As children, we were fascinated by trucks and truck drivers. As adults, we may have decided to take that passion into the workday world by starting a small or large transport company. But although there are still elements of our childhood romance with the men and women who rule the open road and the trucks they drive, we need to face business realities. It's not just about shiny trucks, cheerful drivers, and happy customers - logistics businesses face some very real challenges.

When making your business plan, you create a roadmap that stands a good chance of leading you to success. It's not just a document to impress bank managers. You'll be dealing with a lot of practical issues, and your choice of suppliers and service providers will be among these. We take a look at three service providers who don't have anything directly to do with trucks and trucking, but who are essential for the smooth running of a transport enterprise.

1. Specialized Legal Service Providers

The law is an important component of the environment your business operates in. Experts who understand the interpretation of the law are essential service providers for just about any company. Access to legal expertise is more important in transport businesses than it is in many others.

You are likely to find that you need specific legal experts depending on what you're dealing with. For example, legal contracts will be the basis for every transport task.

You need specialist lawyers to formulate the contracts you give to your clients and examine contracts they give to you before you sign them. You're likely to have employees, so access to an expert in employment law will help you with compliance. And, when the worst comes to the worst, you will need truck accident lawyers to help deal with the many legal problems that arise when one of your vehicles is involved in a road accident.

2. Communications Providers

Staying in touch with your drivers when they are out on the road is essential. You may need to keep them updated on matters relating to their freight, or they may need to contact you in case of emergencies. Ordinary cellular phones may not have all the features you need.

Apart from maintaining (hands-free) voice communications, you will also want the ability to track your vehicles and monitor driver performance. Your communications provider will be a specialist in assisting logistics companies, and as such, it will be worlds away from the run-of-the mill systems that ordinary people use. The more closely your  communications provider targets your industry, the better the services and features that it offers, so choosing a specialized company is the sensible thing to do.

3. Insurance Providers

The need for insurance in a trucking company may be so obvious as to go without saying, but the sheer volume of different types of insurance you need can be absolutely staggering. Nevertheless, each type of insurance is important, and without cover, you could face enormous costs that could even kill your business.

Even if all you have is one horse and trailer setup, you still need primary auto liability insurance, general liability insurance, physical damage insurance, bobtail insurance, motor truck cargo insurance, rental reimbursement insurance, trailer interchange insurance, medical payment insurance, insurance against accidents with underinsured drivers, and reefer breakdown insurance, to name but a few. That's over and above the ordinary types of insurance that every other type of business also has.

Finding an insurance provider who understands your needs will be important - but you may want to get your contracts lawyer to look at the clauses and excursions before you sign anything!