Will O/Os work direct with big company shippers?

Sure we will work with anyone who needs product shipped. Don’t expect a better price than your getting through brokers though.

You also need to have your expectations in the right place as far as equipment availability. If you got your sheep together it makes it much easier for us to meet your needs. If you are one of them places that is always scrambling to get a truck for tomarow morning your better off staying with a broker. If you are scheduling trucks for next week already, O/O and small fleets would love to work with you...,,,

As long as you pay competitive rates and not screwing people with making them wait to get loaded.

My guess is it you meet the above criteria you would already have independent trucks lined up around the block waiting to load though?

 

An issue with big shippers that I've seen is lack of control in some areas: too many people involved in any given shipment and whose word changes a situation vs whose doesn't; but they're all talking to the service provider...

My good friend @KO1927 went thru a situation recently where interoffice disputes were affecting his ability to provide service.

 

Having a name like backhaul or calling a load backhaul doesn’t help .. if you have friendly staff loading trucks who talk to drivers you may be able to find some local guys interested if they are offered a chance after you know that they are from your shipping area

 

As long as you're offering close to the spot prices on the lanes you want hauled, added fuel surcharge and pay within a reasonable amount of time, O/O's should be very happy to work with you for regular loads. What state are you located in? You can also find O/O's through a public records search for your state's department of corporations.

 

This is definitely true. Brokers play an interesting part in the transportation industry bridging the gap between two very different worlds. As I grew up in a global innovation tech hub and moved to the mid west to start a trucking business I have a good view of both sides of the fence.

The majority of my family still works office jobs at tech companies. They (like most white collar workers) don't know anything more about the trucking industry than I do about HR data analytics. They wouldn't have a clue on what solutions are best implemented to transport their companies goods (trucks,trains, or planes?) or where to directly find capacity to transport their companies goods and bridging the gap between the transportation business and the white collar world is often just too big a jump for them to make.

Let's say though you're a real hard worker who's really motivated to get the job done which I imagine you are since you came to a truckers forum. You go to the DAT directory and start sending out cards or buy a list of e-mails/phone #'s for authority holders in your area (or trucks you frequently see in your area) and you market your business directly to these people now they run into another problem.

A good broker isn't exactly the bottom feeding worthless scum they are often portrayed as. A good broker bridges the gap between these two worlds so seamlessly and easily it looks like you could just cut them right out with out hardly any effort at all. A good broker knows all about the trucking industry regulations of which there are oh so many. A good broker also understands the pricing mechanisms in the spot market and contract market. The spot market pricing system is similar to that of the stock market. A constantly fluctuating bid VS ask determines the price of a given lane and it fluctuates based on about a million factors (equipment type,weather,inbound/outbound load ratios,Load to truck ratios,the mood of the guy your calling) just to name a few. The contract market is equally complex, but is more synonymous with the futures market where all parties seek stability within all this chaos. A good broker also has huge capital reserves or more likely lines of credit to pay carriers within 30 days while your company takes 45,60 or even 90 days to pay. The independent operators of trucks in this industry are usually not able to wait 60 or 90 days to be paid.

Now this brings me to the second part of the equation. Truckers inability to bridge the gap between the white collar world and yours. Very few owner operators are willing to market directly to shippers and get turned down time and time again. Of those who are, even fewer know how to put together a resume for their company and present it in a professional manner. Financial illiteracy runs rampant on this side of the fence so while we are constantly impacted by the pricing mechanisms previously listed few have even a rudimentary understanding of them so even if they figure out how to present themselves professionally and get your business they often won't know how to properly price your work.

If all the stars align and these small businesses manage to present themselves professionally and properly price your work then they run into capacity issues and have to broker out some of your loads to handle all your business or you have to work with multiple small carriers which means now you have your own logistics department and you have to determine if that's really cheaper than just hiring brokers in the first place.

oh and this probably goes without saying, but you can't be an absolute nightmare to work with. Loads must be ready to go when you tell me to pick them up and rates must be competitive.

 

Shippers want to eliminate the middle man (broker) thinking that they will get to keep more money in their pockets.
Truckers want to eliminate brokers for the same reason, thinking that they will be getting all that extra money what brokers keep. Guess what,with no brokers, truckers will still end up making the same money. Why? Because competition and race to the bottom.

 

It totally depends on what type of o/o you are looking for and what type of contract your offering. 1 and 2 truck outfits are all over the place , and if your serious then finding some should not be difficult. Advertise for job as strictly o/o position, make legal and detailed contract, and present it as such. ( ie- equipment and etc.)