Drawing Avail Over Driver Recruitment

Truckcraft is proud to be a Manchester-based company. While a lot of the money may be ‘down south’ you can be sure the real hard work and innovation is happening in the north of England. Moreover, it’s not just in heavy industry or engineering where the north leads the way; the digital sector is snowballing as well. Manchester is now a hotbed of talent in the digital and tech’ sectors, and the number of new tech’ companies is growing daily.

Small startups in tech’ incubators throughout Greater Manchester are developing digital solutions for all kinds of opportunities and problems. Creative thinking and elegant technology-driven innovation mean great things are happening. And it’s encouraging to find a Manchester-based startup proactively addressing the recruitment processes in the haulage industry.

Short Contracts, Huge Costs

Avail Technologies is a new HGV tech’ platform founded by Erin Short and Callum Clark. Both are former drivers from a military background. Back on Civvy Street and working in logistics, they noticed how much the recruitment industry charges for placing drivers in short term contracts. This is sometimes as much as £35 per hour, including agency fees. These costs put a tremendous financial strain on haulage companies who need to use contract drivers and as Short comments:

“This is a really hidden marketplace… The company is paying £35 an hour that they can't afford.’

‘The Uber Of The Haulage Industry’

Short and Clark resolved to address this mismatch and launched Avail Technologies in September 2018 to develop their recruitment software. Their approach is to use an online platform similar to the Uber business model. Drivers of commercial vehicles can register on the platform, and if they can show they have the relevant paperwork could be working within hours.

Haulage companies can register on this HGV tech’ platform by paying a daily rate of £7.50. They can post jobs at an hourly rate they feel appropriate. Drivers can accept the contract if it aligns with their skills and needs. As Short confirms:

“We do one piece of work to introduce someone to someone else. Then it's down to the haulage company to decide how much money they can afford to pay for that driver and the driver to accept if that's okay or not.”

Avail’s HGV tech’ will also take care of some of the background administration, including management of payroll, tax and national insurance.

So far, 1600 drivers have signed to the platform.

Investing In The Future

Avail has now secured a £300,000 investment in their HGV tech’ platform from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. This will allow the team to scale the business further. The funding will enable them to develop their logistics tech’ and recruit more drivers and haulage companies.

Assuming haulage companies can overcome their aversion to adopting new technology, the Avail solution has the potential to help with issues such as current driver shortages. By rationalising the recruitment process, it could mean more efficient management of the supply and demand issues in the driver employment market.

Northern Lights

The Truckcraft team are excited by the Avail approach and wish the founders the best of luck in developing their business. It’s great to see a fellow Mancunian company taking the same forward-thinking approach to the haulage industry as we do here at Truckcraft. Let’s hope that soon there’ll be many drivers sourced through Avail making deliveries in a Truckcraft vehicle.

That would undoubtedly show everyone what we’re capable of achieving, here ‘up north’!

For more information on our range of delivery trucks and vans, please contact the Truckcraft Bodies sales team on 0161 304 9404. Alternatively, email glen.pinder@truckcraftbodies.co.uk or emma.jane@truckcraftbodies.co.uk.

Published: Nov 26