Recap of Planning for Disruption: Get Ahead of the Curve With Technology and Financial Planning

May 3, 2020

A great big thank you to everyone who joined us for our webinar, Planning for Disruption: Get Ahead of the Curve With Technology and Financial Planning!
With increasing complexity in our global supply chains, the need for adaptability to evolving logistics is a must have for fleet operations teams. There was an overwhelming amount of participation during this webinar, validating that this is an important and timely topic. We truly appreciate the 253 people who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend and ask the panel questions! In case you missed the live webinar, you can watch the recording any time.

Below are answers to the questions we were not able to answer live.

What is your strategy for spending PPP stimulus for carriers?

Carriers are being very careful with respect to how they spend any funding they have received via the PPP program. There are rules for how companies can use these funds, which ultimately determines the level of loan forgiveness they receive. The vast majority of these funds are being used for payroll (driver / non-driver / shop compensation), along with fixed overhead expenses that will continue during this crisis. In recent weeks, some confusion has emerged about using the funds for ‘rent’. Outside transportation, many understand rent to mean the rent or mortgage costs for physical buildings. Within transportation, some accounting firms have extrapolated the interpretation of this definition to include any asset-backed loans (which has been allowed for independent contractors for their personal vehicles). Similar questions have arisen for fuel. However in summary, carriers are tracking the appropriate expenses very closely, and also documenting conversations, emails and other communication to provide proof (for later audit) of economic damage.

What are the shortcuts Tim mentions in a clerk billing 300 bills, these bills are not homogenized I assume. How do you cut the clerk’s time and increase efficiency at the same time?

We use the OCR that was developed with Vector to double check the correct paperwork is in the system before invoicing out to the customers. The next step is, our internal system that we built, determines a pattern on that invoice for that customer. If the order being invoiced is the same as the previous few patterns, it will auto invoice out to the customer.

Do you think that this pandemic and the push to e-commerce heavily will continue after the pandemic ends?

Yes, I expect the already underway trend of e-commerce adoption to accelerate. Stay at home policies should increase the adoption of these channels, in addition to reduced brick/mortar options.

How many bills does JLE process per day, with how many billing clerks?

Depends on the day, Monday could be easily be 300+. 2 Full Time Billing Clerks

What are possible long term images of Truck Drivers who are NOW regarded as Heros, in a fashion of front liner health workers. Public image to date has not been favorable-quite a learning curve for the public

We should all thank a trucker. They are the lifeblood of everything we consume. Unfortunately, this image may not last into perpetuity. But, it should be remembered forever.

What COVID recommendations are given for team drivers? Are you advising drivers to keep temp logs?

Depending on the Team drivers, if they have been together for a length of period, they will need to stay together or quarantine after seperating. Yes, we are beginning the process to check driver temperatures. Other symptoms will need to be reported as soon as possible.