Top 3 Considerations When Bidding On Owner Driver Jobs

Bidding for owner driver jobs can be a tricky process: it’s so easy to end up bidding too low, which would be tantamount to hitting yourself on the head with a rock! When making a bid for a job in an online exchange, there are certain considerations you must keep in mind—you can’t just go in and quote the lowest price you can come up with. As a starting point, the following factors should give you a more solid idea of how to successfully make a bid.

Load

Of course, when it comes to owner driver jobs, one of the biggest issues is the load—its weight and physical dimensions matter in terms of the space it takes up. Many people, especially those who are new to the industry, tend to be aggressive in bidding with their low prices, only to realise later on that they do not make a profit from the job, or worse, their folly actually costs them. Particularly heavy loads often entail additional charges, so it’s a common thing among couriers to set up a standard rate; for example, loads that are less than 25 pounds have no additional cost, but every extra pound beyond that entails a 10 per cent fee. Of course, you can be creative and play around with your rates to entice the potential customer with other benefits.

Mileage

While it’s common among couriers to charge by the job, there are certain cases in which it may be mutually beneficial to charge owner driver jobs by the mileage. Charging by the mileage or distance becomes much more important if the job entails long distances—then again, the mileage factor must also be considered along with the weight of the load in order to come up with a reasonable rate that your customer will find appealing. You can begin by checking out the latest mileage rates in your area: you can do so by obtaining a delivery quote from a rival courier—it's a delicate undertaking, but it should be done nevertheless.

Speed

Another important consideration is whether or not the delivery job you’re bidding for must be accomplished within a specific time frame—if it’s an absolute must to deliver it within the hour, for example, then there’s an appropriate extra charge for it. The same goes for requests such as same-day delivery. It’s usual for an established courier to charge a flat 10% additional fee for what they call ‘rush’ jobs. Then there are also ‘stat’ jobs for the owner driver—jobs that require you to pick up the item then deliver it usually within an hour or a few hours. For these so-called ‘stat jobs’, you can charge as much as 25% more—although you should perhaps go slightly less if you really want to win the bid.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day owner driver jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.