Of course, we all know that we are expected to deliver whatever commodity we are hauling by a certain date and time when the load is first accepted. It is always expected by all parties involved, that we will be on time for whatever delivery we have been set for as part of our business as drivers. What we often don’t give much thought to, is what may happen on the back end of things, should we miss our appointment for delivery? Sometimes a minor hitch in the time of delivery can have a big impact and in some cases it can halt production all together.
The factors that act as variables in a late delivery situation and how they affect a particular customer depends largely on what type of operation they are running. Some manufacturers operate in a Just-In-Time, or JIT, form of production. This type of operation focuses on reduced idle inventory costs through scheduling deliveries only as the current stock is being depleted. This may seem to some like a recipe for disaster, but this can be a very effective way of ordering goods for some operations without a lot 
of storage area to hold inventory. Large areas for holding inventory costs money and allowing themselves to be without, these companies save money as long as deliveries go precisely according to schedule. One hiccup in the time of delivery though can spell disaster, as it usually means production has to stop until the delivery arrives. This is the main reason many of these operations pair with trusted and dedicated partners for their deliveries, or have their own fleet trucks to service deliveries.
As drivers, we can even affect other drivers by not making our deliveries on time. This happened just recently on one of my dedicated accounts where I drop the trailer to be loaded overnight and pick it up the next morning for direct delivery. A lot of this particular warehouse’s incoming freight comes in on 53’ rail containers, which are then offloaded and sorted for their specific outbound customers. On this particular load I arrived in the morning to pick up my loaded trailer only to find out it was still empty. After checking with the shipping office, I had found out that they were waiting to finish picking the load, due to a specific 
item on the order having just arrived twelve hours late from the last-mile rail trucking company. In the end I had to pull this empty trailer out of the shipper for other deliveries, since the load was a floor load that would have taken at least three hours to load, even after being fully picked. My appointment had to be rescheduled for the next day and the broker faced a $300 rescheduling fee from the receiver, which I hope for their sake was a charge-back to the shipper!
Even though we know in the back of our heads that on time service is necessary to keep things running smoothly, we should take the time once in a while to remember just what happens when we are not punctual. We have the ability in this line of work to put a hitch in someone else’s plans without really thinking we can. Not only will an on time delivery record make things go smoother for everyone involved, but it can also help you build a reputation with your all too important customer base! After all, “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is very, very bad!” – John Hickey