Too often, when an expediter is running down the road<span>  </span>with some hot freight in the back and he's facing inclement weather, snarled traffic and a host of other delays, he's not likely to be thinking about the other people who are involved in the supply chain – people like the dispatchers.

That’s completely understandable, but the dispatchers and the other folks in Operations are sometimes under the gun as well, desperately trying to cover the loads while taking phone calls from irate customers asking…

“Where’s my freight?!”

Bolt Expres Dispatch Area Collin Padgett is a 23 year old dispatcher for Bolt Express and started with the company in the summer of 2005. Lest you think he’s a newcomer to the world of Operations, he tells us that he began working as a dispatcher straight out of high school and has worked in the truckload, air freight and expedited arenas.

As you can see from the following one-shift diary, Collin stays busy through his work day, fielding some 15-20 calls an hour. Keep in mind this was a Friday in January, not typically the hottest month for expedited freight.

Friday (All times Eastern Time)

1000 Hours

  • Got into office
  • Checked e-mail
  • Pulled up seven browsers (Load boards including NLM)
  • This place is a mad house!
  • There are some trucks broke down.
  • Deleted 100 returned e-mails (invalid addresses)
  • Responded to e-mails from the boss about what i did wrong yesterday. I was told to bid low on some runs. I did and there were no responses.
  • Booked one cargo van run to Dayton, Oh. (Tried to reason why driver would not call dispatch to tell us he couldn’’t go faster than 35 mph.
  • Found out another truck didn’t leave for reposition (He said he told dispatch; doubtful).
  • Boss has headache.

1100 Hours

  • I got busy and forgot to dispatch a load. (Luckily, there’s still time.)
  • The boss is buying pizza for the office.
  • Got directions for a driver.
  • Submitted more bids.
  • Got an award (answer on load bid) for a driver, but he didn’t answer phone several times.
  • The driver finally called back, had to hurry to accept load.
  • Another driver checking in to see if any pending loads, same answer.
  • Made a post on a blog.
  • Freight has slowed down so it’s time for a smoke break.
  • More bids.
  • Did a survey.

1200 Hours

  • Booked another cargo van load.
  • More e-mail & browser bidding.
  • Had a team meeting while working. It included a basic review and new employee “desensitizing” plan.
  • Customer call checking on load’s status.
  • A driver or two calling in to report heavy snow delays. (According to two different weather channels….no snow….the bosses look confused.)
  • The bid boards are awfully slow for a Friday.
  • Loaded money on a driver’s Comdata card.
  • Got a driver his pick up number.

1300 Hours

  • Had some more pizza.
  • Freight is dead – load boards are completely empty. A driver requests a load from KY to MI while already under load.
  • Got two drivers running late, only a few minutes though. It looks like there were tight dispatches on pick up.
  • One of the broken down drivers is in the shop and just checking in.
  • Got back from quick break.
  • Drivers calling in concerned if they’ll get freight.
  • Checking on truck load freight.
  • Got a driver running late (his first day).
  • I’m finding freight, but it’s just in the wrong places. (Everybody wants team transit – gotta stay compliant.)
  • Customer calls in wanting specialized equipment.
  • Made an auto bid.
  • Spot bid a low one for a down south truck.

1400 Hours

  • It’s still slow – not a lot to bid on.
  • Drivers keep calling to check on freight and their status. (There’s only one truck in the red but he has time to make it up though.)
  • I keep calling on posted loads, but either they’re covered or unreasonably cheap.
  • Still trying!
  • Finally got a load, but driver would miss shipper’s closing time by 1.5 hours, at least.
  • Calling third party logistics (3pl) to see if they’ll stay late – they put me on hold for 15 minutes.
  • The phones in here are ringing off the hook. Two calls are still holding – everybody’s on the phone, so make that three calls holding.
  • Shipper says they won’t stay late -3pl took load back.
  • More freight where we don’t want it.
  • That broken down driver apparently has some negative history that just came to light. He’s probably gone.
  • Logistics call.
  • Loaded another driver’s comdata.
  • Previous driver from bad bid called in and wanted closure.
  • Another new driver is going to be late to the customer. (Set up customer for track & trace.)
  • Have another load, but can’t get a hold of driver again. (Luckily he answered his phone on third try)

1500 Hours

  • We’ve got four loads running behind – make it five loads now. Fixed two of them that needed immediate attention.
  • More spot bidding with auto freight.
  • Going to have to transfer the freight on the broken down truck – shouldn’t be a big deal.
  • Same driver called in three times in last 20 minutes with financial questions.
  • Made some bids on web sites and through e-mails.
  • Brokered carrier had a breakdown en route and will be 3 hours late to pick up. Called customer and advised. Carrier said delay will not affect delivery, however. According to my math, they’ll now miss delivery by two hours. My contact at the 3pl is gone for the day. The shipper does close at 1800, but ok’d the load.
  • Smoke break
  • More bidding on the boards. I made a few good ones out of the south, but kinda cheap rates.
  • Only one load behind now.
  • Customers keep retracting loads before I can bid.
  • More bidding.
  • Have a driver delayed in traffic and he will miss his scheduled delivery time.
  • Had to add more funds to driver’s Comdata card.

1600 Hours

  • Customer had said they would wait til Monday for the freight on the broken down truck, but now they want it ASAP, so we have a game plan change – what a mess!
  • Shift change. One dispatcher out.
  • Software is going down or freezing – errors in dispatch
  • program. Dispatch program all the way down – Had to reboot.
  • Driver went Out-of-Service for personal reasons.
  • Have to arrange a tow truck from Fostoria, OH to Swanton, OH. I can’t call driver to get location details because the dispatch software is on the flip.
  • I called TTS (tow service) and arranged service. People from NJ are so pleasant.
  • Safety passed on a driver manual to hand off to an operator.
  • Check call on a driver.
  • More internet bids.
  • Driver delayed in major backup on i-70 due to an accident.
  • Only one late load & driver has steadily made up time.
  • Customer wants us to hold a 100 mile load until Monday. Typically hard to sell to a driver.
  • More bad freight. wrong place, wrong time, wrong size.
  • A driver is refusing a load because he mandates us to pay him back to his domicile – relations is talking to him.
  • Have to send in another driver to get the load.
  • Another driver OOS for the weekend.
  • Freight has slowed again, time to catch up.

1700 Hours

  • Brokered load already covered.
  • Freight has slowed down a lot.
  • Driver requested directions. Gave him contact phone number.
  • Resolutions called and informed of a slip seat possibility.
  • Customer call for Monday for freight going down to Laredo – Requires team.

1800 Hours

  • Time to go home!