Transport

The transportation industry is arguably one of the most affected industries of recent times. Technology has paid a major part in changing the way businesses and consumers look at the cost of transportation as part of the product and service cycle. Cost management looms large as one of the greatest controls that are hitting margins for those organisations that are looking to remain profitable in this increasingly challenging sector.

 

The digitisation of order and Worker information is one area that Transport companies continue to take on board and refine as a key strategy in cost reduction. SeeMySite offer this industry a simple to use and cost effective tool in managing worker time and standard job information.

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Here is a snapshot of some of the top challenges facing the industry.

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• Fuel Costs. One of the highest costs contributing to the ‘cutting transportation cost’ concern is fuel prices. Higher fuel prices are likely to increase transportation costs  pushing up fuel surcharges. Risingdiesel fuel prices are escalating surcharges added to freight rates, which is reversing a two-year trend that cut into the revenue and earnings of truckers as fuel prices plummeted.

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• Business Process Improvement. Not withstanding the need for new technology, which we discuss in number eight on this list, it has become an increasing challenge for the logistics industry to stay on top of new advances in business processes. Taking advantage of these new opportunities sounds enticing but adoption and onboarding can be overwhelming.

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• Improved Customer Service. Customers want full transparency into where their delivery is at all times. These days, the location of a package is as interconnected as your social network. In fact, as customer expectations have increased, their willingness to pay for fast shipping has decreased with less consumers willing to pay anything extra for less than two-day shipping.

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• Economy. With high fuel prices comes a greater credit crisis and rising inflationary demands that take a greater toll on the economy. This industry is then pressured by increasing compliance regulations, declining demand, additional capacity with additional increases in key cost centers.

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• Driver Shortage & Retention. Hiring and retention remain an issue despite the lower demand mentioned above.

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• Government Regulations. Carriers face significant compliance regulations imposed by federal, state and local authorities.

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• Environmental Issues. The anti-idling and other emission reduction regulations brought about by state and local governments has created concern that the compliance costs could exceed benefits.

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• Technology Strategy & Implementation. While the industry understands and supports many of the benefits of these technologies, some questions remain as to how they will pay for it and who will help implement the improvements.