As longtime readers know, we’re not fans of contracting out things that are necessary to run your business. That includes trucking services.
This is triggered by some whining engaged in by MillerCoors earlier today, when it disseminated at least part of a memo from Beer Institute Chief Economist Michael Uhrich.
It seems there aren’t enough truck drivers to move their goods. “There are 10 truckloads waiting to be moved for every driver available right now,” says Holly Pixler, senior director of transportation and logistics for MillerCoors. “So not only is this a bottom-line issue, it’s an availability issue. If I can’t secure a driver to go to a site, I’m literally not going to be able to deliver beer. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it’s something every shipper is concerned about right now.”
The problem for MillerCoors, and for a lot of other companies, is that they are relying on other companies to move their goods.
There are some things they can do: They can use intermodal and rail, for instance, and insure loading and unloading are efficient, MillerCoors acknowledges.
What they don’t seem to be doing is running their own fleet of trucks. Indeed, MillerCoors acknowledges it relies upon “third-party carriers to move products from its breweries to the independent wholesalers that supply retailers.”
To be sure, there are advantages to not handling your own transportation. You don’t have to have a way to maintain trucks, or hire and manage drivers, etc.
There’s a reason Amazon is developing its own transportation network rather than simply relying on UPS, FedEx, etc. It can count on its people to deliver its goods. It doesn’t have to hope it can get a truck here and a truck there. Plus: It captures the profit that a third-party carrier makes.