Dispatchers are an essential part of any successful trucking company. Depending on the size of the trucking company, dispatchers can have a multitude of duties. At Norsemen Trucking, our dispatchers work closely with our customers to establish freight lanes, bid on lanes, and organize with the customer the shipping and delivery of their freight. Once a load is ready to be shipped, dispatch then matches the load up with one of our company drivers. They work with the driver to get the freight picked up and delivered in a timely, organized fashion. This pattern is repeated over and over to keep the driver moving and our customers happy. Now multiply that by fifty trucks – we have three dispatchers in-house that manage everything week after week.
Add in all the variables that can pop up such as weather, delays in shipping or receiving, breakdowns, vacations, personal issues, and now COVID-19 – dispatchers have to be organized and be able to overcome any of these variables that come up. This can only happen when they have good working relationships with their drivers, customers, and brokers that they work with each day. Much like a driver, a dispatchers’ job does not end at 5 pm each day. They do get to go home each night, but they are on call 24/7 to attend to any issues that may pop up.
Some companies and brokers have seen this pandemic as a time to low-ball freight costs. Thankfully, Norsemen has established relationships with our customers, and together we are working through the pandemic. Our customers work closely with our dispatchers to communicate the changes that have had to happen during the pandemic. By working with each other they are able to keep the essential freight moving and keep everyone as safe as possible during this time.
All of our staff at Norsemen Trucking are valuable. Some of them, like our dispatchers, have stressful jobs that require extra attention to detail. I am proud of the dispatching team that we have at Norsemen Trucking. Each day they show up to work and do their best to keep our trucks and drivers profitable. I would also like to say thank you to our customers for the respect and gratitude they have shown to Norsemen, our dispatchers, and drivers. Together we will keep moving forward during this pandemic and we will come out on the other side.