Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2014 43 INNOVATORS WALMART TRANSPORTATION Bentonville, Ark. In the fi rst several years of its efforts, Walmart Transportation set its sights on big wins, such as route optimi- zation and strategic location of its distribution centers. It then focused on packaging, working internally and with suppliers to reduce the amount of space required in each trailer in order to load more freight. The fl eet also leveraged its relation- ships with truck OEMs, trailer makers and suppliers to upgrade equipment to the latest technology and to add new tire designs and infl ation systems. In 2006, it added auxiliary power units to tractors used in overnight operations, which net- ted the company savings of $25 million in diesel costs in just two years. These early efforts were promising. By 2008, Walmart Transportation was driving 7 percent fewer miles – an actual reduction of 90 million miles – while delivering 3 percent more cases per load. The end result was a 38 percent improvement in fl eet effi ciency in 2008 compared to the 2005 baseline, easily surpassing its interim goal of 25 percent. In 2008 and 2009, Walmart Transpor- tation replaced 2,400 of its 7,000-truck T he driver shortage that so many analysts and industry insiders have been predicting in recent years is fi nally here in full force. At the same time, ton- nage is at an all-time high, further crimping the trucking industry's potential for capitalizing on good business conditions after a hard recession. As many fl eets have maximized their recruiting and retention efforts, the focus now shifts to squeez- ing every ounce of productivity and effi ciency out of their truck assets. Before 2005, Walmart Transportation worked like many fl eets to realize incre- mental gains in fuel and freight effi ciency annually. Then, during the height of the previous driver shortage, Walmart announced a new global responsibility initiative that included a lofty goal for its private fl eet to double its effi ciency in 10 years from a baseline in 2005 to 2015. For Walmart – a company whose U.S. operation employs 1.3 million people and has 4,987 retail stores, 42 regional distribution centers (each serving roughly 100 re- tail locations) and a fl eet of 7,000 trucks – identifying and correcting ineffi ciencies in freight movement would have a major impact on its environmental footprint while it works to meet its goal. More with less To establish its 2005 baseline, Walmart Transportation established a formula to calculate its fl eet effi ciency by dividing vehicle miles traveled by miles per gallon to determine fuel consumption. It then takes the number of cases delivered and divides that by fuel consumption. The retail giant employs a series of improvements and innovations to deliver more goods with fewer miles traveled. Walmart Transportation nears the summit on its quest to double fleet efficiency in 10 years BY JEFF CRISSEY