10 Best Practices for Creating a Transportation Network That Runs Lean and Wins Every Time

For anyone who’s ever run a marathon – or even a half-marathon – for that matter, there’s a familiar sight at the end of every race: the super-fast Kenyans who float across the finish line effortlessly to claim first, second and third place. Since 1998, 20 of the 25 winners of the Boston Marathon have been Kenyans, inspiring many lesser runners to don shirts proclaiming, “In My Dreams I am a Kenyan.”

So, how does a group that comprises less than one percent of the world’s population dominate long-distance running? Certainly, they start training from an early age. They grow up in a culture that revers running. And yet, research suggests another advantage. They’re lean. As a result, they run more efficiently, dissipate heat more effectively, and tire less easily.

The same characteristics that enable a lean runner to out-pace his competitors enable lean companies to deliver more value to customers with less work, better use of resources and minimal waste.

What is Lean?

Lean is a systematic approach to driving value by identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement. Once the domain of manufacturing, Lean is being applied to other areas like the supply chain and transportation.

Who Can Benefit from Running Lean?

If you need visibility into the efficiency of your drivers, routes, maintenance and loads or want to boost on-time delivery rates and make better use of capital assets, a Lean dedicated fleet could transform your inbound/outbound transportation network.

10 Best Practices for Driving a Leaner Dedicated Fleet:

Already have a dedicated fleet? Thinking about outsourcing some or all of your transportation requirements to a dedicated partner? Consider these 10 best practices to unlock efficiency, eliminate waste and get more out of your fleet:

1. Tune your network to eliminate empty miles
   Optimize assets, routes, service levels and operating costs to streamline your transportation and distribution networks.
2. Find ways to cut costs
   Engage experts to right size your fleet, driver workforce and use of common carriers. Adopt fuel strategies that consolidate carriers and loads. Use a transportation management system to capture, analyze and reduce costs.
3. Train drivers
   Good drivers can help you strengthen customer relationships, minimize product-handling damage and improve on-time delivery rates.
4.  Empower employees to improve continuously
   This means training them on Lean principles, operations, tools and problem-solving methodologies. Engage Lean experts to teach employees how to identify root causes of problems and mistake-proof processes.
   
5. Build quality into every process
   Engineer processes to “get it right the first time.” You’ll save time spent recovering from mistakes and you’ll save money because products aren’t damaged and customers don’t experience out-of-stock situations.
   
6. Standardize, standardize, standardize
   Map out processes, detailing how material and information flows from production to customers. Look for ways to reduce wait times and eliminate excess moving, handling and inventory.
7. Shorten lead times
   This means keeping people, materials, equipment and processes flowing smoothly to get defect-free products to customers when, where and how they want them. From a Lean transportation perspective, an example would be using dynamic rather than static routing.
8. Improve continuously
   Strive to engage people at all levels, from leadership to dispatchers, warehouse workers and drivers to resolve problems and constantly improve processes and methods.
9. Have enough scale to adapt to volume changes
   If you’re working with a dedicated partner, leverage your provider’s procurement volumes and buying power to get the best rates on vehicles, optimize your fleet and reduce costs.
10. Gain the efficiencies of alternative fuels                                                                                                                                Migrating from common carriers to a low-emissions dedicated fleet and consolidating multiple individual shipments into a few multi-stop shipments can reduce C0₂ metric tons per product shipped and deliver big benefits. 

Running Lean Doesn’t Have to Mean Re-engineering Your Entire Operation

By working with a qualified partner, you can make continuous, incremental gains in efficiency with a dedicated fleet and value-added services that harness the power of Lean. Dedicated fleets are ideal for companies with complex transportation & distribution requirements, tight delivery windows, routes with multiple stops and rigorous Service Level Agreements (SLAs). A dedicated solution can help you deliver goods on time with a high degree of service, reliability and efficiency – especially if your provider has a lean culture in place.

What practices have you found to eliminate waste and inefficiency without compromising service?

Want to learn more about how to run Leaner? Watch SupplyChainBrain’s videocast interview with Jorge Salas, Vice President, Ryder Dedicated, West Operations, where he discusses how you can remove inefficiencies from your transportation network. Click here to watch the video. You can also download our White Paper: “Run Lean – 10 Best Practices for Running a Leaner, Greener Transportation Network”.