Delivery transportation continues to be a vital part of the American economy, ensuring businesses and customers have a broader reach to sell and purchase goods and products. A trucking dispatcher have the critical job of helping truck drivers to concentrate on routes and roadways and to safely deliver their cargoes. Without strong dispatchers, projects fall apart.
Dispatchers who are looking to improve their game can sidestep many of the difficulties by following a few key guidelines.
1. Know your market
Local knowledge is one of the biggest assets you can have as a dispatcher. This includes knowing the best routes and shortcuts, as well as having a firm memory of current pricing.
2. Get to Know your Drivers
As a trucking dispatcher, it’s important to make an effort to get to know drivers on a personal level.
Not only will this improve the day-to-day working relationship, but it also shows the driver that you value them as a person instead of just another asset to move cargo.
3. Plan ahead
Planning ahead minimizes last-minute changes and improves general workflow and productivity. A lot of time can be saved by setting up geo zones, adding subcontractors, and creating templates when you receive the job frees up a ton of your time on the day of the project
4. Manage the chaos
Dispatching trucks is hectic work. Your desk is always flooded with paperwork. Job changes will come in at a moment’s notice. And it will be up to you to coordinate between multiple schedules to accommodate a project’s timeline.
5. Be a great communicator
The remote nature of your work makes it especially important to flex your communication skills. Whether you are working from a pickup truck, the dispatch office, or at home – you need to be sure that everyone knows where they are supposed to be and when they need to be there.
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