Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 2
Stormbreaker is a limited liability company. The organization consists of four employees
total. It was started in 2021 and is owned and operated by EJ Powell and Mark Hall. It is a
transport company that transports freight across the United States. The company started as one
hot shot truck and trailer and now has three hot shot trucks and trailers and one semi-truck for
larger freight hauls. Hall and Powell are still drivers within the company but have two other
drivers leased on with them as well. The transport company can do smaller freight and larger
longer freight hauls with the work of a team of drivers who are able to drive without much
stopping.
Table 1
Stormbreaker Transport, SWOT Analysis
STRENGTH
On time deliveries
Customer service
Good relationships with freight
brokers
Diverse types of equipment to be able
to serve more customer needs.
Each driver has extra endorsements on
their license and federal clearances
WEAKNESS
Rising diesel prices
Consumer demand drops due to price
hike.
Issues with brokers not following
through with deals.
Loss of good hauls due to others
OPPORTUNITIES
Better marketing for the company;
ads; social media; etc.
Partnerships with other companies to
THREAT
Economic downturns
Increasing operations costs
Larger companies with more labor and
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 3
gain repeat customers.
Office manager
equipment
Delivery delays due to weather,
accidents, road work, etc.
Sustainability
(Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication April 10, 2024)
Table 2
Stormbreaker Balanced Scorecard
Critical Success
Factor
Objective Measure Target Initiative
Financial Increase
company profits
and savings for
maintenance
Find cash flow
trend and weekly
reports from all
drivers on
money earned
and spent while
on runs
Increase profits
in 2024 by 25%
and increase
savings for
maintenance to
$15,000
Hold weekly
meetings with
owners and
drivers. Develop
spreadsheets for
all costs and
expenses for
drivers. Develop
a system that if
issues to trucks
keep happening
driver is
responsible for
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 4
payment.
Customer Increase repeat
customers
Constantly meet
customer
expectations
Offer an
incentive for
second booking
Gain 1-3 repeat
customers per
month
Continue
excellent
customer
service.
Meet pickup and
delivery times.
Keep in
communication
with customers.
Offer 10% for
any customer
who sets up a
second booking
within the month
with us
Internal
Processes
Implement a
better marketing
process
Research what
appeals to
customers and
some bigger
logistics
companies
Increase
marking and
social footprint
Partner with a
company to
develop a
website Take
more photos and
videos for social
media Design
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 5
and purchase t-
shirts, hats, etc.
for drivers to
wear and to give
out at companies
Learning &
Growth
Hire an office
manager
Decide what
Stormbreaker
needs in and
office manager,
duties, salary,
and expectations
Hire an office
manager by
September 2024
Create job
posting on job
websites be
available for
interviews Ask
Hall’s wife to
help because she
is familiar with
interviewing and
hiring
(Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication April 10, 2024)
Critical Success Factors Chosen for the Organization
There are many ways to measure the success of an organization. There are critical factors
success factors that provide a roadmap for the organization to measure that success. The use of
SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard are the most common ways to measure success.
Organizations need to understand their financial and non-financial strategic information to
understand their strengths and weaknesses (Blocher, Juras, & Smith, 2022).
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 6
The critical success factors (CSFs) chosen for Stormbreaker were financial, customer,
internal business process, and learning and growth. CSFs are defined as a limited number of
areas in which results, if they are good, will ensure competitive performance for an organization
(Ram & Corkindale, 2014). In these areas chosen things must be successful for the organization
to be successful.
Financial was chosen because every organization measures success by financial success.
If an organization does not have financial success, it is not successful. Customer was also chosen
because Stormbreaker relies on customers and customer service. If Stormbreaker provides
excellent customer service mostly likely they will get repeat customers or word of mouth will
spread. Internal business and learning and growth were chosen because Stormbreaker is still a
newer organization. Their internal process is still in development and in the need of tweaking to
be more successful along with learning and growth. The company owners have learned a lot over
the last few years, and it is time to put that into practice for the overall success of the
organization.
Critical Success Factors
Financial
From a financial perspective Stormbreaker is maintaining a profit, but with the rising
costs of operations especially diesel fuel and brokerage fees the company’s profits are slowly
declining. Hall and Powell both discussed how the rising costs are affecting their ability to
succeed and save money in their maintenance fund for tires, oil changes, and unexpected issues
that can pop up. Driving thousands of miles weekly sure puts a lot of strain on the equipment.
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 7
They advised that they jumped headfirst into this business and did not really have a lot planned
out, but that needs to change (Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication April 10, 2024).
For the long-term success of the business, they need to meet with their drivers once a week
discuss expenses and earnings. Currently they both drive and are in the truck five – six days a
week. They have started to alternate every other week one will stay back Friday or Monday and
complete paperwork, update financial records and make sure all the equipment is up to date and
running smoothly.
Customer
Customer service is something the company does well. The drivers are always withing
the pickup and delivery window and if they are unable to make it Hall and Powell stress they
need to communicate with the customer. The only real reason they should be outside of their time
windows are for something the driver can not control. For example: weather, road work,
accidents, etc. (Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication April 10, 2024). Both owners
would like to see more repeat customers that they can form good working relationships with and
are able to work for them on a consistent basis outside of using freight brokers. Freight brokers
take a percentage of the load price, and they would both rather that percent go back to the
business.
Internal Business Process
Internal business processes are part of the organization’s quality, productivity, equipment
readiness, productivity, and safety (Blocher, Juras, & Smith, 2022). Most of these areas are
always being improved upon, they are critical to the success of the organization. Being truthful
and honest about an organization’s internal business processes is the best way to be sure any
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 8
defects are seen and addressed, this helps maximize performance and use resources more
efficiently (Lumatinulu & Dahlan, 2019). One area Hall and Powell really want to improve is
their marketing.
Currently they get 80% of their work from freight brokerage companies. If they had
better marketing, they are hoping customers will come to them directly instead of going through
a third party which takes a percentage of the cost of the load. And they have said that lately the
brokers are taking more than ever. If you add up the operations cost for a load, then the fee paid
to broker most of the time the load is not worth it. And then you just have a truck sitting not
making money. Since they have gotten more comfortable with how the business will run, they
think marketing is the next step (Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication April 10, 2024).
Learning and Growth
Hall and Powell both think part of their growth is hiring an office manager. Currently
they are making it work, but they want to be in the trucks making money not handling paperwork
one day a week. They want to hire someone they can trust by September 2024. Currently they are
working to understand what the office manager role will look like, what qualifications this
person will need to have, and if it will be remote in their home or if they will need to put an
office onsite where they keep their equipment (Hall, M. & Powel, E., personal communication
April 10, 2024). There is a lot of learning and growth for any organization. It is important to
understand where these opportunities are and work towards making them successes.
Conclusion
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 9
It can be argued that Stormbreaker Transport with Hall and Powell in charge is a
successful organization, but with all thing’s improvement can be made. Their SWOT analysis
and balanced scorecard show honest strengths and opportunities. They are both smart and
understand the logistics business and where they want to see the organization in the future. Both
owners also understand their success is not solely on them, but God as well. They put their trust
and faith in Him to help lead the way and answer them when they need guidance. It reminds me
of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.”
References
Learning Project 1 -Stormbreaker Transport 10
Blocher, E., Juras, P., & Smith, S. (2022). Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis (9th edition).
McGraw Hill LLC.
Holy Bible, New International Version. (1984). Biblica, Inc.
Lamatinulu, & Dahlan, M. (2019). Ranking of Priority Key Performance Indicators Internal
Business Processes Cocoa Industry of SMEs Scale in South Sulawesi. Access la Success, 20(1),
80-83. https://doi.org/10.26740/al-uqud.v3n1.p18-33
Ram, J., & Corkindale, D. (2014). How "critical" are the critical success factors (CSFs)?
Examining the role of CSFs for ERP. Business Process Management Journal, 20(1), 151-174.
DOI:10.1108/BPMJ-11-2012-0127
