HD Trailer Dolly Archives - Page 2 of 4

Top Logistics Industry Disrupters End a Business as Usual Mentality

World Marketing Is Changing

DJ Products is your preferred supplier for state-of-the-art electric yard trucks, but are you on board with state-of-the-art logistics technology? The future is no longer “business as usual” as disruptors present structural and competitive challenges.

Impact of Projected Global Market Growth

Industry consulting firm Transport Intelligence (Ti) recently published Total Logistics 2018, an analysis of the long- and short-term state of the logistics sector. According to Ti, adaptability is crucial for international freight-forwarding companies hoping to weather upcoming changes.

While different sectors will experience varying degrees of growth, Ti projects that the total global market will see a compound annual growth rate of 5.1 percent over the next five years. Road freight currently accounts for approximately one-third of the market.

Tighter capacity is expected to cause a rise in sea and air freight rates. This factor, combined with increasing numbers of regional trade blocs, will favor road-based shipping as supply chains grow shorter.

Technology Disruptors Upend the Logistics Industry

Technology puts unprecedented amounts of data at our fingertips. As a result, customers are demanding accurate, real-time information and more transparency. Adding to this disruption are start-ups that can easily build new systems unencumbered by existing ones.

Providers are also able to develop platforms that create a better match between supply and demand. The end result could be lower costs for shippers.

Improve Productivity and Safety with Yard Trucks from DJ Products

Is your company equipped to keep up with the fast pace of today’s logistics industry? Our Electric Yard Dog allows employees to quickly maneuver trailers weighing up to 100,000 pounds with reduced risk of human injury and property damage.

Visit our website to learn more about our full line of battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers.

Experts Share Their Tips on Running More Efficient Distribution Centers

As a warehouse manager, you undoubtedly understand just how important it is to find ways to boost productivity. Increased productivity helps ensure that all tasks are handled promptly and efficiently, no matter how busy your warehouse is. While using certain types of equipment, such as a powered trailer dolly, can improve productivity, there are several other ways to accomplish this as well.

Offer Easy Access to Top Selling Products

One of the most effective ways to increase warehouse productivity is by making sure that all of your best-selling products can be easily reached. Providing convenient access to these products makes it easier for warehouse employees to reach them and prepare them for shipping.

Invest in an Automated Inventory Management System

This type of system helps you maintain more accurate inventory management. Having greater accuracy means that you will know when inventory items are getting low, so you can restock. It also means that you will not end up with too much inventory for items that do not sell as well. Maintaining accurate inventory levels also helps boost your profitability.

Seek Input from Employees

Warehouse managers can also talk to employees about ways to increase their productivity. Turning to employees can help managers come up with effective ways to help them perform their jobs more efficiently. Managers can hold periodic meetings with employees to brainstorm new ways to become more productive and put these suggestions into practice. Getting employees involved helps boost morale, which can also lead to a boost in productivity.

At DJ Products, we offer equipment that can help you increase warehouse productivity. If you need a powered trailer dolly or another piece of equipment for your warehouse, please visit us to view our entire selection.

Should You Be Tracking Your Semi Trailers by GPS?

Innovative products and new developments in technology can improve efficiency in your trucking business. GPS tracking of your semi trailers can be a valuable tool for your fleet managers. Motorized trailer dollies from DJ Products maximize manpower while preventing injuries and damage to property. If you don’t currently use GPS on your trailers, consider these benefits of 24/7 asset tracking.

Different trackers for different needs

There are GPS devices available at affordable prices for every size of company and for every type of trailer in use. You have the option of advanced systems that constantly monitor speed, location, and can allow managers to label which trailers are full and which are empty using color codes. You can also opt for lower cost systems that simply help monitor trailer locations.

Very affordable to operate and maintain

GPS tracking units use low-voltage, internal batteries that operate for long periods of time without needing recharges. They can also alert fleet managers when their power is disconnected. This is just one of the many ways GPS trackers help prevent loss due to theft.

Easier to compile driver and cargo data

The electronic logging device (ELD) rule went into effect in December 2017 and applies to logging devices for truck activities. Currently, there are no requirements for cargo and trailers. However, with GPS tracking on trailers, fleet managers can easily monitor driver activity and track deliveries in real time.

At DJ Products, we specialize in providing affordable, energy-efficient, user-friendly solutions that help businesses just like yours operate more profitably and safely. Our motorized trailer dollies make it possible for one person to easily move trailers weighing up to 100,000 lbs; no CDL or health card required. Contact one of our sales engineers for more information.

Tips for Keeping Your Semi Truck Fleet in Top Shape

When trucks aren’t working, your company pays a heavy price in lost productivity and increased expenses. Keep your semi truck fleet in top operating shape by using a semi trailer mover and following these standard maintenance tips.

Semi Truck Fleet Maintenance Checklist

– Check oil levels regularly, especially before the start of long-haul jobs. Lack of oil can trigger extensive damage in the truck’s engine, which is expensive to repair or replace.

– Check the radiator and its overflow bottle. Top off radiator fluid as needed and repair small leaks immediately. It’s no fun getting stopped dead in your tracks thanks to an overheated engine.

– Tires with low pressure can reduce fuel mileage and interfere with steering, while over-inflated tires are vulnerable to punctures and damage from road debris. Check tire pressure weekly, and more often during times of weather changes or extensive highway driving.

– If your trucks have dual fuel tanks, parking sideways on a hill causes fuel to run into the lower tank. Once the engine is started, the fuel uptake system will pull in air instead of fuel. Make it a practice to park front to back rather than side to side on slopes.

– When trucks sit idle for a period of time, insects can build nests that block the fuel vent. Be sure to check the vents on any trucks that haven’t been moved in a few days.

– Have the brakes checked frequently to address problems before they go too far.

Electric Semi Trailer Mover Solutions from DJ Products

Our best-selling Electric Yard Dog lets a single employee safely and easily move trailers weighing up to 100,000 pounds. Visit our website and learn more about our battery-powered semi trailer mover from our sales engineers.

Should You Consider Cloud Services for Logistics Management?

Still using local software for logistics management? Cloud-based services have taken hold in this industry like so many others. Perhaps you like your current solution and live by the motto, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” On the other hand, sitting still can be dangerous. Logistics in the cloud can be more efficient and scalable—and perhaps surprisingly, also more secure.

Cloud services help you know exactly where your inventory is and where it needs to be. As the makers of TrailerCaddy yard dog trucks, we know how much agility and safety matter at a warehouse or distribution center and how they can benefit your bottom line. Terminal tractors keep each trailer positioned exactly where it needs to be.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Logistics Management

The experts at Inbound Logistics recently offered a rundown of why warehouse and transportation firms should be using cloud-based WMS or TMS for logistics:

– Reduced IT costs

– Scalable for growth or seasonal fluctuation

– Enhanced data security (more redundancy)

– Business continuity and backup disaster recovery

– Internet of Things for labels, tags, sensors, etc.

In practical terms, moving to the cloud means your data is always backed up. Services have a predictable monthly cost and software updates occur automatically. When technology changes, your cloud services provider will already be a step ahead. Cloud storage is a great way to improve distribution efficiency.

DJ Products Electric Yard Dog Trucks

What happens on the ground matters as much as what’s in the cloud. Our TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractors are high-performance, low-cost yard dog trucks that don’t require a CDL driver. Move any trailer up to 100,000 pounds with tight maneuvering and better safety.

Ask DJ Products how our yard dog trucks can improve logistics and supply chain management.

FedEx Changes Up Its Specialized Logistics and E-commerce Businesses

TrailerCaddy for Semi Trailer Moving

As a leading supplier of semi trailer moving options, DJ Products is always on the lookout for the latest news and trends affecting logistics and supply chain. E-commerce continues to have a major impact on the industry, as delivery and logistics titan FedEx Corp. realigns its specialty units to accommodate this fast-growing segment.

Meeting the Demands of a Changing Industry

In January, FedEx announced that its specialized logistics and e-commerce units are now under the umbrella of FedEx Trade Networks, Inc. As the company’s global freight-forwarding service, FedEx Trade Networks allows for a greater range of resources to serve these robust areas.

FedEx units affected by the restructure include:

– Custom Critical, their rush-delivery service

– Cross-Border, which serves global e-commerce

– Supply Chain, a third-party logistics survivor

– Transport & Brokerage, which offers customs clearance services

The move also marks the launch of a new operation called FedEx Forward Depots, which was created to incorporate on-demand services led by 3D printing.

Leveraging the Power of FedEX

The new unit will be headed up by Richard W. Smith, current CEO of FedEx Trade Networks and son of company creator Fred Smith. At the time of the announcement, FedEx President and CEO David J. Bronczek stated that this move would enable the company to “offer customers the full power” of FedEx’s resources in a more convenient fashion.

Safe and Efficient Semi Trailer Moving Solutions from DJ Products

Don’t sacrifice safety for productivity. With our popular Electric Yard Dog, a single employee can move semi trailers weighing up to 100,000 pounds, improving efficiency while reducing injury risk.

Visit our website and chat with our sales engineers to learn more about our full line of battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers.

Tips for Helping Your Long Haul Drivers Manage Fatigue Enroute

Yard Trucks Can Lighten Loads for Drivers and Staff

Tired truckers are a huge problem. One that log books seek to prevent. However, like traffic rule books handed out to green drivers pre-licensure, log books are only as effective as those who follow their tenets. Luckily, CDL drivers can learn how to manage sleep without relying on them.

Get to Know Contributing Factors
Lack of oxygen, bright lights, noise and stress can all fuel fatigue, reducing the capacity to remain alert. While stress is tougher to tackle, oxygen is obvious and easy to address. Cool, fresh air is a fantastic fatigue-buster.

Monotonous, loud noise also has a prolonged fatiguing effect, making tasks difficult to perform. Luckily there’s fantastic tech these days, capable of providing both ear protection and entertainment.

Bright lights can seriously disrupt your concentration at night. Dim those interior lights and look at the fog line – and away from oncoming traffic.

Other Strategies for Managing Fatigue
From navigating yard trucks to planning a long-haul freight route, route planning will quickly show itself an ideal way to combat fatigue: Mapping routes and planning stops for rest in advance assures adequate down time, robbing your ego of “I’ll just try to make the next stop” syndrome and the dreaded ‘full’ rest stop.

Exercise tips from “Trucker Fitness” also don’t disappoint, helping you boost fatigue-busting endorphins and improving sleep quality. You cannot bank good sleep. Avoiding sleep debt/lousy rests actually safeguards sleep quality on-the-road. For those with the means, investing in a more comfortable sleeper unit can net amazing returns.

Are you protecting your employees from the fatigue and strain of shunting semi-trailers? Yard trucks can prevent muscle fatigue, injury, and other risks of moving heavy trailers. Safeguard against worker injury and boost productivity with the help of DJProducts today.

Diabetes is a Real Problem for Your Long Haul Drivers

Shunting trailers without the help of terminal tractors can be dangerous. And so can hauling those trailers. In recent studies, long-haul drivers have been shown to be exceptionally at-risk of Type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle, a main risk factor in this chronic condition across the board, is to blame.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?
Common in the United States, Type 2 diabetes has experienced a four-fold increase from 1980-2014. Growing in prevalence, this condition affects the way the body produces insulin, limiting its effectiveness in metabolizing sugar.

Drivers Have a Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes than Others
A 2010 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study revealed keen insight into long-haul driver behavior and health. Truck drivers have a significantly higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than the average American: 14% of drivers suffer Type 2 diabetes, versus 9.4% of the general population.

What Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices Put Long-Haul Drivers At Risk?
The lonely, sedentary nature of long-haul runs are not conducive to healthy living, nor is eating outside of the home – the only option for drivers on long freight routes. Frequent sleeping away means no or minimal access to healthy, fresh, home-cooked fare.

Tight schedules combined with lackluster rest in strange hotels often increase fatigue and stress, limiting opportunities for exercise. In fact, more than one-quarter of study respondents reported no exercise in the past 7 days. Fifty-one-percent smoked. Sixty-nine-percent were obese (versus 33% of the general population); 17% morbidly obese – 10% higher than the general public. All of these are known risk factors for poor health and diabetes.

Are you safeguarding employees from health issues? Prevent injuries, save time and boost productivity with terminal tractors, the electric yard dog, from DJ Products today.

Amazon Becomes a Competitor to Nearly All Businesses in the New E-commerce Supply Chain

Amazon is Moving Into More Verticals Impacting Sales

There’s a good chance your business relies on Amazon services one way or another. It’s even more likely that you view Amazon Fulfillment as a competitor. One recent survey showed that 92% of distributors are feeling pressure from the online behemoth.

As the supply chain faces increasing pressure these days, how is your warehouse keeping up? Whether it’s picking merchandise faster with fancy robots or moving trailers around the yard more efficiently with a semi truck tow dolly, everyone needs to find an edge.

Top-of-mind concerns for distributors in 2018, according to Supply Chain Dive, include:

– Emerging technology

– Online sales

– Outsourced warehousing

– Regulatory effects on pricing

Constant change is the new norm. Amazon’s acquisitions frequently remake the landscape. Distributors find themselves partnering with Amazon Fulfillment even as the company feels like a competitive pressure. It’s becoming more likely that your warehouse serves as a commerce distribution center rather than a transport service for shipping goods to brick-and-mortar stores.

So, what does all this mean? The supply chain industry must operate as efficiently as possible while embracing new technology and equipment to stay lean.

Ship Faster with a Better Terminal Tractor

Speedy warehouses are only effective when the products can get on the road faster. Are you paying licensed shunt truck drivers to move trailers in and around the docks?

A highly maneuverable semi truck tow dolly like our TrailerCaddy Electric Yard Dog makes quick work of moving trailers. It’s safer, faster, less expensive to buy, and less expensive to operate.

Find out what the TrailerCaddy semi truck tow dolly can do to streamline your warehouse distribution and help your business operate as efficiently as the online giants. Contact DJ Products for a free demo or more info.

How to Become a More Efficient Logistics and Terminal Manager

How to Become More Efficient at Your Logistics and Warehouse Management Job

As a logistics and terminal manager, semi trailer moving is just one of your many responsibilities. How do you keep operations moving smoothly and effectively in the face of business growth? Here are valuable tips for improving productivity while reducing expenses.

1. Plan Ahead

The tried-and-true 5 P’s – “Proper planning prevents poor performance” – are still words to live by. In addition to optimizing available time, resources and manpower, planning makes you better equipped to handle any unforeseen circumstances that arise.

2. Embrace Automation

Information is a crucial management tool, and technology provides more extensive and accurate data than what has ever been available before. Automation saves time and eliminates the mistakes that occur during manual data collection.

3. Make Customer Service a Priority

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” has become a cliche because it’s true. Implement regular training classes and workshops that encourage all employees to work at their highest level.

4. Use Appropriate Warehouse Management Methods

Excellent warehouse management involves maximizing utilization of space and manpower in relation to the type of goods. Set specific procedures and goals so that employees understand the importance of their roles in smooth workplace operations.

5. Streamline Transportation

Transportation is one of the largest expenses in logistics and supply chain. Review and upgrade routing, packaging and other factors that affect delivery.

6. Analyze Metrics

The most detailed data in the world is useless on its own. Analyze data to find out what works and what doesn’t, and make appropriate changes.

The Electric Yard Dog from DJ Products

Our popular TrailerCaddy terminal tractor lets employees perform semi trailer moving up to 100,000 pounds safely and efficiently. Visit our website for real-time assistance from our helpful sales engineers.

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