\u201cWe’re no longer that medium-sized poultry company. We are one of the largest world providers and producers of protein. We don’t even call ourselves a chicken company anymore,\u201d Phillip Vanhook, Tyson Foods managing director of transportation operations, said. \u201cIt\u2019s protein because we have chicken, beef, pork. You see us everywhere: all the Hillshire Brands<\/a> with your sandwich meat, Jimmy Dean<\/a> with breakfast foods. We have stuff in restaurants with chips, tortillas, granola bars. We are in every realm of the grocery store and part of nearly every foodservice space. In any restaurant you go into, we’re probably in everything except the lettuce and tomatoes.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vanhook, who has been with Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson for 30 years, spoke with FleetOwner<\/i> about the growth of the company and its private fleet over the years. The 52nd largest private fleet in the country, Tyson operates 4,275 vehicles, according to the 2021 FleetOwner<\/i> 500 Top Private Fleets rankings. Tyson\u2019s private fleet has 1,350 active drivers for 1,160 trucks and about 3,900 temperature-controlled trailers, according to Vanhook. Tyson was named one of three finalists for the annual FleetOwner 500 Private Fleet of the Year<\/a> awards, which were announced during the National Private Truck Council’s 2021 conference in Cincinnati on June 15.<\/span><\/p>\n When Vanhook started with Tyson, the company had about 350 trucks. But through mergers, acquisitions, and company growth, he\u2019s watched the fleet balloon. \u201cWith that growth, the need for more capacity became more prevalent,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would add 100 trucks here and add 100 trucks there\u2014and over the years, you look up and we\u2019re at 1,160 trucks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Tyson fleet moves about 19,000 loads per week, 60% of which are contracted and the other 40% hauled by its private fleet. <\/span><\/p>\n One of the most significant transformations for the Tyson fleet happened during the 2017 and 2018 trucking capacity crunch that transformed how the office staff of about 250 people worked together. \u201cWe tore down our silos over the years and now our contract carrier platform and our private carrier platform work together, making sure that we\u2019re making the best decisions for Tyson Foods,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cWhen we had that capacity crunch, that sort of transformation allowed us to make decisions and do the right thing for Tyson Foods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After weathering the capacity crunch last decade, the COVID-19 pandemic created more challenges for the protein company\u2019s fleet\u2014from making sure drivers had personal protective equipment such as masks and sanitizer to ensuring its contracted carriers had loads to haul.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSuddenly, the driver market shrank as people were paid to stay home and not incentivized to come back,\u201d Vanhook recalled. \u201cWe were all working very diligently to fill our trucks and get our trucks back on the road because there is so much freight out there. Not only that, our freight shifted as retail foodservice chains were closing. A lot of that shift went right to the grocery store, so we had to change our freight lines and work with our carriers on that. We try to be very transparent with our carriers and stay in front of them\u2014to allow them to get the best utilization they can\u2014and allow them to make changes on the fly as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That utilization was essential to keep up with the fleets\u2019 high level of service, which includes a 97% to 98% on-time delivery from its private fleet (and 95% to 96% from contracted carriers). \u201cWe\u2019re very proud of our service,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you from an OTIF [on-time, in-full] standpoint, we are one of the largest suppliers at the highest level, and we\u2019re very proud of that fact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Vanhook said Tyson works to make sure its drivers are never in a bad position. \u201cWe need truck drivers and good communication to allow each other to be successful,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was our biggest challenge\u2014but also our biggest opportunity\u2014through 2020 and COVID.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As more states continue to open up and federal unemployment insurance dries up, Vanhook expects to see more drivers rejoin the workforce, which he said will positively impact capacity. <\/span><\/p>\n Another way Tyson is attracting drivers is by developing more regional runs. \u201cThe old cowboy model of staying out on the road a month is no longer valid; I wouldn\u2019t do it,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cWe do have some drivers that still do it for the Tyson private fleet and hats off to them. They are the backbone of our operation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But today, Tyson Foods\u2019 supply chain distribution network is becoming more regional. \u201cIt\u2019s our largest growth pattern,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cWe\u2019re also moving our distribution points, which we call the \u2018network of the future,\u2019 where we\u2019re moving distribution points closer to the end customer. A lot of our freight has become more regionalized over the last two years, and we\u2019ve gone from about 200 trucks up to about 600 trucks in that space alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Along with creating routes that allow drivers to spend more time at home, in recent years, Tyson has focused on reducing driver injuries. \u201cOver the last six years, we\u2019ve gone from 66 driver injuries\u2014predominantly slips, trips, and falls out of the truck you\u2019re climbing in and out of, or walking around or cranking handles and all the other stuff drivers try to muscle through\u2014to less than 20 driver injuries this fiscal year,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cWe want our drivers to arrive home at night in the same condition they came into work in the morning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That safety push continues on the road. As of April 2021, Tyson drivers have been involved in just 2.06 preventable accidents per million miles traveled over the past year. \u201cThat\u2019s just an outstanding number, in my opinion, around our accident prevention,\u201d Vanhook said. \u201cWe\u2019ve invested a lot in our training and technology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tyson uses telematics to monitor vehicle speeds and following distances, and trucks are governed at 60 mph. \u201cWe have a good portion of our drivers who are just very good professionals who go out and want to serve not only the company\u00a0 but themselves,\u201d Vanhook added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Josh Fisher<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Source: https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Tyson](\"https:\/\/base.imgix.net\/files\/base\/ebm\/fleetowner\/image\/2021\/07\/Tyson_by_the_numbers.60e44e775316a.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1440\" "\\"Tyson")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Tyson](\"https:\/\/base.imgix.net\/files\/base\/ebm\/fleetowner\/image\/2021\/07\/Tyson_Trucking_279.60e44dd2cb446.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1440\" "\\"Tyson")
<\/div>Helping drivers succeed<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Tyson\u2019s](\"https:\/\/base.imgix.net\/files\/base\/ebm\/fleetowner\/image\/2021\/07\/Tyson_Trucking_145.60e44dd5a439c.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1440\" "\\"Tyson\u2019s")
<\/div>KNOW WHO WE ARE<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-300x150.jpg\")
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