If your business relies on one driver and one vehicle to move refrigerated freight, the question isn't whether something will go wrong — it's when, and how much it will cost when it does.
This is a gap in the in-house delivery model that businesses often don't fully account for until they're in the middle of it.
The Sick Driver Problem
Your driver calls at 5am. They're not coming in. Your freight is ready, your customers are expecting delivery, and you have no one to drive the truck.
The options are usually:
- Call a labour hire agency. Assuming they have a licenced driver available at short notice who is familiar with refrigerated vehicles and the route. Often they don't.
- Drive it yourself or have another staff member do it. This pulls someone from their normal role and may not be practical depending on licence requirements and vehicle size.
- Call a courier. At short notice, without a cold chain vehicle, for the full run — expensive and often not a genuine option for temperature-sensitive freight.
- Cancel the deliveries. The worst option, but often what happens. Customers are inconvenienced. Product may be at risk if it can't be held another day.
The Breakdown Problem
A refrigerated vehicle breakdown has two problems in one: you can't complete the delivery, and the refrigeration unit failure puts the product at risk. The longer the vehicle sits, the worse the product situation becomes.
Even a relatively minor breakdown — a flat tyre, a fault in the refrigeration unit — can turn into a significant loss if it happens mid-run with a full load of perishable freight.
What Backup Actually Requires
Genuine backup for a one-vehicle, one-driver operation requires either:
- A second vehicle you own or can access quickly
- A casual driver on call who is licenced, familiar with the route, and available at short notice
- A relationship with a carrier who can step in at short notice with the right vehicle
Most small operators don't have any of these reliably in place. The first time they need backup is usually the first time they realise they don't have it.
How a Contract Delivery Arrangement Handles This
When CCS provides a contract delivery arrangement, backup is built in. CCS operates multiple vehicles and multiple drivers. If a driver is unavailable, another driver covers the run. If a vehicle has a problem, another vehicle goes out.
From your customers' perspective, the delivery happens as expected. From your perspective, the problem is CCS's problem to solve — not yours.
This is one of the less obvious but very real advantages of outsourcing the delivery function rather than running it in-house. The redundancy that makes delivery reliable is expensive to build yourself and is already part of what a carrier like CCS provides.
If the sick driver or breakdown scenario is something you've experienced — or something you're worried about — read more about how CCS contract delivery works, or get in touch to discuss your requirements.