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XPO | ARE SCMs Really Necessary

Canadian Flyer said:
Every LTL carrier has a person in charge of their service centers. Some centers share a manager, depending on the region, but there's always someone in charge.

Why, you ask? Because the SCM is the front man for the center's operations on the corporate side. If the center isn't making numbers, the SCM is the one corporate blames. Why? Because it's the job of the SCM to oversee the terminal's day to day operations and ensure they're running according to corporate's mandate.

That's not a job that can be reasonably done remotely by the regional operations management. Accountability at the local level, that's the job of the SCM. You wonder why so many of them are jerks? Because they get crap every time something goes wrong, and no thanks for when things go right.
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I Couldn't have said it better myself!!! Thanks CF
 
Northern Flash said:
Managers are needed in my opinion, especially at the larger barns. Someone has to gather the numbers to report them to the higher ups. And since most of the supervisors aren't up to the task of reporting to the big shots, and capable of analyzing the problems that caused the failures, the managers will always be needed.

And like Vetran Peddleman said, there are a lot of things that a manager does that the employees never see.
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I couldn't have said it better myself NF. Thanks articulating my take on this issue so well and covering my 'six'...it's appreciated.
 
Canadian Flyer said:
Every LTL carrier has a person in charge of their service centers. Some centers share a manager, depending on the region, but there's always someone in charge.

Why, you ask? Because the SCM is the front man for the center's operations on the corporate side. If the center isn't making numbers, the SCM is the one corporate blames. Why? Because it's the job of the SCM to oversee the terminal's day to day operations and ensure they're running according to corporate's mandate.

That's not a job that can be reasonably done remotely by the regional operations management. Accountability at the local level, that's the job of the SCM. You wonder why so many of them are jerks? Because they get crap every time something goes wrong, and no thanks for when things go right.
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This is how it should work - when it works. SCM = A person responsible and accountable for the operations at the terminal , with a deep understanding of the day to day business and personnel.

The reality is far different , and the reason why there are those of us questioning the need for this position.

Someone to pay the bills? - A CSR can do that ( and does at my location )

Fill in for dispatch and other FOS's? - Well , again , at my location we have an FOS off for medical reasons and a driver fills in - signs pay sheets , sets up the flex guys , runs the outbound , dispatches , even does Kronos. Yep.

Oversee LEAN TEAM and VVT? - Our human resources person does that. Honestly. And if you ask our SCM about something like this directly you will politely be referred to HR or one of the team members.

Hire and fire people? - Again , not something that is entirely controlled by SCM. Conference calls and HR. And only with approval and with authority of others ( which makes sense , you don't want one individual making hiring/fireing personal )

Vacation time , building maintenance? - both handled by someone else ( or something else ) FOS does vacation ( check the calendar , see if there's an opening , mark you down. Tell SCM that a dockplate is broken "write it on the MAINTENANCE ISSUES BOARD" , problem remains for indefinite period until FOS can contact vendor after getting approval from Ann Arbor.

For every good SCM that you may trust and like ( Upnorth has mentioned that he trusts his SCM ) you have another that is a weasel , and adds little to nothing to our company.
 
The reality is that the corporate management needs an ass to chew when things go wrong. They set up a grand system of metrics to tell how well a center is doing, and the SCM is the person in charge of meeting those metrics. The HOW is often left up for interpretation.

And if you don't believe the purpose of the SCM is to be corporate's chew toy, I personally witnessed it. My SCM at FedEx got chewed out right in front of me by the regional operations manager for overstepping his boundaries in regards to drivers and contractors.
 
Canadian Flyer said:
The reality is that the corporate management needs an ass to chew when things go wrong. They set up a grand system of metrics to tell how well a center is doing, and the SCM is the person in charge of meeting those metrics. The HOW is often left up for interpretation.

And if you don't believe the purpose of the SCM is to be corporate's chew toy, I personally witnessed it. My SCM at FedEx got chewed out right in front of me by the regional operations manager for overstepping his boundaries in regards to drivers and contractors.
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That's why I drive trucks. Who needs to put up with that ::shit:: ?
 
Canadian Flyer said:
The reality is that the corporate management needs an ass to chew when things go wrong. They set up a grand system of metrics to tell how well a center is doing, and the SCM is the person in charge of meeting those metrics. The HOW is often left up for interpretation.

And if you don't believe the purpose of the SCM is to be corporate's chew toy, I personally witnessed it. My SCM at FedEx got chewed out right in front of me by the regional operations manager for overstepping his boundaries in regards to drivers and contractors.
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Sometimes as a Manager, it is easier to ask forgiveness then permission. The Reg. Mgr. dressing down the SCM in from of Employees shows poor Management skills. I can see why the SCM would choose not to follow direction from the Reg. Mgr.
 
Well apparently XPO brass has finally noticed the complete waste of revenue with LEAN, overlapping positions and non-productive FOSs, RMs & SCMs. There's still many more apathetic folks in leadership rolls in this organization that continue to drain it. Keep streamlining and watch the profits grow. Well on our way to great profitability.

Go XPO! I like their thinking.........:bgroovy:
 
I Agree with many of the posts here we do need one service center manager I think Two is a waste but one is definitely needed ! And I feel we need a well rounded individual that will and does step up to the plate when needed during Crunch time so to speak and can do every ones job! I know first hand we had at one time a great Terminal Manager he could drive a truck and would make pickups /deliveries he would work the dock he would answer phones and help CSR' s . He was there for all of us anytime we needed him for whatever reason I wish we still had a man of his caliber as our manager today he knew every aspect of the operation and would fill in and help where ever needed with out complaint and without being asked he just knew ! now this is what every center needs as well as people in other roles that are willing to help him help them But this is a company that has done there up most best to bring in 'over educated book smart College grads that don't have a clue whats going on in the Trucking industry so doubtful they will find Men or Women like him their !
 
Coming from a terminal that seen both good and extremely bad terminal manager leadership I can tell you that a terminal manager can have a great influence on how a terminal will operate and their influence can last a long time.

I think most of you remember what happened to XMD after that pile of human debris called spongebob took over and since his departure we've been lucky to have two pretty decent guys run our barn
 
drivin4truthnow said:
Well apparently XPO brass has finally noticed the complete waste of revenue with LEAN, overlapping positions and non-productive FOSs, RMs & SCMs. There's still many more apathetic folks in leadership rolls in this organization that continue to drain it. Keep streamlining and watch the profits grow. Well on our way to great profitability.

Go XPO! I like their thinking.........:bgroovy:
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Without a doubt, if you are in management right now, you are looking over your shoulder every second. This ain't the end of cuts. It's the beginning. They will likely utilize technology to centralize dispatch. If you are a line haul coordinator or a city planner your days are numbered. They will likely continue the same process with HR as well. Need a day off ? Log in. If it's available to you and you have the hours, you get it. The practical modernization of several processes will lead to a ton of reduction and a massive savings to the bottom line. Another example is logs. We have people that compile and scan all them pieces of paper. Pretty soon they will all be electronic. Saving on the physical books and papers themselves as well as the need to process those paper logs. Some things are around the corner. Some are a year away. But it's all coming quickly enough.

Jacobs wants to grow a billion dollars worth of business this year. Focusing on P&L he wants money makers making more money and anything that costs money justified or eliminated.
 
gov said:
Coming from a terminal that seen both good and extremely bad terminal manager leadership I can tell you that a terminal manager can have a great influence on how a terminal will operate and their influence can last a long time.

I think most of you remember what happened to XMD after that pile of human debris called spongebob took over and since his departure we've been lucky to have two pretty decent guys run our barn
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Every team needs a head coach. Their has to be someone to make the judgement calls that exist daily.
 
Scm's will always be around but I'm betting they will have to do more in the future. They are going to run with as few fos's as possible and Scm will have to help out more. At least at smaller terminals.
 
cdd2002 said:
Scm's will always be around but I'm betting they will have to do more in the future. They are going to run with as few fos's as possible and Scm will have to help out more. At least at smaller terminals.
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yes they are! we are now one less f.o.s
 
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