G & P Trucking Company, Inc Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

G & P Trucking Company, Inc - Assignment Example Apart from these, G&P holds various service awards for deliveries to Eastman Chemical, Wal-Mart and W W Grainger etc. in addition to service awards for commendable service provided, G&P also holds more than 40 safety awards since the year 2000. Further strengths for G&P lay in their operations systems. They have a dense infrastructure system equipped with secured trailer storage, 24/7 central dispatch, repower capabilities, a dense terminal network, pioneering enterprise software, local dispatch at port terminals, mobile satellite communication capabilities, customized reporting and web tracking etc. ii. Weaknesses However, there are still weaknesses that G&P has to face as well. There is a driver shortage because drivers have moved to construction and warehousing jobs. This is because drivers that are employed are required to put in long hour which results in them spending more time on the job than they get to spend at home or otherwise in leisure activities. 14 hours of duty is req uired in a day’s work of which 11 are driving hours. iii. Opportunities G&P faces opportunities from the external environment in the form of the room for growth in the trucking and freight business. Since there is a lot of demand for reliable freight companies that actually provide the quality service that they claim to provide in this globalised world, G&P has great potential for further growth and success. iv. Threats Threats from the external environment include rising fuel costs. There is a base rate for fuel that is almost always non-negotiable. Trucks average 5 miles per gallon and there is no compensation for fuel costs for any empty miles driven or when the drivers stop to rest. There are also hurdles associated with government and agency regulations which sometimes make it difficult for a trucking company like G&P to operate by erecting bureaucratic barriers which slow operations down. (Trucking-How Hard Can It Be?). 2. Environmental Analysis i. External environmenta l Factors When conducting an analysis of the external environment we look at the competitors to G&P. There is Atlantic Trucking Co, Inc. and F & I Trucking Corp. Between the two of them Atlantic Trucking Co poses a bigger threat of competition to G&P Trucking because they have been operating for roughly the same number of years in the same industry, with experience and results almost at par with each other. However, ATC’s operations may be considered more expansive in terms of types of service provided. ii. Current State of Business Target Markets According to an article in USA Today, the trucking industry is facing some difficulties, mostly because of the driver shortage. The U.S government has predicted an increase of 31% in the amount of haulage sent by road from 2005 to 2117 and with a shortage of drivers, the trucking industry will find it hard for this increased workload to cope with. (Glen Creno and Dennis Wagner, 2008). iii. Evaluation of current Marketing Objectives and Performance The trucking industry should join the herd of business entities using the internet and social media to promote and market themselves. Websites and social media websites can be used to more effectively reach out to prospective customers and employees alike. Many trucking companies have improved their current performance by improving their operating costs. G&P trucking needs to further align this area to changes in