Debate: Increasing Delivery Production

[kyle1!]

I think if it were me, I'd be looking for a retired guy to run the processor on an 'as needed' basis. It might take a little time to train him on it to a point where you're both comfortable, but I bet there are a few guys around looking to do SOMETHING instead of sitting at home waiting to die!

I'm with chaikwa...find someone to run the processor and spend your time putting your face in front of the customer. Don't buy another vehicle continue to make the 2 cord deliveries but up your cord price to cover the extra fuel etc for the 5 cord deliveries. If the phone is ringing off the hook and others are quitting the biz you shouldn't be hurt too bad by the price increase. Maybe the person would run the processor for wood?? :msp_unsure:

Brian

 

[Cheesecutter]

I think if it were me, I'd be looking for a retired guy to run the processor on an 'as needed' basis. It might take a little time to train him on it to a point where you're both comfortable, but I bet there are a few guys around looking to do SOMETHING instead of sitting at home waiting to die!

Seems like it would be easier to find a truckdriver than a processor operator. If you ran the processor and hired someone to make the more distant deliveries on Saturdays(Sundays as needed), it would allow you to build your stock pile. You could make your closest deliveries Sunday AM and use Sunday PM to process next weeks loads.

 

[Chris(Glen)]

All great input and this is what I was hoping for. I have a porter to load my processor with so no loader to reload the wood once its split sadly. I do have a friend which helps out on the weekend when he can for his girlfriends wood & once thats paid off its $10/cord in his pocket. I had my price up and had no calls, so dropped it slightly and it went nuts.


I am going to work this year and see how much I end up doing and if it works out I may jump on the full time wagon come spring.

I do charge an extra delivery fee if its just a single cord in the truck and no one has an issue yet. Just trying to be as effecient as possible and get as much done as I can until it's busy enough consistently for a year to jump to full time.

 

[chaikwa]

Seems like it would be easier to find a truckdriver than a processor operator. If you ran the processor and hired someone to make the more distant deliveries on Saturdays(Sundays as needed), it would allow you to build your stock pile. You could make your closest deliveries Sunday AM and use Sunday PM to process next weeks loads.

Yes, truck drivers are a dime a dozen... GOOD truck drivers are hard to find and expensive to keep once you DO find a good one. And I think it's easier to deal with the problems an employee may create running a processor, (broken machinery), than the problems that he may create driving a truck, (hitting things/hurting people). I'd rather have someone where I know where they are and what they're doing. Or at least know they're not killing someone!

 

[Cheesecutter]

Chaikwa, fair enough. I grew up around farmers and my dad did custom silo filling on the side. He always ran the silage chopper and hired guys to pull the silage wagons back and forth. That was 20+ years ago though.
Either way I think you are at the point you need parttime helper. I also think I'd be picking up a loader of some kind.:

 

[woodman6666]

What I would do:
1. Raise your prices
2. Buy every log you father in law can produce
3. Hire someone to run the processor 5 full days a week
4. Get a machine to load wood into delivery truck this is whats killing your delivery times.
5. Keep the 2 cord deliveries and do them yourself.
6. Dont miss your local opportunity of a shortage of firewood sellers it wont last long, quickly build a large client base. Never run out of wood for them.
7. Leave your job and do this.

 

[unclemoustache]

Chris(Glen),

The easiest way to solve the delivery problem is don't deliver.
Sounds like a silly solution but if you offer a better price for self pickup quite a few of the people you deliver to will opt to pick it up themselves.

You will still have to deliver loads but not in the quantity you are now.

Couple other options to help save the customer money and get more bang for your buck:

If a cord costs $200 split, delivered, stacked, then having them do the delivery can save you a nice chunk if you price it right - say $140.
You could also sell rounds for the backyard woodman who might want to do a bit of splitting on his own.

You could also sell logs for the guy who has a saw and wants to cut and split his own. Keep them short enough to fit in a truck bed, and keep them small enough for 1 or 2 guys to handle. Sell a cord of logs for $80, and you put almost no labor at all into it, and the customer is happy to have saved a bundle just by putting forth a little sweat.

 

[fiasco]

I wish I was 16 hours closer. I'd run a processor part-time.

Maybe look at a way to make it easier to load from piles if you can't always have the truck backed up to the processor. Be that a bucket loader or simply elevating the end of the processor line to loading dock height somehow, a lot quicker to toss downhill.

 

[Chris(Glen)]

Couple other options to help save the customer money and get more bang for your buck:

If a cord costs $200 split, delivered, stacked, then having them do the delivery can save you a nice chunk if you price it right - say $140.
You could also sell rounds for the backyard woodman who might want to do a bit of splitting on his own.

You could also sell logs for the guy who has a saw and wants to cut and split his own. Keep them short enough to fit in a truck bed, and keep them small enough for 1 or 2 guys to handle. Sell a cord of logs for $80, and you put almost no labor at all into it, and the customer is happy to have saved a bundle just by putting forth a little sweat.

Good ideas but the processor does it all and hard to by pass the splitter, also its in the in-laws yard and they do not want people going up there at all getting their own wood. Too much stuff to get stolen around the yard.

I sell it for $200 a cord dropped in the yard and they stack it themselves.

 

[rarefish383]

Get a retired guy to run the processor, an elevator to load a dump trailer, and you have a load ready as soon as you get back. I'll be ready to retire in 2 years. No way on earth I'll get a second job, why retire? I'd love to play with a processor part time. I also build slab wood furniture and would be grabbing all the odd ball logs that came in your lot. When I was selling wood, from the family Tree Service, I was toying with the idea of getting several flat beds that load like a roll back. I could have them loaded in the evenings when I split, and then crank out the deliveries on the week end. I could even load the flat beds in the off season and let the wood sit on them till ready. Keeps part of the wood pile neat and is ready when the odd off season order comes in. Buy the extra beds as money becomes available. You could have ten beds loaded with wood waiting, Joe.

 

[Chris(Glen)]

By the sounds of everyones ideas I am going to likely hold off for a bit to where I can afford a larger straight truck taking 3 or 4 cord at a time or still wait and get enough ahead so I can buy 2 or 3 trailers and a pickup.

 

[philoshop]

I like Uncle's idea of the saw logs. If you're getting 12' logs, take 4' off the ends for your processor and sell the 8' to someone for a discount. This assumes you have the volume of logs required and a way to load them for delivery.
Around here the logs are going for close to half the price of split/seasoned.
-cuts down on handling, man/hours
-keeps people away from your property
-gives you a supply of short logs for processing for the valued customer base
-people buying saw logs know they're not fully seasoned
-you might find a niche as more of a broker, a lot easier on the body I would think
Just a thought. Keep us posted.

 

[zogger]

By the sounds of everyones ideas I am going to likely hold off for a bit to where I can afford a larger straight truck taking 3 or 4 cord at a time or still wait and get enough ahead so I can buy 2 or 3 trailers and a pickup.

Or subout the delivery to someone else with their own pickup and trailer or dumptruck. so much a cord, so you still make some money and they are not your employee, they are their own contractor in a way.

You have pointed out it is running that processor that makes the money for you the most, so sub out the less profitable and time consuming aspects. Let some truck guy deal with his own maintenance and so on. He backs up, you conveyor or grapple him a load, he goes where you say and dumps. How and when you get paid, you will have to work out, but if it is steady customers, a mailed in check in advance might work, or paypal or something, be able to take a credit/debit card over the phone?

Your truck driver or drivers should have nothing to do with collecting or handling the money. they aren't selling the wood, just delivering and that's it. New customers, you do the first load (even if that is only a partial order) and establish your business relationship, using the truck you have now. They get told in the future, another driver will be delivering most likely.

and be sure to cruise back and check and make sure your loads arrive at the customers in the same quantity they left your yard, until you have trust worthy truck drivers.

I would think there might be any number of guys wouldn't mind evening or weekend work using their own vehicles for some steady small cash. Or a semi retired guy, etc.

Once you have an official employee, man, that complicates things.

 

[leon]

firewood etc.

By the sounds of everyones ideas I am going to likely hold off for a bit to where I can afford a larger straight truck taking 3 or 4 cord at a time or still wait and get enough ahead so I can buy 2 or 3 trailers and a pickup.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What is in your planning preventing you from purchasing a good
used row crop tractor with 4 whel drive set up with a front hitch
to tow 2 or three 10 ton Pronovost dump trailer with separation barriers
on a full width hinge to sell 2.5 cord loads, 5 cord loads or loads by the ton????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Granted its a bit slower commuting and you will need signal flashers and brake lights
on the trailer(Which are optional equipment).

The front hitch gets you in and out of difficult dump sites quickly by having
complete control of the FARM trailer and 4 wheel drive eliminates the obvious
issues of getting stuck in muddy drives.


Forgive the question but you mentioned having the processor on your inlaws property
and having the girlfriend so.............................................................................
I just wondered ?? I still refer to the wife as my bride etc. :msp_confused::msp_confused:

 

[stihlaficionado]

Get some kids! The best way to increase productivity is to be reproductive!!


But that takes a while to get them raise up to where they're worth anything, and it looks like you haven't the time for that. Since this is just a side job, I suggest you stick with what you have and be content. It would take quite a while to sell enough wood to make up for the difference in cost of a new vehicle.


Lemme tell you a little parable:

A poor fisherman pulled his boat into shore and began unloading the day's catch. A rich man was walking by and asked him why he was finishing so early. Poor man said he caught enough for the day and was going home to spend the rest of the day with his family. Rich man said he ought to stay out as long as he could to get as much as he could. Fisherman asked why. Rich man said then he could sell more fish and buy a second boat. Poor man asked what he needed a second boat for. Rich man said that he could hire someone to use the second boat and catch more fish for him. Then he could make even more money, buy a few more boats, get a few more employees, and really rake in the money. Poor man asked why he would want to do all that. Rich man said, "so you can have all you need to take life easy."
Poor man said, "That's what I'm already doing."

Great for tax deductions as well

Of course to raise a child from 0-18+ yrs will cost roughly $250 grand
Cost of Raising a Child Calculator | BabyCenter

:msp_unsure:

 

[jimmyrup]

Flying faster than u can split it.

I think I would have to get larger truck along with a trailer to get the 5 cord, unless I am misunderstanding the weight limits with trucks & trailers. It would be very taxi'ing on the truck to haul 5 cord at once so I would have to upgrade to a much larger truck which carries a lot larger price tag.

I purchase the wood log length from my father in law as he is a forester, sorta help the entire fam out deal. I am getting as many customers around here as possible buying early in the season. I do not have a huge stock pile right now as its flying as fast as I can split it and get it delivered. Most guys around here are selling green wood in December as seasoned (scary sh*t). I do inform people that it will not burn to its full potentional by any means unless purcahsed early in the year. The plan for this season is to get a bunch more done up soon to season for when people run out then purchase a large qty of logs this winter to sell next season. I could not have predicted my sales jumping to the level they are at already.

If you can't split your wood fast enough to build up your winter stock your price is too low!