Great Western Distributing Co. (Amarillo, Texas) is a Coors distributor that runs 12 routes with 13 trucks, serving about 30 counties. It also has a small territory for Miller, plus some non-alcoholic products, such as glacéau waters.
One of the distributor’s keys to success is that it is able to focus on its core competency—serving the needs
of its customers. “We outsource just about everything else except our accounting,” reports Ted Huseman,
vice president of operations.

In terms of fleet maintenance, for example, hiring a full-time mechanic and purchasing all of the equipment necessary to do maintenance in-house would be too expensive. “In addition, we wouldn’t be able to train a mechanic on how to maintain the new trucks as they come out,” he says.

Instead, Great Western has all of its truck maintenance handled by Roberts Truck Center in Amarillo. Roberts is a full-service truck dealer specializing in sales (new and used), leasing, rentals, body shop repair, general repair and maintenance. In fact, this is why the distributor runs a completely International fleet, which is what Roberts sells.

“We like Internationals because we have a great relationship with the dealer,” explains Huseman. “They provide excellent service and take care of our needs. We also have access to all of the records, and we’ve found that tracking each unit and getting it maintained when it should be has led to huge savings for us.”

In terms of training, Great Western also relies on Roberts, rather than creating an in-house training program.  Training is not only important for safety, but also for proper use of the equipment. “If the drivers aren’t trained properly, they are more likely to tear up the equipment,” he points out.

In terms of technology, all of the drivers and salespeople use handhelds. Great Western works with a local tech company that handles its technology needs. The tech company will then program them and integrate them into the distributor’s system.

In terms of hiring, Great Western also looks outside. Of course, its basic company philosophy has always been to promote from within, so 70 percent of its people start in basic positions and then get promoted. Beyond that, when it needs new people, the distributor works with local employment agencies.

To streamline the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) process, Great Western has recently begun working with Amarillo College’s Truck Driving Academy, a program of the local community college. “Of course, we won’t get their students who want to be long-haul drivers, but we will get students who either don’t want to go long-haul, or who have been doing long-haul for a while and decide they want to work back in the local area, maybe because they want to spend more time with their families,” he explains.

Huseman and his colleagues have gotten to know the teachers and other people at the academy, so if students come back to them and ask if they know of any local employment, they often will refer them to Great Western. “These are people who already have their CDL licenses, so this is working out very well for us,” he says.

In sum, with its commitment to outsourcing to professional firms and then developing cooperative relationships with them, Great Western is able to focus on its most important function—serving the needs of its customers.

From Beverage World December 15, 2007