We often ask drivers to respect the plan. But do we ask often enough whether the plan respects the drivers?

This week marks National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, a fitting time to thank drivers for their work.

But that recognition should also show up in how we design our operations. Because too often, the driver becomes the variable that absorbs the inefficiencies of the entire chain.

An Hour Late Is Never Just an Hour

Imagine a simple situation.

A driver starts the day with several deliveries. The route is planned and the appointments are confirmed.

He arrives at 9 a.m., as scheduled. But the dock is not available, or the load is not ready.

He waits.

For the warehouse, this delay might look like just another hiccup. For the driver, it can compromise the rest of the day: the next appointment, traffic, the delivery window, hours of service.

And above all, none of these problems started with the driver. He simply absorbs the consequences.

This scenario is far from exceptional.

39.3%

That’s the share of stops where drivers reported being detained more than two hours, according to a 2023 study by the American Transportation Research Institute.

Across the United States, ATRI estimates these detentions add up to more than 135 million hours in a single year.

Let’s Measure the Quality of the Plan Too

In a supply chain, we measure a lot: on time performance, transit time, asset utilization, cost per delivery.

But one question sometimes gets left out:

Was the plan actually executable?

A route can be optimal in a system and unrealistic on the ground. An appointment can be planned correctly without the dock actually having the capacity to receive the truck.

We treat warehouse capacity as a constraint. Dock availability as a constraint. Truck capacity as a constraint.

The driver’s time deserves that same discipline.

Transport performance doesn’t start when the truck leaves the yard. It starts with order preparation, dock availability, load building, appointments, and route design.

What If the Problem Isn’t a Lack of Data?

Companies today have access to a considerable amount of data. The challenge is often that it’s scattered.

The WMS knows the state of order readiness and warehouse operations. The TMS knows the routes, carriers, and appointments. The ERP knows the orders and customer priorities. Other tools may hold traffic data, telematics, or actual arrival and departure times.

Each system holds part of the answer.

But on its own, none of them necessarily sees the whole picture.

This is where Process Orchestration, combined with AI, can become particularly useful.

By connecting multiple data sources, it becomes possible to build a more complete view of operations, and more importantly, to act faster when reality starts drifting from the plan.

If an order falls behind in the warehouse, that information can be linked to the truck’s expected arrival time, dock availability, the next appointments, and route constraints.

Rather than discovering the problem when the driver arrives, the goal is to anticipate it and adjust the operation.

AI can also help analyze historical operations to surface patterns: docks that are regularly congested, loading times that are consistently underestimated, unrealistic appointment windows, or routes that are especially sensitive to delays.

The goal isn’t to add one more system. It’s to make the data and systems a company already has work better together

A Better Plan Is a Form of Recognition

At Avalon, that’s also how we approach this kind of challenge: looking at the supply chain as a whole, connecting systems, data, and what’s actually happening on the ground, to turn information into more effective operational decisions.

Technology and AI can certainly help. But they need to serve a very concrete goal: building operations that work better for the people who have to execute them.

Because improving performance isn’t simply about asking drivers to follow the plan more closely.

Sometimes, the best improvement is giving them a better plan to follow.

Thank you to the drivers who turn our plans into reality every day.