Outsourced vs In-House Delivery Drivers

Timing matters. In construction, an important key to a successful project is maintaining the schedule. Companies who can quickly deliver materials as needed will satisfy their customers and, in turn, rise above their competition.

It is important for remodelers to consider the advantages of outsourced delivery drivers vs in-house delivery drivers.

Maintain Organizational Focus 
Successful companies have a clear focus and purpose. For a construction supply company, part of that purpose includes offering the highest quality materials at a great rate. This can be particularly challenging these days as the pandemic has led to strained supply lines and great fluctuations in the price of building supplies.

Managing last-mile delivery is outside of the scope of a construction supply company. When companies go beyond their core strengths to take on new tasks and problems, focus can be lost. 

Yet, these companies need to provide excellent on-demand delivery service to succeed.

With outsourced delivery drivers for materials delivery, construction supply companies can serve their customers without losing focus on those core strengths. 

A Major Undertaking

Having in-house delivery drivers may seem like a simple solution.

Well, it’s not simple - at all. 

By committing to in-house delivery drivers, construction supply companies need to interview, hire, train and manage drivers. There tends to be a high turnover rate of delivery drivers which means the interviewing, hiring, and training of drivers is a constant commitment.

Employing and training drivers is just the start of a successful last-mile construction delivery service. Companies also must track deliveries to ensure materials are delivered on time and in the right condition. Plus, insurance for materials, drivers, and vehicles must be accounted for.

By outsourcing delivery drivers to a local courier, a construction supply company can eliminate many potential headaches. The courier ends up taking on the responsibilities related to last-mile delivery.

Effectively Manage Resources

You don’t have to be an economist to realize that resources are limited.

Employing local couriers to make deliveries allows companies to better manage their resources. Whether it’s a busy season or not, the company can always have the correct number of drivers when working with an on-demand delivery service.

Also, they are only required to pay for these outsourced delivery drivers when needed. 

Having in-house delivery drivers can lead to wasted funds as they may not be needed during slow times. An easy solution would seem to be to have in-house delivery drivers be on call. However, the reality is that there is a driver shortage. So, expecting a driver to be accountable and remain loyal without paying them a regular salary is unrealistic.

One Last Thing

Even if a company has interviewed, hired, and trained drivers, they still need to account for vehicles.

With the commitment of in-house delivery drivers, construction supply companies also need to have a fleet ready – which includes maintenance and storage.

The fleet of vehicles should vary in size and function. By having the right sized vehicle available for use when needed, companies can minimize associated costs such as fuel and tolls.

If a company does not have a vehicle available to make a delivery at a specific time, they may risk losing the sale. 

A local courier not only has available drivers, but the right-sized vehicle for all construction deliveries. With the courier, the company never has to lose a sale due to this issue. They can quickly get building materials into their customer’s hands.

Curri is a nationwide construction and industrial material delivery service with flatbeds, trucks, and cars available for hotshot, scheduled, daily route, and LTL/FTL deliveries. While the primary use cases for Curri are hotshot deliveries to customers, Curri can also be used to quickly add flexibility to a current fleet. Examples include:

• Hotshot pickup and delivery from branches
• Return pickups from customers
• Branch transfers
• Multiple pickup and drop-off deliveries
• Recurring multi-stop deliveries, known as "Daily Routes"

Take the Curri demo for a test drive!