Huffman Critical Information System

Introduction

Huffman Trucking, founded in 1936, started with a single tractor-trailer. “The growth of the company was the direct result of World War II and the increased demand for carrier services between factories in the Midwest to ports on the East Coast. By 1945, the fleet had increased in size to 16 tractors and 36 trailers. The business relationship forged with the U.S. Government continues today. Huffman Trucking continued to grow from internal sales and the acquisition of five Eastern regional carriers. This growth has enabled Huffman Trucking to continue to be privately held (Huffman, 2011).” Today Huffman Trucking has hubs in Cleveland, Ohio, Los Angeles, California, St. Louis, Missouri, and Bayonne, New Jersey. They employ 925 drivers and 425 support personnel. They own and operate 800 road tractors, 2,100 45’ trailers, and 260 roll-off units.

Body

Logistics is the “management of materials flow through an organization, from raw materials through to finished goods (FreeDictionary, 2003).” Huffman Trucking is about logistics. They are in charge of getting materials from their distribution centers to the customers. Although their goal is to get the materials delivered on time and in good quality, they also want to make sure they are not wasting their time and man power delivering just one stop here and there for little volume.

Customer Types

Huffman Trucking has separated all of their accounts into two categories: Type L and Type S. Type L customers are their large customers who have steady volume throughout the year and negotiate yearly contracts with trucking companies. Type L customers include the United States Government, manufacturers of consumer electronic products, and automotive parts suppliers. Type L customers have a very large and steady annual volume of business. Because they work with yearly contracts, the competition to get the deals is high, so profit margins are low.

Type S customers are customers who may just need a one-time...