It might not be widely known, but there’s a tradition at Meijer that gives our Logistics Team members a unique view of the latest additions to our truck fleet. Each year, team members who drive and maintain our tractors travel to inspect the newest additions on the assembly line before they arrive at our Lansing, Mich. facility.
Last year was more special than most because it marked the return of this tradition after a hiatus caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
A squad of nine team members from our Outbound Logistics Team traveled recently to the Freightliner factory in Statesville, North Carolina, to watch the massive vehicles being assembled.
The group included members of our team who know the equipment best – mechanics and drivers, who were awarded our Driver of the Year and Maintenance Technician of the Year.
Meijer remains one of few companies that still sends drivers and maintenance technicians to review the tractors as they’re being built.
“It's really cool for mechanics and drivers to see the truck actually getting built on the assembly line with robotics,” said Dave Hoover, Director of Outbound Logistics for Meijer. “They can see how it’s put together and what goes into it.”
Having our most hands-on team members visit our future fleet while it’s still in production inspires them to make recommendations for potential improvements. After all, they know the tractors best.
“Because of the feedback we got from the team in past visits, we changed our specs to add outside tractor lighting to help in the dock areas,” Dave said. “That was pretty cool.”