TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
Page 19
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
IN MANY cases in which delivery rounds have -to be made the route for the greater pars of the distance is definitely indicated without any, alternative in view of the points at which goods have to be delivered. In plenty of other cases, however, there are alternative routes between one point of delivery and the next. In other cases, again, the work of a motor vehicle consists of frequently covering one or other of the routes between two fixed points.
Investigation of Routes.
• It is obvious that, where any alternatives exist. in respect of a journey which has to be fairly frequently repeated, it is worth while to ascertain once and for all which alternative is the better. This cannot be decided by reference to a map. Thus, for instance, in the central area of London, or some other great city, it may be well worthwhile to use a more or less circuitous route involving a higher mileage but fewer traffic delays. The choice between routes may depend on the time of day at which the journey is made. If the time is variable it is more difficult to come to adecision that is likely always to be correct.
If the regular work .of the vehicle is to travel from, say, A to B and back, starting at a fixed hour, and if there are two or three routes from which to choose, it is well worth while t& make careful investigations and to tabulate results, noting the time taken to reach a number of intermediate points and any special incident affecting that time. If one route is somewhat longer than the other, but, owing to traffic considerations, the time taken is about the same whichever way one travels, the shorter route is probably slightly preferable on the grounds of economy, but this. does not necessarily follow as a matter of course.
Frequent stopping and restarting in traffic may . push up the petrol consumption and lead to more wear and tear, as compared with the longer but less interrupted run. If the less direct route, owing to lighter traffic, can be completed in a shorter time, it ought almost certainly to be preferred, on the grounds that its use enables. an increase in the daily mileage of the vehicle to be effected.
What applies to a. route as a whole applies also to sections of a route or round. The shortest way is not necessarily the quickest or the most economical. The alternatives should be carefully tried several times over, somebody being sent 'out with the van to keep accurate records from which a fair comparison can be made. Similarly, it may be worth while to make a circuit round a town rather than to pass straight across the centre of it.
The selection of routes should not be left solely to drivers. The men may feel that they will get into trouble if they cover an unnecessarily -long mileage, even though they take less time in doing so. The whole matter is one in which scientific Management is advisable, and is also one to which the majority of motor users give little or no thought.
When a trader has come to the. conclusion that. he ought to effect his deliveries by motor vehicle, there are a variety of courses between which he may choose.
The first and most obvious is to buy what appear to be the most suitable new vehicles from their maim
facturers and to provide his own organization for running and maintaining them.
The second course is to employ the services of a motor carrier or haulage contractor who will placevehicles at the trader's disposal in return for an agreed payment based upon time; mileage, and load.
The third is a sort of .combination between the first two. It consists of purchasing the vehicles and then employing somebody else to maintain them and keep them upon the road. Of these three methods the first and third cannot appeal to any one who is not prepared to embark a fair amount of capital. Those who for any reason cannot or will not do so may -either employ the haulage contractor or may try one or other of two further plans. Of these, one is the purchase of a second-hand vehicle at small cost in the first instance, and the other consists in some form. of hire-purchase, spreading the payments over a considerable period.
In some cases, the expenditure of capital in the first instance is shirked on the grounds that motor deliveries are to be tried experimentally, the possibility of going back to the old method being still' recognized. In such a case I should personally advise the employment of a motor carrier. The. use of a cheap second-hand vehicle is not a fair test of the systeth. It may give any amount. of trouble, due,' perhaps, to its past history and the fact that it has been purchased without sufficiently detailed -examina: tion. It will almost certainly cost more to run than a new vAicle, so the chances are., that we. shall not get, by employing it, any real idea of the point to which our costs can really be reduced., Hire purchase is not easy to arrange. Manufacturers of good repute are seldom willing to consider any such proposition. On the other hand, if a contract is made with a carrier, and the service given proves satisfactory, it becomes more or less certain that the purchase and running of our own vehicles, backed by proper maintenance organization will, at any rate, cost no more than the amount already being paid to the carrier, since the latter must necessarily make his own profit. Thus we arrive at a figure which represents something more than the net cost of performing the service, and if this figure compares favourably with the cost of horsed transport, the abandonment of the latter is-clearly the right policy.
Even if the motor service costs somewhat more, we must consider carefully what contingent advantages follow upon its employment. IS it enabling us to extend our radius of action and so increase the turnover of the business? Is it making it possible to give' prompter and more frequent deliveries, creating greater satisfaction among customers, and either attracting those who have hitherto gone to competitors, or, at any rate, preventing old customers from going away to more enterprising -traders? The question is not all one either of first cost or of operating cost of the delivery service itself. More often than not the real determining factor should be the effect upon the business as a whole. This can be well tested' by employing a reliable carrier and allowing him to do one's work for a long enough period to enable the, effects upon the turnover and profits of the business to be gauged with reasonable accuracy.