True Value Company, one of the world’s largest retailer-owned wholesale hardware cooperatives, is in the process of converting its fleet of leased and company-owned vehicles to include professional drivers, routing, and scheduling services provided under a Ryder Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS) agreement.

Under the agreement, Ryder has begun to manage the transportation services at 10 of True Value’s 12 distribution centers across the U.S. and is providing the company with access to professional drivers, specialized vehicles, and expert maintenance.

“It has truly been a pleasure to have True Value as a loyal Ryder customer for more than 40 years,” said John Diez, President of Ryder Dedicated Transportation Solutions. “Over time, we have gotten to know True Value’s business intimately, which has enabled us to help them grow with ease and efficiency. We are pleased to expand our longstanding partnership with True Value, as we remain committed to providing them with unparalleled customer service.”

Before going with dedicated transportation, True Value leased or owned its fleet, consisting of 275 tractors and 700 trailers. Due to the acute driver shortage facing the industry, it became increasingly difficult for the company to recruit its own drivers. With a dedicated solution, True Value can leverage Ryder’s expertise in driver recruiting and retention so that it is better able to focus its time and resources on its business and what it does best.

“Our busiest season is in the spring, which is when we need the greatest level of flexibility,” said Rob Saper, divisional vice president for supply chain operations at True Value. “Given the inability to lease tractors on a seasonal basis and with drivers being tougher to source, we needed a company like Ryder to step in to help us better serve our retailers through greater flexibility with access to more resources.”

With Ryder, True Value has access to more productivity tools such as optimization software and tracking/tracing technology, all of which aid True Value in developing new strategic initiatives.

“Ryder has been extremely responsive to our service needs, which makes us both confident and excited about our continued partnership with them and the future of our business,” said Saper.