CLDA 2024 Summer-Final | Page 53

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cel Delivery provides delivery and warehousing services in Arizona . Through their offices in Tucson and Phoenix , they offer 24 / 7 live dispatch and a wide array of logistics and warehousing services . They provide on-demand deliveries , including stat ( medical ), cargo van and box truck , one-hour , and long-distance . They offer 24 / 7 delivery and serve as 3PL agents . They handle expedited freight , Next Flight Out services , retail distribution , and lab courier services and can provide dedicated drivers for routes or fleet replacement . Cocchia , a CLDA Board Member , is the company ’ s chief operating officer .
A History of Constant Communication That Grew From TSA Roots
“ We did , and still do , a lot of TSA work , and constant communication is what that work requires ,” says Cocchia . “ Because that ’ s how we grew up as a company , we have applied that blanket across all types of deliveries . It sets us apart from many providers that haven ’ t done that type of intense TSA-type work .”
Applying TSA-level communication to all deliveries means Xcel has the same stringent procedures for all deliveries . “ It ’ s much easier on our drivers to have one set of rules about doing everything ,” he says . “ You make fewer mistakes when you do the same thing every time . So , we took what we learned from the TSA world and the TSA jobs and applied them across the board . Customers see it as the shining point of our company .”
It ’ s all about keeping the customer informed and going beyond their requirements . It can include :
• Pictures at pick up
• Notifications when drivers arrive on-site and are on the road
• ETAs for delivery
• Pictures of delivery
• Pictures of airway bills for next-flight-out work
• Pictures of where the pallet is left if the client has given permission to leave it unattended .
For Xcel Delivery , it ’ s all about developing a comfort level with their customers . “ When shippers know what ’ s going on - whether it ’ s going right or wrong - there ’ s a comfort level . They know it ’ s being handled , and they can focus on the other things they have to do ,” says Cocchia .
He gave this example of building trust through communication , even when things are not going as planned : “ Let ’ s say we ’ re working with a customer and they have a delivery that needs to arrive at 3:00 , and our driver is running late . If I call them ahead of time and tell them it will arrive at 3:30 , they may not like it , but now they aren ’ t worried . They know what ’ s going on . They can adjust if they need to . They aren ’ t getting emotionally worked up over it . But , if I don ’ t call that customer and they notice at 3:00 that my driver ’ s not there , they wonder what ’ s happening . They start looking at their watch , and their emotions build up every minute that ticks by . And when my driver gets there at 3:30 they have wound themselves up . When we don ’ t communicate well , people make assumptions . They worry . They wonder what ’ s going on . When they get good communications they can adjust if needed . They can go with the flow , and they make changes . They are not sitting there worrying and wondering what ’ s going on .”
The company ’ s emphasis on communication helps them grow their customer base . “ People who use us for the first time tell us that they are pleasantly surprised at our level of communication ,” says Cocchia . “ They say they haven ’ t seen that before . And that is often why they end up using us as their
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