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Status and savings
Page 37
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Although the Ministry of Transport is at pains to emphasize that the report on the allocation of freight traffic by 125 Midlands manufacturing firms (see page 36) expresses the views of the man who undertook the survey, Dr Sharp of Leicester University, publication of the report by the Ministry will undoubtedly give special weight to its recommendations.
One conclusion which many transport managers will be only too pleased to draw to the attention of their employers is that transport is underrated in importance and that transport managers should be given improved status and access to proper cost information.
The report's suggestion that transport managers should be responsible directly to the company board is given emphasis by the revelation of the bewildering variety of people to whom they are at present answerable. The survey shows that many are indeed responsible to the board or to the managing director, while others are answerable to a particular functional director, but others report to works directors, works managers, sales managers, commercial controllers, the order department, the company secretary and so on.
Given proper status, and a direct line to the top, transport managers can save their companies a great deal of money.
The survey also suggests that the threat of own-account entry into hire and reward is something of a paper tiger. Very few of the companies interviewed showed any interest in thus diversifying their activities.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the report is that the Minister has allowed Dr Sharp to include an extensive postscript in which he warns of the danger of Freightliners becoming loss-leaders through undercharging, and virtually demolishes the official policy on quantity licensing. Is the Minister being remarkably liberal and permissive, or carefully calculating for reasons best known to himself?