The importance of transport and logistics in society is certainly recognized by all. The impact of this sector is comparable to its management complexity. Thousands of trucks cross the roads every day, connecting with ports, airports or train stations to reach other destinations.
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence have been playing a key role in this sector’s growth and improvement, making it more sustainable. This way, Intelligent Algorithms will, over the next few weeks, post a set of complementary articles on how it has contributed to the evolution of transport and logistics. This is the first article.
The challenges of a changing sector
The transport and logistics sector faces its own very difficult challenges. We present the most important ones:
- Tight margins. Reducing costs for carriers is a daily struggle, given the limited margins obtained in such a competitive sector. The current rise in fuel prices has created additional difficulties.
- Constant need for process improvement. Making processes faster, more agile and automatic is an ever-present concern. Reducing repetitive manual tasks to a minimum or optimizing paper and document management are other examples.
- Continuous improvement of the customer experience. Providing a flawless service that is increasingly adapted to customer preferences is essential at a time when consumers have more bargaining power and an “amplified” voice through social networks.
- Shortage of skilled labor, especially drivers. With the pandemic, this problem has worsened, currently being one of the biggest concerns worldwide. Capturing drivers, improving employee experience and reducing turnover are all visible faces of the problem.
- European and national regulations. The transport sector is one of the most affected by regulations and policies which are updated from time to time. The adoption of systems that warn of irregularities or that issue “reminders” for certain actions is crucial.
- Sustainability. Like any sector, transport and logistics must remain economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. If companies want to thrive in the field of sustainability, they must adopt policies of social responsibility and support for local communities. This while trying to minimize the carbon footprint or instituting “paper free” policies. Competitiveness and, above all, the reputation of carriers is at stake here.
- Fleet management and route optimization. As companies evolve, so does the complexity of managing a larger fleet. The same happens when there are different types of customers and from different geographies. Therefore, there is the need to find the best routes according to goals. In this sense, it is essential for companies to modernize their technologies and applications in order to better manage their fleets and identify optimized routes, so that the service can be performed more quickly and safely.
- The fight for space is constant. Carriers have to manage the transport stage very well, but even before any vehicle leaves their premises, the spaces where goods are stored or the load distribution inside the trucks must be very well managed.
In all these difficulties, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence can give a precious hand, contributing to greater competitiveness. It all starts with a correct assessment of the existing data in the company and their suitability in relation to the intended goals. There are several solutions, depending on the problem. In the next article we will reveal a little more about these solutions and how they can reduce costs and improve processes in transport and logistics companies.
Can we count on you for the next article?
Inspiring companies to explore new challenges through the power of data