In July 2017 the Truckload Carriers Association launched the TCA Profitability Program (TPP), a three-tiered system powered by the inGauge™ online platform.
The program was built off the success of TCA’s benchmarking program — one that shared with truckload carriers functional composites which could increase their profitability and lower their risk profiles.
A major factor in the success of the program comes from the acknowledged fact that the industry is constantly changing.
“The more carriers can maintain during times of major change, the easier it is for them not only to get through these times unscathed, but to remain highly profitable,” said TCA President John Lyboldt.
While the TPP program aims to help motor carriers increase their profitability, the program also offers a way to retain a skilled workforce.
In December 2018, TCA launched the TPP Retention Program, which helps TCA members reduce driver turnover. Trucking industry advocate and former TCA Chairman Ray Haight spearheads the program as its retention coach.
Haight’s 40-plus year tenure in the truckload industry includes over 1 million accident-free miles as a driver and owner-operator, as well as a lengthy post as president and co-owner of a 275-unit truckload carrier that reduced turnover from 120% to 20%. As a result of these efforts, his company subsequently won three TCA Fleet Safety Awards and consecutive “50 best-managed company” awards. Drawing from his diverse industry knowledge, he has developed a Carrier Retention Strategic Plan, which provides carriers a roadmap to reducing driver turnover, as well as consulting every step of the way.
“I have had an undeniable and very public passion on this subject for years,” said Haight. “I truly feel that we do an injustice to the pioneers who built this industry when we do not strive for workforce excellence.”
In August 2019, the TPP welcomed Trucking industry executive and former TCA Chairman Shepard Dunn to the team as a consultant.
With nearly three decades of truckload experience, and the chairmanship at TCA and other industry associations, Dunn learned from his peers and collaborated about how to effectively run a business.
“As a facilitator and consultant in the TPP, we can continue to have those same discussions with the goal of identifying improvement opportunities in each of the member participant companies,” said Dunn.
In September 2019, the TPP announced that Stay Metrics, a provider of driver-retention tools for motor carriers, would provide TPP members with proprietary data via the inGauge™ online benchmarking platform.
The data presented under the branding Stay Data™ banner, will be provided to TPP participants as part of the inGauge™ platform, which is managed by FreightWaves®.
Stay Metrics will provide regular updates to the benchmarking data and highlight key insights that will be of interest to carriers seeking to remain competitive in the driver-labor market.
Additionally, in December 2019 the TPP not only hosted its inaugural TPP Summit, an immersive event that provided an opportunity to take an in-depth look at the cutting-edge strategies carriers are utilizing to navigate today’s freight market, but it also announced the formation of a new data group. More than 100 TCA members and prospects attended the informative event; the Second Annual TPP Summit is planned for Oct. 30 in Dallas.
In December 2019, TPP announced the formation of the TPP Data Analytics Group. This unique group will be sponsored by McLeod Software, and meetings will be held semi-annually at McLeod’s headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. The first group meeting will be held April 23-24.
The group was conceived based on feedback from TPP members that have expressed the need to properly leverage the vast amounts of data generated by their companies and the industry to determine better pricing, operations, and safety-related decisions for their businesses.
Additionally, members are continually presented with the challenge of either building internal solutions (e.g. software or business intelligence) or utilizing existing external vendors or services. As a by-product of the group, members will be provided with a framework for vetting and commencing data and technology projects.
The new group will assemble TPP member employees in business intelligence, analytics, and information technology, with these underlying objectives:
Role Education and Development
- Understanding the role of data and technology in today’s trucking and logistics industries;
- Roles (and actual role descriptions) in data and technology; and
- Continuing education and role development.
Project Management
- Best practices for managing new data and technology projects; and
- Software and tools for managing projects, tasks, and bug fixes.
Vendor/Service Specific Best Practices
- Device and vendor-specific best practices; and
- Leveraging data and services from external vendors to improve internal operations.
Data Access and Control
- Business intelligence/visualization best practices; and
- Build it or buy it: Continuous discussions/debates about building software/services internally or purchasing external software/services.
“Based on discussions with a significant number of both TPP members and others in the industry, the purpose of this group may be one of the most significant individual objectives in transportation,” said TPP Program Manager Chris Henry. “There is a wide disparity among carriers with respect to technological sophistication. There is also a direct correlation between high technological sophistication and improved profit margins. This group will be a member-driven way to reduce this disparity.”
To learn more, contact TPP Program Manager Chris Henry at [email protected].
To learn more about all TPP events, visit truckload.org.
The Truckload Authority News Staff, comprised of award winning journalists and graphic artists, produces content for Truckload Authority, working in cooperation with the Truckload Carriers Association staff. Truckload Authority aims to keep TCA members abreast on the latest trends in the trucking industry as well as articles that feature TCA member executives and drivers. The Truckload Authority staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
