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There are many transport firms that go out of business every year, and it’s not just the newer companies, older firms that have been going for decades find themselves in the unenviable task of relaying the bad news to their employees that the company is no more. It’s a sad state of affairs to be in. There are common threads between each company that goes out of business, and they seem to come up time and time again. Let’s have a look at the reasons so you can take away some hard-learnt lessons.
The Equipment
Let’s start with the most obvious of issues that can occur in a transport firm. The equipment is integral to the operation and must be fit for purpose. Using a truck that weighs 20 tonnes when you could easily use a 10-tonne truck means that you are not cost-effective. To use one example, the amount of fuel to power a larger truck means you could be overspending by a considerable margin. Likewise, the companies that you are doing the fuel deals with could be consolidated into one company that provides all the various fuels, such as New Era Fuels. Your clients who supply the equipment and tools are in the better position, and you are the receiver of them. You need to make sure that you are being sensible with your costs and streamlining wherever possible.
Your Employees
What good is a business without employees? And your employees in a haulage firm are your heart and soul, and you have to have a lot of trust in them. They are, after all, travelling long distances with expensive equipment and are generally going to be out of your remit. It is somewhat difficult to monitor your employees in this respect so what can you do? The trick is to provide as much support to each driver. They are prone to stress under certain conditions due to the nature of the job, and by investing time in their training and making them feel vital to the business, the more rewarded they will feel, and they will inject more of their efforts into the organization.
The Legislation
It is worth bearing in mind that in running a business you may need to consider over 4000 pieces of legislation! This is a massive amount, and while it may not seem top of the priority list, it is something that you need to stay on top of to keep you out of hot water. The best way to keep this in hand is to make sure that your business plan is in as much detail as possible before the business is started so you can be aware of what your financial and legal constraints may be. These are two areas where having outside help from professionals in those sectors is the best approach, as they will be specialized in those fields and by reviewing the plan regularly, you can take into account any changes in legislation and update the plan accordingly.
