Logistics
 

Have been doing a few night runs from Tonbridge to Manchester recently but with only 3 pallets loaded. The number of other trucks I see 1/4 or 1/2 laden travelling in the same direction then vice versa empty is unreal.

Surely theres a market there to tie all these quarter / half loads together and make them more efficient ???

Or would it be a complete nightmare to manage / administer?

Just thinking out loud

I came across a company once that does exactly this, buggered if I can remeber the name, it will probably come to me, it was no good for me though-14 ton diesel generators need a bit more than a tail lift :)


If I remember I'll post it, your best bet is to find companioes local to manchester that do regular runs past your way - to Dover for instance.

There are a lot of part-load exchanges springing up, together with organisations like Palletways who use the power of a number of strategic compaines to work together or a hub/spoke system. It is a huge market.

I've been involved in much the same in the sameday industry and with designing systems to utilise that capacity efficiently, but much of the problem lies in the fact that many companies are "local" players who know their own area/market and are wary of branching out plus don't have either the required IT/infrastructure or the desire/ability to look for a solution.

I'm just doing some agency work but got thinking there could be some dosh in that idea

I work for a large food retailer and apparently we make cash (a lot of cash) by doing backhaul. There's a consultancy (isn't there always) that calculates our routes and works out places we can pick loads up from so that often our suppliers pay us to pick up our own stock and deliver it to our own warehouse.