your work schedule), and the availability of trucks. This helps to quickly and efficiently distribute new orders that the dispatcher has found. 

  • Route planning 

The dispatcher will find out how and on which roads the cargo can be transported. After all, truckers often need help with weather conditions and road repairs. There are also laws and traffic regulations that prohibit large cars from moving on certain roads. The dispatching service must take all these aspects into account when planning the route. 

  • Problem-solving

The dispatch service is constantly in touch with the trucker and the owner-operator to quickly help solve the problem that has arisen on the road.  

  • Communication with clients

Dispatchers establish communication not only with existing customers but also with potential ones, providing you with work. That is why the dispatcher must have good communication skills. 

  • Invoicing

The financial part of the work also falls on the shoulders of these specialists. They make invoices, send them to customers and control the fee. If you use factoring, they also send invoices to the company.

Dispatchers and cargo: how do they find them?

The main task and value of the dispatcher is the search for cargo for the owner-operator. After all, the salary of the dispatching service depends on this. Because they get a percentage from each completed route. This means that it is in their interests to find the highest quality, relevant and low-cost cargo for you. So that both you earn and the dispatcher gets a good percentage. How do they find cargo? Some dispatchers use their connections to search for cargo. But, for the most part, they are looking for orders on the loading board.

Why do you need a dispatch service?

It is challenging for owner-operators to start their own business and develop it. After all, often novice businessmen are former truckers who have seen only one part of the work of a transport company. The rest of the dispatchers’ work remained out of sight. For example, cargo search. This is labor-intensive work that takes a lot of time. And communicating with clients and drawing up routes is a huge part of the work that requires maximum involvement. And the owner-operator has many other things and responsibilities besides these tasks. The solution may be to hire a dispatch service. 

How to choose a dispatch service so that it helps your business and does not harm. 

  • Define the responsibilities that you want to delegate to the dispatcher. 
  • Calculate how much the services of specialists will cost you and whether you can pull it off.
  • Get feedback from other owner-operators.
  • Find out about the offers of different companies.

Remember that the decision to hire a dispatcher should only come from your needs and capabilities. But still, your life will be much easier with these specialists and their professional work. They will free up your time for critical business decisions and for trips if you combine the roles of owner-operator with the work of a trucker. Eventually, you can deliver more cargo and thus earn more. This will have a positive impact on your business and on your earnings, which means that payment for dispatchers will no longer be a problem for you.

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