In a competitive industry that faces constant change, we are challenged by our customers to create efficiencies, both in our business and theirs. 

This is where our 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) initiative comes in. We launched our initial campaign in 2014, with a focus on increasing revenue volume, revenue rates and trailer productivity, with the ultimate goal of increasing operational efficiency and profitability. This campaign was a great success!

As we moved into 4DX 2.0, we focused on finding efficiencies throughout our businesses. By campaigns end, we had exceeded our goal and created more than $14.7 million in savings across our business, without removing people from the business.

Our 4DX 3.0 campaign wrapped up last month, after almost a year of positive activity across our business. Building on 4DX 2.0, our goal for the third installment of 4DX was to add $32 million of additional revenue to our business.

While we are celebrating many successes, 2016 brought market conditions that were tougher than hoped, and we fell short of our goal. However, we are still celebrating. We’ve added revenue to our business, and have continued to find efficiencies both for Bison and our customers. 

We had a record 88 4DX teams, many of whom met or exceeded the targets they set for themselves. The teams followed the 4DX principles (focusing on the wildly important, acting on lead measures, keeping a compelling scoreboard, and creating a cadence of accountability), and gained valuable learning: making commitments, holding each other accountable, meeting once each week for 15 minutes to work towards a single goal.

At the end of it all, 14,000 commitments were made to improve our business, one small increment at a time. More than 400 people met each week to consider how they were going to move forward on efforts they considered vital to our success, lead by 32 new leaders, and 8 new coaches.

Though we fell short of our target, to say we lost at 4DX 3.0 is entirely inaccurate. Our wins were many, and will be sustained in our business for years to come – and felt by our staff, professional Drivers and customers alike. 

We will continue to push ourselves towards new goals as we launch 4DX 4.0 in September.

How do you find efficiencies in your business? What tools or programs have you used to help your business meet its goals? Tell us in the comments below!