Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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34 commercial carrier journal | may 2017 technology Express routing A. Duie Pyle expedites growth using new tech, equipment M otor carriers, especially those in the less- than-truckload sector, are benefiting from new opportunities in e-commerce and expedited shipping. is transition comes with the challenges of updating equipment, technology and services that traditionally have been geared toward serving customers in the more traditional sweet spot of LTL ship- ments weighing between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds. A. Duie Pyle was recognized as a CCJ Innovator in 2015 for the investments made in equipment, infrastructure and technol- ogy to create a new Customs Solutions Group that primarily manages dedicated and private-fleet replacement services for shippers. e carrier continued to route all shipments in its network weighing between 150 and 15,000 pounds with tractor- trailer combinations. at model has evolved with the company's new Express Solutions Group and focus on increasing freight velocity and reducing shipment transit times for customers. As an LTL carrier, A. Duie Pyle has seen expedited shipping become the fastest- growing segment of its business, especially for ship- ments weighing less than 500 pounds. e reason for this growth is the chang- ing expectations of businesses and con- sumers in a market that increasingly is driven by e-commerce, says Randy Swart, chief operating officer. In spring 2016, the company started a proof-of-concept to provide same-day expedited shipping of freight weighing less than 500 pounds for customers in the Boston area. e experiment proved successful, and today the company has a fleet of 72 ESG delivery trucks and plans to expand by another 60 trucks within a year. A. Duie Pyle developed custom routing soware that op- timally matches freight with the pickup-and-delivery vehicle most suited to the task for an incoming shipment order. Orders might be routed to an ESG truck with a ligate that can make a driveway delivery or to a heated trailer during the winter if the shipment contains a substance that cannot be frozen. ESG delivery vehicles are not routed with any shipment over 500 pounds. e hybrid trucks are limited to operations in New York City and surrounding metropolitan areas that have more stop-and-go traffic to regenerate the battery system. A. Duie Pyle also is realizing the benefits of offering non- CDL employees a career path through its internal truck driving academy that leads to earning a Class 8 license. "When we hire a dock worker that learns our culture, we can promote him or her into an ESG truck," Swart says. "We teach them how to be a good pickup-and-delivery driver, and they retain our culture. en they drive a little bit of a larger truck. We believe that mov- ing drivers through a career path makes a very stable valued employee, and their retention rate is much higher." MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF technology EXPEDITED SHIPPING: LTL companies are benefiting from new e-commerce opportunities. OPTIMIZED MATCHING: Custom routing software matches freight with the right P&D vehicle. NO CLASS 8 NEEDED: Non-CDL employees at A. Duie Pyle now have a solid career path. AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call 385-225-9472. INTERESTED IN TRUCKING TECHNOLOGY? Scan the barcode or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail newsletter. A. Duie Pyle's Express Solutions Group uses smaller straight trucks, both diesel and electric-hybrid Hino trucks with an 18- foot box, to make pickups and deliveries.