CAM Canadian Mover, Fall 2002/Winter 2003: Matczuk

Although the moving industry in Canada can be highly competitive, there are a number of problems we all face. With this in mind, the theme of this year’s CAM conference is "We’re Better Together." The association has invited the presidents of the four major Canadian van lines to share their concerns about some of the major issues, as well as their ideas and suggestions for action the industry could take as a whole.

Doug Auld, president of Atlas Van Lines; David Fennell, president of Allied Van Lines; Anne Martin, president of United Van Lines; and Gerry Puckrin, president of North American Van Lines, all agree that many of the issues faced by the Canadian moving industry have to do with staying competitive in a competitive market. There are concerns about low profit margins, shrinking markets, uneven workflow cycles, standards of quality – and, the issue identified by each of them as one of the greatest causes for concern – a shortage of labour.

"There are a number of reasons why moving companies are finding it harder and harder to hire reliable, responsible helper labour," says Doug Auld, "but at the core of the problem is compensation and job security."

Fair compensation is a point where all four presidents agree. "We have to pay people today to come to our industry," says David Fennell. "The moving industry is hard work."

Fennell says that CAM has provided valuable feedback to the industry with its recent salary survey, which allows people within the industry to compare their wages with others in their region. "That would allow a potential employer to ensure they are being competitive within their markets," says Fennell. "But," he adds, "that doesn’t necessarily mean they can compare with other industries."

Anne Martin also says that fair compensation is important, both for attracting and retaining new staff. "Retention is an issue," says Martin. "It’s something you have to think about. You don’t want to lose someone once you’ve got them."

Martin says it’s important to create an affiliation within the company by communicating with the drivers through meetings, training, and newsletters. She says it’s helpful to work with the drivers and assist them with their business skills, as many of them are self-employed contractors.

Gerry Puckrin also sees staff retention as a serious concern: "I think we do a poor job as an industry with career planning for employees at all levels, especially for our drivers, packers and helpers. For example, we have had many talented people start out as packers or drivers in our industry, only to lose them to other industries because they viewed their position as a dead-end job. We could keep many of these people by introducing opportunities for advancement and then supporting them, training them and simply doing whatever it takes to help them get to the next level."

Doug Auld also advocates the establishment of a clear career path, which would help attract young people to the industry. "There should be regular, staged wage increases," says Auld, "perhaps even bonuses for exceptional workers to help motivate them to stay." He suggests the possibility of a "finder fee" to reward people for bringing newcomers into the industry. He also recommends on-the-job training and mentoring programs.

"Also, instead of just letting experienced van operators retire, it might make sense for each of the van lines to identify individuals who would be interested in becoming involved in a training function," says Auld. "Really successful van operators have a lot to teach about customer service, the documentation, regulation and the administrative side of being an owner-operator, money management and how to make ‘life on the road’ work for a family."

The moving industry has always been peak-season-oriented, which has consistently presented challenges in terms of retaining staff and remaining profitable year round. This becomes even more difficult in times like these, when the industry itself is not growing.

"We’re not seeing double digit numbers falling off the table," says Martin, "but there is some shrinkage every year. It’s not an expanding market. So more companies are diversifying, looking for ways to utilize resources in new ways, like hauling freight, local deliveries, and warehousing and distribution."

Martin says that an infrastructure has been built by the industry over the last 50 years, and there are challenges ahead in terms of what to do with it. "The only way we’re going to have any growth is to branch out," says Martin.

"I think we’re well positioned in our industry because people want things delivered to their homes," adds Martin. "Companies like Ikea, Sears and The Bay might be finding that maintaining their own fleets might not be the best solution. That’s the kind of business we’re looking for."

And while each company has to find its own niche, differentiate its product, and get out there and sell itself, Martin sees this as an industry-wide trend. "I suppose that if the moving industry as a whole could build a reputation for doing these kinds of things…within the logistics business," says Martin, "I’m sure it could help everyone."

For Puckrin, being better together could be about more than reputation. "The cyclical nature of our business has been a problem since the beginning of our industry," he says. "The issue is a difficult one to address, but breaking away from conventional thinking will present alternatives. One possibility is sharing resources, where we could pool our long-haul fleets, sizing the fleet to effectively handle the non-peak-season business and augmenting peak-season capacity requirements with container service, rail service and/or other alternative third-party hauling services."

Puckrin also suggests the possibility of sharing assets and pooling fleets, whereby at any one time a unit could have shipments on board from any or all of a company’s competitors. He also puts forth the idea of pooling drivers and packers, sharing labour resources and developing trained-labour pools.

"This concept would require open-minded thinking on the part of every van line," adds Puckrin. It’s the kind of thing that could work, he says, "…and if we put our heads together, I’m sure we could come up with many other viable ideas."

"Putting our heads together," is something that Auld also advocates, and he sees an important role for CAM in facilitating communication between its members. "I think the CAM membership should force the association to push for strategic planning focus sessions that allow people to talk about what’s important."

"The fact is," says Auld, "we’re better together if CAM asks us what we want from the Association."

Auld also suggests that CAM could be more involved in the industry by exploring the possibility of offering things like driver training programs, varied purchasing programs, or any products or services required within the industry where there might be economies of scale created.

"Even if they [CAM] created programs that competed with some of the programs we offer at the van line, we would look at the economics of it," says Auld. "If it made more sense to go with CAM’s program, we might stop providing certain services in order to support what they’re doing."

Auld says he would not give up any competitive advantages he might have, however, nor would he like to see CAM become a competitor – but he does see value in coming together within the industry.

"‘We’re better together’ is certainly something that could be built on," says Auld. "We could look at what’s necessary in the industry, look for duplication…then work toward making the whole industry more effective and efficient."

According to Fennell, CAM is playing an important role already by providing valuable information to the general public about what they’re buying and whom they’re buying it from. Each company is on its own, however, when it comes to setting itself apart from the rest. "The professional movers need to differentiate themselves," says Fennell, "by demonstrating their investment in their people, how many years they’ve been in business, the quality of their equipment, their affiliation with a major van line, and seeing that all of the benefits are getting back to the customer."

Doug Auld says quality of service was not so much of a differentiating factor 20 to 30 years ago when customers were abundant, but as the industry became more competitive this became increasingly important. "Smart movers understand that consistent, high-quality service is a distinguishing characteristic," says Auld.

And the way to maintain this high standard of service, says Fennell, is not to cut corners but to continue to invest, reinvest, and drive quality forward. Auld agrees: "It’s no longer enough to just spout rhetoric on this front. You have to invest in training, rewards, recognition and measurement. In periods of economic slowdown, it is imperative not to withdraw but rather to advance and invest in the future."

And if there are no price increases to be expected in the near future, solutions involve exploring new opportunities, embracing new technologies (according to Fennell), and finding ways to cut costs without compromising quality.

"I think we have to keep working at controlling our costs," says Martin. "We have to plan for our future. We have to look forward to how to keep our industry vibrant, to attract new people. We have to deal with that as an industry."

And while Gerry Puckrin would like to see more open-minded, unconventional discussions in the future, he would also like to see some practical collaboration.

"If we don’t do anything else collectively," says Puckrin, "at minimum we somehow need to raise the image of our industry in the eyes of the public and educate them on the fact that we are a global, highly technical, exciting industry with endless opportunities."

No matter what you do though, according to Doug Auld, it’s important to keep in mind that you have to "walk the talk". "The fact is, if you talk about it and don’t do it, the whole industry is affected."

CAM Special Report: Industry presidents discuss how movers can be “better together”

CAM Special Report:
Industry presidents discuss how movers can be “better together”