COMPANY OR INDEPENDENT DISPATCHER – WHICH OPTION IS BETTER FOR YOU?

If you have read some of the previous articles on our site and watched the free lessons from our ONLINE COURSE FOR DISPATCHERS, you probably have a good idea of what exactly a dispatcher does. (if you haven’t I invite you to do it now by registering on my-cer.com)

 

In this text, I want to draw a parallel in relation to the two ways in which an individual can perform this profession.

The first and most represented is precisely the company dispatcher. This type of engagement is the easiest for everyone. The company dispatcher does not think about scouting for the trucks and drivers that need to be dispatched, but directly upon arrival at the company, the manager assigns them to him.

When the company dispatcher needs to go on vacation, it is not an issue because the company and management will organize a replacement who will take care of the trucks, i.e., the drivers, instead of him. And that’s regardless of whether it’s peak season or not. The company dispatcher has his prescribed working hours during the day and week after which he no longer thinks about work because there are other teams that take care of the work when he is not there. All work equipment is provided by the employer. In the beginning, most of the work is done from the company’s office, and after a while, if the individual proves to be good, it is also possible to work from home. This was especially true during the last pandemic.

Regarding the finances according to the dispatcher, a contract is signed with the company where he knows exactly how much he is paid for his work, what metrics he needs to meet in order to get bonuses, how many vacation days he has per year, etc.
So, in this case the whole work system is set, and he just needs to follow it.

As in any other company where work is paid according to pre-agreed obligations, the company’s dispatcher gets paid both whether only one truck and a driver from his group are active, and when every driver in his group is active. Of course, in this case, one dispatcher works under one “MC” number for all the trucks and drivers he takes care of. There may be some deviations, but generally speaking, that’s it, and he is managed as an employee within an organization.

This is exactly what most people dream of – security.

The second, less represented is the independent dispatcher. Here we are already entering the topic of entrepreneurs.
To even get into this topic, to be an independent dispatcher you need the following three things.

So that you know exactly what you are doing and how to do it best and most efficiently. In order to know exactly how many “clients” you can serve well for a long period of time (months, years) and to be able to juggle between them. And of course, that you are able to accurately define the service you offer.

So that you have someone to work with. Both sides included. That you are able to find drivers who have their own “MC” and only have one or maybe just couple of trucks. Also, that you have already established contacts with brokers so that you can provide quality service to those drivers who are now your clients.

That you are able to follow the cash flow, that you can predict good and bad months within the industry, that you understand that the money that you billed the client for your services is not your money but now the company’s money and that the company that you run now has its own expenses and that only when expenses are deducted is what’s actually yours.

Be prepared for the fact that you will not earn the same amount every month, that sometimes it will be more and sometimes significantly less, because your income depends on how much your clients earn. Also, be prepared that you cannot spend all earned since the next month just might not be that good.

Independent dispatchers work on a pre-agreed fixed percentage of their clients’ gross revenue. So, unlike the aforementioned company dispatchers whose salary does not change in relation to the number of currently active drivers within their group, here the story is completely different. The less drivers drive, the less gross there is, which equals less income for an independent dispatcher. And fixed costs do not change. They are there, waiting around the corner, every month, without exception.

It doesn’t matter if you are sick, if you want to go on vacation or if you simply have some family obligations (we are all human, so of course there is that). In principle, your client is simply not interested in that. He pays for your service and depends on it. And if you can’t provide it, then he has to go to someone who can.

No hard feelings, it’s just business.

The fact that you can’t come to work today means that his truck and driver are stuck somewhere without a load for the day (or longer) and he’s at a loss.
Simply because the most expensive truck is the one that sits still in place and does not drive, ergo not making money.

Also, by that logic, every day you don’t work as an independent dispatcher is a loss for you.
You can plan vacations exclusively together with the clients you dispatch.

So, when their drivers are on vacation, you can be too. And there is little chance that they will all be resting at the same time.
Even if that’s the case, consider the following – when they’re not driving and you’re resting, you’re not earning anything.

Moreover, in this case, when the standard working hours of the company dispatcher are over, if there are still obligations after or before the same, the independent dispatcher must solve them. So in this case independent dispatcher is available 24/7/365 days a year.

All year round, on alert and waits for the call of his drivers to come to their aid.
Of course, here too there is a possibility to avoid this, by employing other people who would perform that part of the job.

And here, in addition to the entrepreneurial spirit, you also need a managerial spirit. In addition to the daily struggle with brokers and the market, monitoring drivers and meeting their business needs, in addition to monitoring your own liquidity, cooperation with the bank, tax, and settlement of obligations, you also enter the managerial part.
Compiling shift work for employees, days off, vacations, being competitive with salary and working conditions, constantly changing employees due to lack of quality workforce, etc.

After all of the above, there are also numerous items such are office space from which to work, equipment required to perform this work, salary and contributions if someone works for you, and of course unavoidable taxes. In addition to the ever-increasing obligations, this also comes with lower earnings, because by leaving part of the work to someone else, you also gave up a part of the cake.

But in the long run, at least now you can sleep at night even though you are an independent dispatcher.

The differences are obvious, with the fact that the first position cannot lead to any significant hierarchical progress, but definitely brings with it constant good earnings and job security.

The second one offers the possibility of scaling the job, where the limit is only drawn by the individual’s ambition, but also far greater possibilities of not only not making money, but also going into the red.

Both are tempting in their own way and the path they want to take depends only on the individual’s affinity.

If you still don’t know for sure what your path would be, register at MY-CER.COM and take a look at free lessons that will help you make your decision easier.