ONTARIO, CA – Using an unusual business plan, Hino Motor Sales USA has created a new department called HinoLabs that will try to finds ways to help the company’s dealerships profit from major trends and turning points in the trucking industry.
Take the new hours of service rules that go into effect next year, said VP David Kaufman, who is a member of the HinoLabs team.
“Time spent loading and unloading at the dock becomes much more critical because, under the new rules, the 14 hours in a driver’s work day run consecutively, meaning that time spent loading and unloading their truck, breaks, even their lunch hour counts against their total clock,” he said. “So we want to come up with new ideas to help reduce dock time as well as open up an opportunity for generate profit for dealers.”
In the case of reducing dock time, Hino is working with Decade Products to develop returnable containers that speed truck loading and unloading time as well as reduce or even eliminate cardboard boxes, pallets, and other ‘dunnage,’ Kaufman said.
“We help customers increase their loading/unloading efficiency and create a new stream of revenue for our dealers at the same time,” he explained. “That’s what Hino Labs is all about.”
Other profit generation efforts currently being looked at by HinoLabs, noted Kaufman, include maintenance consulting programs, used truck auction offerings, and managing parts inventories for fleets.