4 Options for Route Expansion and Increasing Haulage Jobs

What you know is safe and easy, but business booms on risk. In transportation, this inevitability brings you to tough choices about your routes. For small to medium sized businesses working in a clogged and competitive industry, it can be quite comfortable to operate with a regular routine of set routes and a sphere of local operations. But since the industry is ever changing, staying on top often means looking ahead to find new routes, new options, and a new direction – yet without risking what you have already built.

Consider leaving weak routes

Sometimes the first step forward involves casting your eye over your shoulder and surveying where you have been. When working with haulage jobs, this means considering changing your current routes, because some may simply not be productive any longer. This can be hard, not merely because it means changing the structure of your business, but people also develop an affinity and loyalty to routine clients and work. However, the ability to critically cut unhelpful routes will fortify your business and aid growth.

Look for the efficient options

When looking to find more haulage jobs by increasing routes, efficiency is key. It is tempting to follow ambition; the bigger fish in the bigger ponds can lure you with more expansive routes, and these days many small businesses are urged to expend credit on this type on expansion in any and every industry. But the value of efficiency lies in mitigating risk. If you can shape your new routes in such a way that they capitalise on resources you already have yet find bigger and better clients, you are working smarter, not just harder.

Expand your fleet

Perhaps the biggest step in growth when dealing with haulage jobs is the one where you put money down for new vehicles. This may be because the purchase, outsourcing or borrowing of new trucks, cars, vans or ships is a hefty investment that you can touch and see and feel. This tangibility is not a chimera of risk - the investment is indeed hefty. But a wise plan for future growth can be stifled by stinginess and high conservatism, so if you want to make the most of new routes and work, look to pay for a new fleet at some point.

Utilise contacts and outsourcing

One way to prevent your eye from overtaking your stomach when hungry for growth is the use of contacts and outsourcing. For example, if you want to arrange new haulage jobs by setting out a few more routes, it is a good idea to outsource the work to others with vehicles before taking a big step and buying more vehicles for your fleet. This allows you to put less money on the table at first yet at the same time capitalise on the growth of new routes earlier rather than later.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day haulage 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.