By
Counterman
Scheduling of delivery drivers can be one of the more difficult personnel-related tasks for any manager. Often at the lower end of your pay scale and frequently staffed by part-time employees, these positions can be difficult to screen, fill and maintain. They are a critical link to commercial success, yet their value is easily overlooked when weekly schedules are created.
In many retail environments, analysis of prior hour-by-hour sales figures often shapes the forecast for staffing future shifts. Adequate staffing at the front counter is critical to assisting customers and moving merchandise efficiently, but in order to accurately forecast demand for delivery drivers, we must ignore the majority of retail sales, which occur in-store or, increasingly, as online purchases. Unless your business model includes “home delivery” to retail customers, staffing your delivery needs will revolve exclusively around your commercial accounts.
Having adequate delivery capability to maintain (or strengthen) your commercial relationships can look different for each location. Vehicle and personnel numbers will vary based primarily on that individual store’s customer mix and the type of market served. Wholesale jobbers generally serve a broader geographic area than retailers, due in part to their smaller store network. A chain retailer is more likely to have a greater concentration of individual stores per square mile, each serving a smaller area, while the jobber maintains a larger commercial customer base spread across a larger geographic area.
As a result, jobbers tend to make better use of scheduled route delivery, in contrast to focusing on frequent short “on-demand” deliveries in the immediate area. These schedules are much easier to forecast, as they are somewhat consistent throughout the business day. When scheduling for the “hot-shot” portion of your delivery needs, however, the natural ebb and flow of your store’s daily routine become an important factor. There are key points throughout each day that require additional delivery staffing.
Many stores enjoy some form of overnight warehouse delivery, and those daily orders will be expected at shops across your territory as soon as possible the following morning. Between those “first thing in the morning” deliveries and the daily ritual of vehicle pre-checks, the first hour of the workday can be a beehive of activity for your delivery staff. By the time your trucks are returning from their early rounds, orders generated from those 8 a.m. diagnostic appointments at shops across your market have begun to filter in, resulting in another rush. Customer calls ramp up again before and during the traditional lunch hour, as shops try to arrange deliveries to arrive before technicians return from their breaks. Another flurry of dispatches will be in response to the afternoon’s diagnostics, with shops hoping to wrap up repairs before end of day, and to beat the overnight order deadlines for the next day’s business.
In addition to customer-driven rushes, we may also see a spike in driver demand centered around our own incoming deliveries. Stores with midday warehouse deliveries will see a surge in demand around these times, as well as those created by UPS or FedEx drop-offs. Most of our best customers already know what time to expect such special orders, and the volume of “where’s my stuff?” calls will add to the sense of immediacy felt by everyone on staff!
Delivery scheduling can also be adversely affected by seasonality and holidays. Freezing or snowy weather not only creates delays in parts deliveries from the warehouse and at store levels, but it can also limit an individual driver’s ability to report for duty as scheduled, creating a gap in coverage. Coupled with the longer delivery times required for the remaining staff to complete routes safely, it can create temporary bottlenecks. Holidays also create personnel issues, as we attempt to find coverage for those days that everyone wants to spend with family and friends. Travel-intensive holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day also create an increased demand from shops prepping vehicles for extended trips, with added pressure for everyone to complete repairs, often at the last minute.
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By Counterman
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