Wadhams

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :11/04/2008 04:19:11

Now in its second generation of family ownership, Wadhams Enterprises Inc hasn’t lost its personal touch. In fact, its core values – coupled with some innovative technologies – have laid solid foundations for the next phase of growth

Written by Ben O’Hanlon and Produced by Crias Corrigan

Since it was established in 1949 by an entrepreneurial 18 year old with little more than a truck and a phone, Wadhams has provided transportation services throughout North East America. Having proudly overseen his creation grow to become an industry leader, Earl Wadhams has now retired but, say his sons, he is still a welcome presence around the office.

Second generation co-owners Rick and Steve Wadhams have taken over running the day-to-day operations. “We’ve both been involved in the business since high school,” says company President Steve. “We started working in the shop and came up through the ranks. It’s really helped us to understand the business from the bottom to the top.”

Over its 59 year history Earl T. Wadhams Inc – the arm of the business which today operates as a bulk milk carrier between farms and processing plants – has been joined by several subsidiaries. ARG Trucking Corp. and RIST Transport Ltd were formed through an asset purchase in the mid-80s. This strengthened operations by adding petroleum and general commodities truck load transportation capabilities. More recent acquisitions have boosted Wadhams’ service provision by extending capability to carry smaller consignments such as LTL .

Unloading the Challenges

Evidently, business is going well. But, Steve explains, success doesn’t come without challenges: “Fuel costs have been one of our biggest concerns recently. Everybody’s feeling the crunch of the economy and there are more trucks than freight; supply is exceeding demand. Because of this fuel surcharges and freight rates have been driven down. Many brokers fail to pass on fair fuel surcharges – competition is fierce.” Especially in the TL segment.

This means that the fuel surcharge and base rates that are passed onto customers aren’t enough to cover the ‘empty’ miles – after a consignment has been delivered and the truck is heading back to its depot, or to it’s next shipper for example.

It’s also a demanding time for the truck drivers, with technological advancements requiring them to work in different ways. “The industry, especially our petroleum division, is getting more and more complex,” says Steve. “Loading a consignment involves entering the customer’s account code into an electronic device at the loading rack, many of which use different systems and terminology.” Traditionally, drivers are also required to work unsociable hours – often at night when loading and unloading causes less disruption for our customers patrons. If there is a delivering semi in the way, the chances a patron will go to the next gas station is high.

But Wadhams has been diligently putting training systems in place to try and alleviate these burdens. All new and existing drivers are put through documented mandatory training. For petroleum operations this includes between six and eight weeks of on-the-job training. The Smith System driver training - implemented recently – is used to raise awareness by explaining and discussing driving technique and work processes. There have also been moves to create more consistency in work schedules to aid employees’ family commitments.

Family Culture

These moves have helped to strengthen the employer-employee bond, which has been invaluable for the company as a whole. Steve cites the recent example of employees going out of their way to help a customer who had missed shipping three pallets off their consignment: “The night driver supervisor made arrangements for another driver to make the pick up in the middle of the night, but that involved a lot of logistical work to be able to fit them on the truck.”

Dedication like this can lead to an ‘employee of the quarter’ nomination and shows that attempts to engrain a culture of excellence are paying dividend. The company actively promotes its ‘BADD’ slogan: “Be impeccable with your word, Always do your best, Don’t make assumptions, Don’t take things personally.” This philosophy stems from the company’s strong family roots, says Steve: “We’ve taken what we learned from our father’s way of doing business and just tried to put it into an official program. It’s about enhancing the culture of the organization, trying to establish a day-to-day mindset that all of us bring to work.”

Improvement through Technology

Efficiency and the continuous drive for improvement, though, is as much a part of the fabric of the organization as it is the minds of its employees. This is very much evident when you take a look at Wadhams’ recent and ongoing IT improvements. The company is currently adapting some of its key software systems, tailoring them to meet the changing demands of a dynamic industry. For example, systems can easily support managers on new Homeland Security certification expirations dates and alert them of dates to renew hazardous material endorsements. This same system also provides the tools for management to be able to track and measure accountability, safety performance, and customer service failures.

Other advancements have seen satellite tracking installed throughout much of the 300-strong fleet of trucks; this links them into the dispatch systems and then stream lines back-office administration. It enables more efficient route planning and scheduling and interfaces with driver settlements.

These efficiencies produce noticeable benefits for Wadhams’ LTL customers, right through to the automatic and seamless generation of documentation. But, Steve explains, there’s always scope for improvement: “We’re moving towards electronic billing for a lot of our customers in all of our divisions. The trucking industry hasn’t been kind to the environment over the years; we’ve used a lot of paper and it’s time that changes.”

And on a strategic level Wadhams has been just as keen to lead the way. In 1994 it joined an offshore captive insurance group. This allows the company to receive premiums that directly relate to its own liabilities and expenses, rather than to the trucking industry as a whole. It also enables faster access to more relevant information about losses – giving an opportunity to control losses at an early stage. More importantly it taught us to be more innovative in loss prevention.

Wadhams also has a continuing education process by using a system similar to web based training, but is exclusive to Wadhams. Its used in retraining, hazmat education, roll over prevention and more. “To enhance this we are working with Hobart College to develop company customized video of processes through out our business to use for training. The employee would sit down at a PC at one of our locations, view the video, and then take a short quiz. The results and recorded and filed in the personnel files. This helps the company meet compliance requirements also,” says Steve.

“We are also currently upgrading the use of TMT ‘s maintenance system with shop work stations,” he adds. “This will help us control our parts inventories, better track truck maintenance, track warranty items, and more. We are looking forward to this project paying dividends. It will also eliminate the paper files and give easy access to information needed to make equipment decisions.”

Looking Ahead

Steve believes a successful future can be secured by building on these solid foundations: “We’re looking to broaden our footprint by developing new relationships with partner carriers. That’ll allow us to serve new territories and compete in bigger markets. The key is in finding companies that share our values.” With many customers finding it unprofitable to operate their own trucks under the current industry climate, there are also opportunities to acquire small private fleets and provide dedicated service.

But it seems that the key to successful growth lies with the employees and the family culture that has been so influential in the past. “I can’t stand here and say how well myself or my brother has been at running the business,” says Steve. “We’ve just been good enough at surrounding ourselves by the people that can make it happen. The real credit lies with them”