Last two weeks before Christmas are paradoxical for a carrier. Demand peaks, because customers want goods before holidays, and at same time fewer days, fewer drivers and fewer willing warehouses are available. Add driving bans for goods vehicles that apply at weekends and holidays in many countries, and a calendar shrinks to a few usable days. Firms that cope calmly are not luckier. They started earlier.
First, map real working days
Draw a calendar from mid-December to mid-January and mark when driving is actually possible. Take into account:
- Public holidays in countries you drive through. Not only 24 to 26 December, but also 31 December, 1 January and 6 January, which is a holiday in some countries, for example Slovakia and Austria.
- Driving bans for goods vehicles. Many European countries restrict heavy goods vehicles on Sundays and holidays. In Germany, for example, vehicles above 7.5 tonnes generally may not drive on Sundays and holidays, in Austria a restriction starts as early as Saturday afternoon, and in France on Saturday evening. Check exact hours, exemptions for certain cargo and yearly changes with relevant authorities.
- Customers' opening hours. A warehouse closed from 23 December is closed wherever your vehicle happens to be.
- Drivers' driving and rest time. Two consecutive non-working days are not two days of driving.
From this a map emerges. On it you will see that some orders must be handled a week earlier than a customer expects, and some can be moved to January.
Ask customers before they ask you
By mid-November, contact key customers and ask simple things: What volumes are expected before holidays? When is a last day for loading and unloading? When do they reopen after holidays? Answers give you a skeleton of a plan and show a customer that you are preparing. At same time, send a notice of your own dates: a last day on which you accept an order for delivery before Christmas, and a date from which you drive again.
It is sensible to agree holiday rates in advance. Work on a holiday, at night or at weekends costs more, and a customer who knows this beforehand accepts it more easily than a surcharge added afterwards on an invoice.
Drivers and rest
Drivers are people with families, and Christmas is not a time to plan badly. Fairness rests on rules known in advance:
- Publish a holiday roster before people start haggling over leave. Whoever has holidays at home this year is on duty next year.
- If work on a holiday is involved, set a supplement or compensatory time off and say so openly.
- Under European rules, regular weekly rest may not be spent in a vehicle. Plan accommodation for drivers who remain on a road over holidays and, where possible, do not leave them in a car park abroad on a holiday Sunday.
- Check use of driving and rest time before planning. A driver close to a limit cannot go on a long route without rest first.
Vehicles and service
Winter and Christmas raise a risk of breakdown, and over holidays workshops are closed or overloaded. Check vehicles and deadlines before holidays: technical inspection, tyres, fluids, battery. Do planned repairs before holidays, not after. Keep a roadside assistance number handy and know who from a workshop can be reached over holidays too.
What to do about queues and parking
In last days before holidays, queues build up at mountain passes and border crossings, mainly ahead of a driving ban. A vehicle that gets delayed may be stuck until a ban ends. So plan arrivals with a reserve and watch road conditions. Parking places for heavy vehicles are often full before holidays. Agree with a customer whether a vehicle can wait on their premises.
Communication and expectations
A customer who knows what is happening is more patient. Announce a delay as soon as you know of it. Offer an alternative, such as delivery on a first working day after holidays or splitting a shipment. And agree who in your office is reachable over holidays, so a driver has someone to call.
Year end in administration
Year-end closing arrives with end of December. Go through completed orders and make sure they are invoiced in a correct period. Find out which invoices are waiting for proof of delivery so you can finish them before year end. Check unpaid invoices and send reminders before your accountant receives a list. Think also about orders that finish in January but whose costs arose in December.
A plan for a January start
After holidays demand returns slowly, but vehicles and drivers must return fast. Plan a first working week in advance: which vehicles are ready, which drivers are present, which orders are waiting. Sum up what worked in December and what did not. Notes from one December are best material for next.
How Exilogic helps
In Exilogic you will find a driving restrictions calendar with holidays and bans in countries along a route. On an order, a system warns that a route passes through a country with a holiday or a driving ban, and a dispatcher must acknowledge it, so it does not get forgotten. You see inspection deadlines for vehicles and drivers' documents in alerts, and an orders overview shows which are still open and which need invoicing before year end.