success story The Delivery Express Team Dave Hamilton Delivery Express President

Transcription

1 success story The Delivery Express Team Dave Hamilton Delivery Express President 24 CM November December 2009

2 By Amy Fischbach Delivery Express Inc. s Quest for Perfection Seattle-area courier company aims to make deliveries on time every time. f a company wants to have a general idea of when a package will arrive, an employee will stick a stamp on it and toss it into the mailbox. Those businesses, however, looking for on-time delivery, customer service and the latest tracking technology, often turn to Delivery Express. For the past 13 years, the Renton, Wash.-based delivery company has prided itself on meeting customers needs. For example, when a severe snowstorm virtually shut down Seattle last winter, one of the company s clients still had to make its deliveries of blood bags and other equipment. Fortunately, Delivery Express ensured that all the deliveries were made as scheduled. We re in the business of saving lives, and it s very important for the right people to get the right products, said Edwin Barber, director of materials management for Puget Sound Blood Center. During the snowstorm, a lot of people couldn t get out, but their drivers were able to get vehicles to my warehouse and deliver to all of my locations. This commitment to customer service is one reason why Puget Sound Blood Center has been working with Delivery Express for the last two-and-a-half years. Barber said he used to work with Delivery Express while employed at LabCorp. He brought Delivery Express on board to work as a third-party courier for his new employer because of the company s excellent track record. Whether they re dealing with one package or a whole truckload, they have the same level of service and treat everyone the same, he said. They ve never said no to a load I had for them, and they ve always come through when I was in a tight bind. Fast Facts on Delivery Express Founded: January 1997 Location: Based in Renton, Wash. The company s office is less than 10 miles from the Seattle Airport and 10 miles to downtown Seattle. Contractors and Staff: 85 contract drivers and 12 office employees. Services: Offers same-day, next-day or next-week delivery needs including courier, freight, logistics and freight forwarding. In addition, the company operates a large warehouse and can meet customers warehousing needs. For example, one time, Barber needed a delivery done in 20 CM Nevember December

3 Supershot Warehouse From left, Jim O Brien, dispatch operations manager; Shawana Phillips, office manager, and Mike Moraski, vice president of operations; Delivery Express warehouse operation. Caption minutes, and the Delivery Express driver arrived right on time. They are a company that I can rely on, and that my staff trusts to get the product out, he said. They are professional, on time, and very courteous. Rapid Growth Delivery Express president Dave Hamilton credits his company s success to two key factors driver retention and on-time deliveries. Hamilton, who has been in the courier business for the past 22 years, first began working in the industry out of high school. When he began attending a Seattle community college, he met the owner of a small courier company. He was a one-man operation, and I basically doubled the size of his company, Hamilton said. He and I worked together for a bit, and then I headed off on my own. In January 1997, he started Delivery Express with three drivers. Now his company works with about 85 contractor drivers and specializes in medical and real estate work. In the beginning, his business focused exclusively on on-demand work, but over the years, the percentage has shifted to about 75 percent on-demand and 25 percent routed/scheduled work. The company has worked with a variety of different clients, but landed its biggest account within the first year. When Kenworth Truck Company first called Delivery Express, Hamilton expected to make a pickup from just one of its suppliers. Instead, his company was asked to pick up from all of their suppliers, which was a huge shot in the arm. Needless to say, we had to find a bunch of drivers, and make sure we were on top of it, Hamilton said. It s an account we still have today, and it s been great for us. As the company has increasingly gotten better organized and able to get out and sell, the company has continued to keep growing. Over the years, Delivery Express has become known as one of the fastest-growing companies in the Seattle area, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Most of the growth has stemmed from referrals and sales leads. We ve had dramatic growth, said Hamilton, who was also selected as a 40 Under 40 Nominee by the publication in On Time Deliveries One reason why Delivery Express continues to grow and prosper is its focus on timeliness. The company consistently looks for ways to improve on time by evaluating metrics. While the company is able to deliver on time about 96 percent or more of the time, Hamilton said his company s drivers are always shooting for 100 percent. Quest Diagnostics in Seattle has been working with Delivery Express for several years due to the company s dependability. Ed Byrne, regional logistics manager for Quest Diagnostics, likes the fact that the company offers different levels of pickup and delivery services. Because Quest Diagnostics is a health-care company, it often needs human samples to be picked up stat. While they have to pay more for this service, they fully expect to do so. We often have 55 minutes from the time the client calls us to the time the sample is delivered to the testing facility, Byrne 26 CM November December 2009

4 said. When we have that need for stat service, they come through for us every time. Delivery Express does about 100 transactions for Quest Diagnostics per month. The two companies operate in the same geographical area in Puget Sound, and Byrne said Delivery Express is customer service-driven. Like other courier companies, however, Delivery Express faces challenges from clients that not only want on-time deliveries, but also want premium service at a reduced rate. Shippers were more willing to pay for service a couple of years ago than they are now, which presents a major challenge, he said. We have excelled because of our commitment to quality and on-time performance, but currently our biggest challenge is generating more revenue, he said. The pie is smaller, and I am bumping up against more competitors more often. Driver Retention Another one of the top issues for Delivery Express is driver retention. In the delivery industry, it s critical to have as many drivers as possible, and to keep them well trained, Hamilton said. Whoever has the most drivers wins, and you can t just churn them out, he said. We have to bring them in and help them to succeed. The more we have, the better we ll do. To keep its drivers coming back to work each day, Delivery Express helps them to find ways to make more money. Every other month, the company gives them an assessment. The business then rewards the top performers by naming them elite drivers. Those drivers who show an outstanding commitment to the company have the potential to earn more money on the job. Delivery Express offers a contractor resource guide as an orientation tool for its contractor drivers. This packet is filled with hints and maps to help the drivers to do the best job that they can. The company also has many social events such as a monthly driver appreciation barbeque. In addition, Delivery Express organized an Open House to show off its new facility to its drivers and their families. Following the Open House, Hamilton held a driver meeting and led an open-ended discussion about the state of the business. Delivery Express takes good care of its drivers, said Frank Oakes, who has been working for the company for the last year-anda-half as a driver. Oakes appreciates the company s ability to be organized and well managed. For example, when things slow down, the company evaluates its workload and then releases drivers from their contracts. That way, there aren t a lot of drivers who aren t making money. In addition, the company rewards drivers for a job well done. They evaluate the drivers on how well they get the job done, Oakes said. Whether you show up to work on time and get good feedback from customers. If you do a better job in the areas that are more important, then you get more work. He said this system works well for him because he enjoys showing up for work and making money. continued on next page CM November December

5 It s nice to work at a place where your efforts are appreciated, he said. I think it helps for people to be more involved with the company and feel like they re a part of it. Delivery Express treats drivers like people instead of like a number. In addition, the drivers often are committed to customer satisfaction, Byrne said. In his experience, the drivers are friendly and outgoing. Their drivers are really head and tails above your typical delivery service employee, Byrne said. They are out to make sure that the customers get what they need. Running a Courier Business Isn't Easy -That's Why You Need a Courier Insurance Expert Insurance rates are down. But, if you don't have the right coverage, a low rate is going to help you when you have a claim. As the largest broker in the industry, Capacity Coverage insures courier businesses from small operations to corporate giants. Our hands-on approach to service means you get the coverage you need to protect your business at competitive rates. Safety programs - to help keep rates down Loss control measures - to prevent claims Avoid claim restrictions due to policy "warranties" Review contracts and RFPs for terms that impact insurance President Dave Hamilton with Ron Stevens, logistics manager Tuning into Technology Another important component to the company s success has been technology. The customers can place orders online, which is a significant selling point for Quest Diagnostics, Byrne said. Rather than picking up the phone and calling central dispatch, Byrne can instead visit the company s website. Quest Diagnostics has been using the service for the last three years. The company operates its own fleet of couriers and vehicles and runs its own dispatch center, so placing orders online allows Quest Diagnostics to be more efficient. Call Mary Jo Viola at Like any other dispatch center, we re very busy handling calls from our customers, he said. If we have to take time out to make a phone call, it affects our service to our customers. Our clients are calling us to arrange pickups with our couriers, and placing orders online allows us to do things at one time. Since the beginning of the business, Delivery Express has had courier software, and the company is continually working with the vendor to improve the program and make it work for them. In addition, the business is working on redesigning its website for the third time to make sure it stays fresh. The company is active on search engine optimization and Google Search. Delivery Express started its business using the original Nextel handhelds, paging drivers their orders, using computerized order entry and dispatching systems, and employing and instant messaging. In addition, the company invested in GPS tracking to improve the efficiency in the dispatch room. While technology has been a huge key to the company s success, Hamilton said it s not without its challenges. Dial-up connections were reliable, but slow, and the courier software initially required a lot of maintenance. In fact, Hamilton remembers talking late at night with the courier software president at his home after hours. It takes a concerted effort to stay on top of our existing technology and to always be on the lookout for the next best thing, he said. Many of our shippers look at the large regional and national carriers as the example and expect us to keep up with the same technology. For the most part we have met the challenge, but it takes plenty of effort. By keeping up on the latest technology, focusing on customer service and taking care of its drivers, Delivery Express has managed to keep growing and improving over the last 13 years. By continuing to focus on these strategies, the company plans to continue to serve its clients for many years to come. The Messenger/Courier Insurance Specialists capcoverage.com. 28 CM November December or her at mjviola@capcoverage.com About the Author Amy Fischbach is a freelance writer and editor living in Overland Park, Kan. She can be reached at amyfischbach@gmail.com