Is it better to buy an existing dispatch service or build my own?

Dispatch looks easy to start because there is no fleet to buy. That is also why the real question is about relationships, not equipment. Ask whether its carriers, accounts and people would stay when ownership changes. This page compares the two routes. For a business that does own trucks, see growing from one truck.

What buying gives you

A purchase can give you carriers already using the service, accounts with shippers and load boards, trained dispatchers, software with history in it and a track record you can examine. You start with work moving instead of searching for the first carrier. In return you take on the seller’s habits, agreements and any problems left in the files.

What starting gives you

A new business means no inherited commitments and your own way of working from the first day. The cost is time. Carriers have to trust a new name, shippers have to give you freight, and you do all of it before revenue is steady. Ask yourself how long you can carry that period and what experience in the field you already have.

Questions that decide it

• How much of the roster would stay for a new owner, and how do you know?
• Are the key accounts held by the company or by the seller personally?
• Could you run daily dispatching yourself, or would you depend on staff?
• What would it cost you in time to rebuild this roster alone?

Licences and registration

Ask your lawyer what, if anything, a new dispatch business must register or hold in your province. Ask a lawyer about it before you start or buy, and ask the seller to show you what the business currently holds.