I have a friend who owns a restaurant equipment import business. He employs a driver to deliver ovens, refrigerators, display cases, etc. to restaurants and grocery stores around the country. He could fire his driver and hire an Uber truck on demand instead, and if he got a blast of orders, he could hire a few trucks instead of having to wait on one driver.
I have another friend who is a truck dispatcher. Her entire job is telling truckers where to go and when to be there. Trucking companies don't need to employ dispatchers any more, Uber's algorithms handle her entire job.
My uncle drove trucks delivering dairy to grocery stores. Since he was a member of the dairy trucker's union, that was the only thing he was allowed to deliver. If there was no dairy to deliver but lots of bread, sorry, that's for the members of the bread trucker's union. The whole trucking industry is carved into these niche unions which are really frustrating to deal with.
When I was a student, I worked for a construction company that had a decrepit old truck they used to deliver some of their prefab pieces, like sets of windows and doors. It broke down a lot and only one guy in the shop had the license and knew how to drive it. Now they can get rid of the truck and just hire Uber whenever they need some bigger stuff delivered.
Awesome. All makes total sense. I think the dispatcher example is spot on and very common with haulers. Unfortunately for her, her job could indeed be eaten by technology.
I have another friend who is a truck dispatcher. Her entire job is telling truckers where to go and when to be there. Trucking companies don't need to employ dispatchers any more, Uber's algorithms handle her entire job.
My uncle drove trucks delivering dairy to grocery stores. Since he was a member of the dairy trucker's union, that was the only thing he was allowed to deliver. If there was no dairy to deliver but lots of bread, sorry, that's for the members of the bread trucker's union. The whole trucking industry is carved into these niche unions which are really frustrating to deal with.
When I was a student, I worked for a construction company that had a decrepit old truck they used to deliver some of their prefab pieces, like sets of windows and doors. It broke down a lot and only one guy in the shop had the license and knew how to drive it. Now they can get rid of the truck and just hire Uber whenever they need some bigger stuff delivered.
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