Very few, if any, logistics planning operations are simple to plan. As customer demands grow and congestion and legislation increases, the variables that transport planners have to juggle become more complex.
Here at Paragon we believe that harnessing the latest technology solutions can significantly help transport planners improve operational efficiency and gain competitive edge.
We’ve put together a white paper that explains how you can use technology to manage the complexities created by legislation, the driver shortage and changing customer needs while still ensuring that vehicle and driver resources are utilised as fully as possible.
Here is a taste of our logistics planning white paper: Mastering logistics complexity. Click here to read the whitepaper in full and find out how technology can turn complexity into opportunity and the types of benefits that can be expected.
There was a time when road distribution was either local delivery from local producers, or the ‘final mile’ delivery of goods that had been transported longer distances by rail or road trunking first. The typical journey was either point to point – a full load from a manufacturer or distributor to a factory, wholesaler or distributor – or a regular circuit of collections and drops. An experienced transport manager, or even the driver, could plan a reasonably efficient set of routes that was achievable and practical.
But the requirements that transport operations face today are much more complex. The expectations of both businesses and consumers have evolved beyond recognition.
As a result, delivery schedules need to cope with pick-ups from multiple sources and delivery to multiple destinations. These may be in combinations that vary significantly round by round and trip by trip, or involve both unloading deliveries, and picking up ‘back loads’ simultaneously.
Added to this, rules and regulations have been introduced affecting everything from driver hours and conditions to environmental performance and restrictions on permitted times for deliveries. And in many areas all this has as its background an ever more congested road network, which makes performance less predictable.
With these increased levels of complexity it is no longer feasible to expect even the most skilled and experienced planners to devise effective routes and schedules manually. Instead an organisation must look to technology to help manage the complexities of the transport operation but also to expand and differentiate in the increasingly competitive markets it operates in.
Download our whitepaper to find out how you can master technology to help you make the most efficient use of your vehicles, retain drivers and futureproof your transport operation against changing legislation.
